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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Coastal region and small island papers 6
Developing
alternative livelihoods
In
order to reduce unsustainable fishing practices (see Section
2.3.3), alternative incomes in new areas had to be found for fishers and
others in the island communities. These communities are among the poorest in the
region, and need to develop livelihoods that help alleviate poverty whilst also
providing for environmental protection and management.
A
workshop was held in May 1997 involving fishers, NGOs
and LIPI, in order to
establish a framework for sustainable development in the Seribu Islands. Pari
Island had been identified previously as a suitable 'pilot' island for such an
exercise. A major result of the workshop was the identification of four priority
areas where change is needed:
controlling
access to fishing grounds to protect and strengthen traditional management
systems;
improving
alternative employment opportunities;
introducing
sustainable pisciculture (fish - farming) and seaweed farming; and
strict
control and development of the aquarium fish trade through breeding
programmes and the introduction of non-destructive capturing methods.
This
project has focused on one of these priorities: developing alternative
employment opportunities in the Seribu Islands. To complement these activities,
emphasis has also been placed on social empowerment in Kamal Muara through
strengthening self-help groups. This chapter describes these two related
activities.
5
.1. DUCK
FARMING AND SEAWEED FARMING IN PARI ISLAND
Duck
farming has been developed as an alternative income-generating occupation at
Pari Island, and may act as a model for other small islands.
In
March 1997 a feasibility study was conducted and project implementation started
in 1998. At the start of the project, meetings were held with local authorities
and families to assess the population of the island and explore issues relevant
to the project, e.g. land ownership, freshwater availability, marketing of eggs
and duck meat, the number of families to be involved in the project, and the
existence of any constraints to the introduction of ducks. A training course on
duck farming was held on the island in June 1998 and a manual ‘ Training
course on duck farming techniques’ (Sinurat
and Bernieri, 1998) was distributed. In this way families were
introduced to basic duck farming methods: duck housing, rearing ducklings,
feeding, hatching, disease prevention, and egg and meat production.
| Duck farming: project implementation |
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Materials
for building duck houses are limited and expensive in Pari Island. Bamboo,
wooden blocks, and roofs were imported to make duck houses.
In
July 1998, 290 five month old ducks, that had been quarantined for a week, were
distributed among 55 families. Each family was expected to breed enough ducks so
that they could hand on the number of ducks they originally received for
distribution to another island. A similar project in Java had been made
self-generating by requiring that for every duck given to a family, they must
return one within a year. Egg production is approximately 280 eggs per duck per
year, so even after breeding replacement ducks, each family would be expected to
have more than 1,000 eggs per year to dispose of as they wished.
A
technician from Balai Penelitian Temak Bogor stayed on Pari Island to monitor
the duck farming and give advice where necessary. Once a month, other experts
visited to collect data and make recommendations.
Some
ducks started to lay eggs within a few days of their arrival on Pa ri Island.
Egg production increased from July to December 1998, but fell in the first two
months of 1999 due to a lack of food. Duck mortality was 5.5% in the first month
of the project, and three ducks were lost. Mortality was also high in ducklings,
85% died. It was thought that insufficient care was taken of them and that the
high quality feed they require in the first few weeks was lacking. Economically,
it is more practical to bring in ducks rather than raise them. The carrying
capacity on Pari Island is limited to about 400 ducks.
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Seaweed
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At
the end of the project 35 participants (64%) provided ducks to be redistributed
to their neighbours. The others promised ducks as soon as they had them.
Everyone who took part in the project benefited in that they had an additional
protein source and a cash crop: eggs. The project showed that while duck farming
and egg production are feasible on the island, raising ducklings has little
potential due to limited food resources. Production costs could be minimised and
income maximised if duck farmers formed a co-operative to purchase ducklings and
food and sell eggs.
|
Drying seaweed after desalinisation |
Nearly
all Pari Islanders are involved in seaweed farming. Women do the land-based
work, such as attaching seaweed to ropes before 'planting' and later detaching
the mature seaweed. Evaluation of the seaweed cultivation activities brought to
light two main problems: post-harvest processing and marketing. Seaweed may or
may not be desalted before drying. Desalting requires freshwater to soak the
seaweed, usually for two days. As fresh water is in short supply on the island,
the water is reused sometimes for as long as two weeks. Technical assistance is
needed to improve post-harvest seaweed processing. The creation of a seaweed
farmers co-operative would allow farmers to negotiate better prices for their
products.
5.2.
DEVELOPMENT
OF COMMUNITY SELF-HELP
GROUPS
In
December 1998, Bina Swadaya, a local NGO, began a social empowerment project in
Kamal Muara with UNESCO support. The main objective is to improve the quality of
life for the people of Kamal Muara. The project has had two phases: initiation
of community self-help groups (SHG); and strengthening of SHGs and development
of small enterprises. Through these activities the concept of equal partnerships
between men and women is promoted.
