Needy fishermen life improvement support project

Seaweed farming business
Seaweed farming business

♣Overview



Fishermen preparing for offshore aquaculture
Fishermen preparing for offshore aquaculture

This project supports the improvement of the lives of Indonesian needy fishermen who suffer from artificial marine pollution and extreme weather.

       

Starting with a pilot project on Serangan Island (an artificial island belonging to Bali), we are currently promoting support activities on Sumbawa Island.

 

A lot of fishermen who suffered from a decrease in catches due to environmental deterioration were required to support illegal fishing due to the need for living and to collect dangerous seaweeds that could damage their health.

 

ALL Net provides support activities for these fishermen with a focus on aquaculture techniques for Eucheuma muricatum, a kind of seaweed, and product development guidance using Eucheuma muricatum.

 

This project makes use of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs grant aid system for Japanese NGOs.

What is Eucheuma muricatum?

Seedling (left) and harvested Eucheuma muricatum (right)
Seedling (left) and harvested Eucheuma muricatum (right)

It is a seaweed that has a tropical to subtropical habitat. It belongs to the red algae that become reddish when it matures. The Philippines accounts for about 80% of the world's production as a marine resource.

 

Eucheuma muricatum can be used for food as it is, or it can be dried to extract a useful industrial raw material (sticky polysaccharide) called carrageenan. Carrageenan has gelling properties and is used in various applications such as food processing such as ham and jelly, ink-jet printer ink production by thickening, clearing beer and lotion, etc. There is a stable demand of more than 2.5 million tons (raw algae dry weight) per year.

Phase 1: Technical guidance for seaweed farming

(SULF: Sustainable Livelihoods Program for Struggling Fishers)

◆ 2010  Pilot project in Serangan Island (part of Bali)

◆ 2012  Ministry of Foreign Affairs Project in Serangan Island [SULF 1]
In Serangan Island, we supported 100 out of 600 households , and the village chief said, “The dead sea has been revived.”

◆ 2013  [SULF 2] in Sumbawa Island, Fu Village

◆ 2015  [SULF 3] in Sumbawa Trocaro Village, Solo Village
In Sumbawa, we supported 2,000 people from 350 households.

Donation of seedlings
Donation of seedlings
Culture trout design and production guidance
Culture trout design and production guidance
Seed raising instruction
Seed raising instruction
Harvest / Dry / Storage Instruction
Harvest / Dry / Storage Instruction
Various seminars
Various seminars

Phase 2: Technical guidance for using Eucheuma muricatum

◆ 2016-Ministry of Foreign Affairs Project "ELWIS"
Building an environmentally friendly life style by the women ’s initiative in poor villages involved in seaweed culture

 

Following the SULF project, as a first step in product development aimed at improving the added value of Eucheuma Muricatum for the improvement of sustainable living, we instructed people to use foods and soaps that use Eucheuma Muricatum and use them for themselves, and lifestyle changes

◆ 2017-Project "HEWIS"
Health and Environmental conservation Program by the women involved in seaweed culture

 

We mainly teached measures to improve added value, such as improving the quality of foods, soaps and cosmetics prototyped in the ELWIS project, and expanding variations. At the same time, we instructed to tackle environmental issues such as the trash problem peculiar to this region.

Women's employment promotion guidance
Women's employment promotion guidance
Leader development
Leader development
Female networking
Female networking
Commercialization instruction
Commercialization instruction
Guidance on environmental issues
Guidance on environmental issues

♣How did we get involved in supporting the project?



Consultation with local government agencies
Consultation with local government agencies

In a meeting with a consulting company (OAFIC ) who is familiar with Indonesian circumstances, we got information that there are many needy fishermen who make a living in coastal fisheries, and the catch has decreased due to recent abnormal weather, etc.

 

And we also found that they are unavoidably accused of illegal fishing methods (fishing with dynamite) and dangerous means of damaging their health.

 

We felt the potential of ALL Net to help with this issue. While discussing support measures with OAFIC, we received the idea of supporting Eucheuma muricatum farming.

 

We immediately investigated the current situation and started a pilot project on Serangan Island in Bali, where Eucheuma muricatum aquaculture had begun.

This success expanded to support nearby Sumbawa Island where Eucheuma muricatum farming is not widespread.

♣What are the Indonesian needs?



A large amount of litter that fills the coast of Sumbawa
A large amount of litter that fills the coast of Sumbawa

Currently supported, Donp Province, Sumbawa, is located in the deepest part of a large bay and is a relatively calm area.

 

The fishermen earned their livelihoods by half-farming and half-fishing in addition to live coastal fishing and Eucheuma muricatum farming, as well as corn cultivation. However, the catch decreased due to marine pollution such as global warming and large amounts of litter, and the poor fishermen were especially forced into a severe position.

 

As a result, there have been many cases of people engaging in illegal dynamite fishing, collecting seaweed such as Sargassum fulvellum using dangerous diving methods with compressors, or abandoning fishing and moving on to illegal tree felling in mountainous areas, which has become a major problem.

 

On the other hand, abnormal cultivation such as heavy rain and flooding has occurred frequently for Eucheuma muricatum for more than a decade, which has caused drastically lowering of seawater temperature and combined with a decrease in the rate of sunlight, leading to great damage caused by Eucheuma muricatum.

 

The local government had taken various support measures for these poor fishermen, but the yield of Eucheuma muricatum was decreasing, which was an urgent issue.

♣What are the challenges and solutions?



