By Christoph Lubczyk | Project Leader
On Sherbro Island, fish is the focus of life.
But anyone who makes a good catch here does not
return home satisfied. The greed of wholesalers
and increasing indebtedness are driving many
fishing families into dire straits.
Sierra Leone: Fishing as an important source of income
The island of Sherbro, also called Bonthe, is located
off the coast of West African Sierra Leone, about 300
kilometers from the capital Freetown. Around 29,000
people live here, spread across 240 small villages,
more than half of which can only be reached by boat.
Many families on Sherbro make their living from
fishing - for fathers and mothers, local fish and
seafood are the only available sources of income.
Poor equipment, low catch rate
But general overfishing has been making it increasingly
difficult for families to get enough fish for years. The
men and women have to go further and further out into the
Atlantic in order to catch a catch. Poor boats, poorly
repaired nets and the lack of storage and refrigeration
facilities make the hard work even more difficult.
Wholesalers also exploit the needs of fishermen and
fisherwomen: They lend money to the fishermen and
fisherwomen when their nets or boats need to be repaired
and buy the fish they catch at dumping prices - knowing
that the families cannot store their catch and therefore
have to sell it quickly and are in debt to them anyway.
The fishermen’s hands are often tied. They get involved
and get further and further into a spiral of dependency.
Chances for a better life
Establishing a sustainable and profitable fishery with
which fishing families can strengthen their independence:
With these goals, our alliance organization TERRA TECH
started its aid project on Sherbro around two years ago.
Since then, the families' living situation has improved.
Together with the local partner SEND, the fishermen and
fisherwomen received further training in accounting as
well as business and savings plans. Newly founded local
financial groups now lend money to fishermen in solidarity
when equipment breaks or new ones need to be purchased.
Motorized boats and a solar powered cold storage facility
Thanks to this model, many fishermen and fisherwomen have
already been able to motorize their boats. They can now
travel further out to sea more safely, improving their
catch and at the same time protecting the coastal fishing areas.
So that the men and women can store their fish catch, helpers
built a solar-powered cold storage facility in Yargoi on the
mainland. From here, the families transport their fish to
the largest markets in the region, where they finally get
prices that they can live on.
New opportunities for women
“Another special feature of the project is that traditional
gender roles are being broken down,” reports project manager
from our alliance organization TERRA TECH.
"In the past, women were 'just' saleswomen and were responsible
for the household and raising the children. Men made almost all
the decisions. Today, women are involved in all processes. In
workshops, men and women have learned to live their lives on
equal terms. Together they now organize fishing, sales and
housekeeping. This has also strengthened the families permanently."
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