A
participatory approach has been adopted involving the community directly in
assessing local needs, identifying the most appropriate solutions and starting
implementation.
5.2.1.
Initiation of community self-help groups
At
a preliminary meeting, attended by 16 people from Rukun Warga I (a unit of local
administration) of Kamal Muara, in December 1998, the objectives and procedures
of the social empowerment project and the benefits to be derived from self-help
groups were discussed. There were already some self-help groups in the
neighbourhood, e.g. green mussel farming group (Mapada Elo), salt fish craftsmen group, and others. Most groups were formed
by financial subsidy or government development programmes and are not very
active.
At
a community meeting in January 1999, it was decided that existing self-help
groups could not participate in the project. Groups based on the smallest unit
of local administration, the Rukun
Tetangga (RT),
were formed in Nurhasanah (RT.004), Kamal Bahari (RT.009), Bina Usaha (RT.010)
and Mandiri (RT.011). Membership is restricted to people living in these
neighbourhoods. Members chose a management board (leader, secretary, treasurer)
and a chairman from within their ranks and collected money to act as a reserve
for group projects and loans to individuals.
In
December 1998 a specialist in community development was available in Kamal Muara
to give advice to the SHGs and other local community groups on group
administration and the development of constructive activities.
Two
courses on SHG management were held in Kamal Muara city hall (January and March
1999); there were 89 participants. Bina Swadaya co-ordinated the meetings and
other NGOs were invited to participate. A course on household economics was held
in March 1999. Its purpose was to clarify and emphasise the contribution that
women make to running a household and the type of problems they face in
budgeting time, money and energy.
A
straw poll showed that the educational backgrounds of the SHG
members is quite
varied: 39% only attended elementary school, while 22% attended junior high, and
39% senior high school. In the first six months membership of the SHGs increased
by 20% in Kamal Bahari and 31% in Mandiri. The other groups maintained their
original size.
In
April 1999, a grant of 1,500,000 rupiahs (US$200) was given to each SHG.
Each month members are required to contribute 3,000 to 10,000 rupiahs. Members
can borrow money from their SHG to help set up small businesses or in times
of urgent family need. The Mandiri group requires 2% interest and 2% administration
costs on loans. The other SHGs ask borrowers to pay interest on a voluntary
basis. Table 5 shows the types of capital held by the SHGs.
| Table
5. Capital held by Kamal Muara’ s self-help groups, May 1999 |
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Every
three months the SHGs are evaluated in terms of organization and administrative
capabilities and project implementation. The groups are appreciated by their
members and other local people not only for their savings and loan functions but
for their involvement in community action such as environmental clean-ups and
literacy campaigns. The success of the groups has stimulated the formation of
others.
5.2.2.
Strengthening community self-help groups
Up
until May 1999 the SHGs were not self-reliant, they still depended on external
technical assistance. Their most valued activity was as a system for savings and
loans. There was a need to focus on strengthening group organization and
broadening their activities to include the development and assistance of small
business enterprises.
| Women’s involvement in economic activities – fish drying in Kamal |
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MuaraFuture
activities will concentrate on four main areas: planning, administration,
network development and small business enterprises. SHG
administrators need help
to plan board and member meetings, business development and capitalisation.
Group members need education on the democratic process. The NGO Bina Swadaya
continues to guide the group boards in simple administration such as record
keeping and financial organization.
On
Independence Day in 1999 the SHGs organised a gala to introduce their work to
the Kamal Muara community. Members of all four SHGs have made contact with the
Community Self Reliance Partnership Agency from east Jakarta to discuss the
development of a co-operative marketing system for salted fish, Kamal Muara's
principal product. When members of the 'Delegation 8' from Bangladesh, Egypt,
Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia visited Kamal Muara in
August 1999, members of the SHGs were pleased to discuss their progress and
share experiences in developing SHGs.
Many
members of the SHGs have small, individual businesses producing or selling food,
utensils, cigarettes and fish, and some members have obtained loans making
expansion possible. However, as units, the SHGs have made little progress in
business development. Some of the women in the Mandiri group produce crispy
beans (rempeyek)
and the Bina Usaha group is trying to produce Aceh's crispy and steamed sponge
cake. Some effort has been made to find new marketing opportunities for SHG
products.
A
Social Safety Net (Jaring
Pengaman Sosial)
is being implemented in Kelurahan Kamal Muara, which will provide assistance to
people in need who have no other resources to fall back on. The SHGs are
participating in helping to organise the Communication Forum for this activity,
this will help members better understand and improve their economic situation.
Members
of the SHGs also participated in August 1999 in a workshop to map poverty in