1. Fishermen's resistance to the expansion of the Eucheuma muricatum farming business

Fishermen who maintain a rope for fixing seaweed
Fishermen who maintain a rope for fixing seaweed

Eucheuma muricatum can be harvested in almost 1.5 months if the environment is stable. Seed and seedlings can be reused from the harvest, so there is no seed expense during this cycle. However, in this region, the difference between the dry season and the rainy season is remarkable, and the rainy season is not suitable for aquaculture because its growth deteriorates drastically due to the decrease in salt concentration of seawater, and the aquaculture is almost limited to the dry season (April to November). Therefore, seeds and seedlings needed at the start of the dry season need to be procured from other sources, but poor fishermen could not afford to buy large quantities of seedlings for business expansion. In addition, aquaculture has been unstable in the past, and there was a strong sense of resistance to business expansion. 

 

We donated seedlings as a start-up and succeeded in raising fishermen's motivation by stabilizing farming by realizing detailed guidance that is different from conventional administrative guidance and stabilizing income. . Some fishermen have switched from fisheries to Eucheuma muricatum farming.

2. Eucheuma muricatum rhinoculture technology

Check growth
Check growth

At that time, ALL Net did not have any staff familiar with seaweed cultivation techniques.

A member of a consultant (OAFIC), who is familiar with seaweed aquaculture, joined the members, and ALL Net staff learned the technology. We have received guidance from the University of the Philippines, which is the most advanced in this field. Stabilizing the aquaculture business, which is greatly influenced by the natural environment, is not uncommon, but continues to be trial and error every day.

3. Disease control

50m rope (under the sea level) to fix Eucheuma muricatum and "floating" that supports it
50m rope (under the sea level) to fix Eucheuma muricatum and "floating" that supports it

Eucheuma muricatum has a peculiar illness called ice / ice disease, and when it occurs, it is a troublesome disease that can be damaged in a wide area and cannot be sold as a product.

In order to prevent the disease from occurring, it is necessary to maintain the good health of Eucheuma muricatum. As a result of trial and error,

◆ The most important thing is to select high quality seedlings
◆ In the event of heavy rain or flood, keep the Eucheuma muricatum away from the sea surface within the possible range of photosynthesis (move deeper)
◆ In the event of a major flood, move seedlings to a location with good seawater

4. Independent and sustainable life improvement activities

Activated female group
Activated female group

In order to promote life improvement centering on Eucheuma muricatum, it is necessary to establish a foundation to promote the development of products to increase the income by securing the economic margin to invest in seedlings and improving the added value of Eucheuma muricatum. 

For this purpose, we decided that it would be effective to make products that would help fishermen's lives.

W e instructed women to participate in the creation of familiar products such as soap and food using Eucheuma muricatums from the beginning, so that they can form voluntary activities by forming a community. Women began to be interested in this activity.

5. Environmental and hygiene measures

The area has a major environmental problem of growing waste both on the coast and inland, which has been getting worse. We have found that not only to increase income but also to improve environmental problems and the resulting sanitation problems through fishermen's self-help efforts to improve their lives.

This issue needs to be addressed by women. We have instructed women who have started their activities eagerly to improve the added value of Eucheuma muricatum so that they can pay attention to environmental and sanitation issues. At first, they were indifferent, but eventually they began to clean up the area themselves.

♣Why was it successful? (Summary)



ALL Net is not an expert group of seaweed farming. However, this project is proceeding smoothly by stabilizing fishery farming, which has been unstable, improving fishermen's income, and helping to improve sustainable lives through added value. The reason is considered to be the following combined effect.

◆ Seaweed with a proven track record
◆ Stable demand
◆ Involving women in the center of activities
◆ Collaboration with experts

♣Project History



Jan. 2010

Launched aquaculture pilot project in Serangan Island attached to Bali


Mar. 2012

SULF 1 gifting agreement signed (for Selangan Island and Sumbawa Island)


Sept. 2012

SULF 1 ended. The number of cocoon production for Eucheuma muricatum in Sumbawa reached 200.

Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros

Mar. 2013

Concluded SULF 2 gift contract. Although the main support area is Sumbawa Island, we followed-up to Serangan Island too.


Jury. 2013

A large amount of damage was caused to Eucheuma muricatum seedlings caused by rough waves in Sumbawa.As a countermeasure, we examined aquaculture trout method.


Sept. 2013

SULF 2 ended


Sept. 2015

SULF 3 gift contract


Des. 2016

We conducted training in the Philippines, which is a developed country of Eucheuma muricatum, and received advice from the Institute of Marine Science, University of the Philippines.


Mar. 2016

SULF 3 ended


Sept. 2016

ELWIS gift contract


Sept. 2016

We started from soap making. Since then, the scope of instruction has been expanded to food and lotions.


Sept. 2017

ELWIS ended


Dec. 2017

HEWIS gift contract

We started to improve the quality of foods and cosmetics that useEucheuma muricatum, expand instruction variations, and provide guidance on activities to propose new lifestyles for giraffes to the islanders.


June 2018

WE co-sponsored Yoga Day event in Bali with 16 Sumbawa women participating.


Sept. 2018

HEWIS ended


♣Document (Japanese only)



♣Relationship



Government agency

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Dhonp Province Ministry of Marine Fisheries (Indonesia)

Academic institution

Institute of Marine Science, University of the Philippines

nonprofit organization

Plan International

ANNIE FUND

COMPANY

OAFIC Corporation

Awake Kamakura