Grants :: Small Grant Facilities :: Women's Group Empowerment through Mangrove-Based Product Processing
Mootilango village women groups in a mangrove planting activ ... , Mootilango village, Duhiadaa District, Pohuwato Regency, Gorontalo Province © MFF IUCN, 2014
To improve women’s group livelihood under the bio-right concept and to enhance mangrove area coverage along riverbank in the village
Mootilango village lies between two active rivers, with high suitability for mangrove planting, except small part which are not suitable due to the ecological condition or land tenure issue. Naturally, mangrove areas growing along 3 km from coastal toward land areas. It was indicated that a total of 591 ha land was potentially designated to be mangrove areas, of which 368 ha were existing mangrove already. A total of 222 ha mangrove areas has been converted into fish pond.
Community livelihood in Mootilango village (which is surrounded by mangrove forests) is mostly from fishpond aquaculture and mangrove crab harvesting. In 1996, the Government of Gorontalo Regency where Mootilango is located supported economic programmes using intensive aquaculture. This accelerated the conversion of mangroves into ponds. As a result, the surrounding mangrove forest has been degraded. Furthermore, due to unsustainable techniques, resource-depleted ponds in the area are often abandoned. Without proper rehabilitation, the mangrove areas in Mootilango village will continue to be depleted, negatively affecting the livelihood of communities.
Using the Bio-Rights concept, the project will introduce mangrove-based food processing as a small business activity to five women groups in the village. Women will be trained to produce and market mangrove-based food products as an alternative source of income. Concurrently, as part of the Bio-Rights concept, women who are part of the project will replant and protect the surrounding mangrove areas.
Direct beneficiaries are five women groups in Mootilango (50 members).
- Climate change and disaster risk reduction
54,720 mangrove seedlings were planted in 5 ha riverbanks. The planting is conducted to restore the ecosystem health and safeguard community livelihood.
- Gender equality
50 women received training on food production (cake) from mangrove and Nypa sugar production.
Mootilango village, Duhiadaa district, Pohuwato Regency, Gorontalo Province
6th May 2014 to 5th May 2015
IDR 196,500,000
Woman Institute for Research and Empowerment of Gorontalo (WIRE-G)
Jln Perum Taman Indah BF No 11
Jln Taman Hiburan 1 RT 03 RW 05
Kelurahan Wongkaditi Barat Kecamatan
Kota Utara, Kota Gorontalo
Indonesia
Contact person: Ms Kusmawaty Matara
Mobile: +6285240066934
Email address: kusmawaty.matara83@gmail.com