Training helps octopus fisher build a better life
Lima Casimir is a 52 year old and a "piqueuse ourite" - an octopus fisher - who lives on the island of Rodrigues 640 kilometres off the island of Mauritius. Lima's day starts at 5.30 am when she takes her son's boat to go to her breath-taking 'office' - a vast lagoon that opens onto the Indian Ocean. Her office furniture includes a boat and the magnificent coral reefs. To catch the octopus, she uses an iron rod which she wears around her shoulder. The IFAD-funded Rural Diversification Programme trained Lima in how to catch octopus without damaging the coral reefs.
She walks the lagoon, when she feels or sees an octopus and uses the rod to catch her prey. She pulls out her prey and puts it on the rope attached to the rod, then continues her hunt. She does so without damaging the reef. "The training taught me not to catch the small octopus, because they are young and need to grow", says Lima. "So I look around to catch the big ones." "Depending on the day and the tide, I fish for 4 to 5 hours," she says. "On a good day I catch 5 kilos of octopus." Lima used to live below the poverty line. The programme, which has a strong community-driven development component, has boosted the livelihoods of the poor rural people of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Community-driven development means that communities take on more responsibility for managing their own development, including the design and implementation of projects. To be successful, community driven development requires that the communities themselves have the capacity to take on responsibility. It also requires a culture of public administration that views communities as development partners in their own right, rather than as simply recipients of benefits through public expenditure. The programme also assisted project participants to diversify their activities. Today they are engaged not only in fisheries, but also in agriculture, micro-enterprise and self-help community initiatives.
Lima has learnt to process her catch in a variety of ways. Today she sells grilled and dried octopus. She also makes octopus pickles and preserves. "If my catch is not enough, I need to buy what is missing to make my pickles and preserves," she says. She used to sell her pickles and preserves for 35 rupees (approximately US$1), which would sell for 50 rupees (US$1.6) in the local market. Thanks to the community-driven development component of the project and the construction of a paved road, Lima was able to visit the local market and find out the market price. She now takes her products to the market where she has a stall and sells directly to the consumer. She also takes her products to the exhibit centre where she manages to sell 100 grams for 75 rupees. Lima and her other fisher colleagues face some tough times because the lagoon's fish stock is depleting. "If only the fishers could stop fishing for two years, the stock could be replenished," says Don Nicholson, a fisheries expert from the Government of Western Australia, a potential co-financier for IFAD's new Marine Agriculture Support Programme (MARS) in Mauritius. "I started fishing when I was 17," says Lima. "My father was a fisherman. Fishing is my life, but I know I cannot rely only on fishing, that is why I am now doing other activities." The programme also trained Lima in better ways to breed livestock, and she now raises poultry as an alternative way to earn an income. Today she is rearing 30 chickens, which she will sell to shops and neighbours. Rodrigues white chickens are a delicacy used to make curry, and are in high demand in Mauritius. Lima sells her chickens for 40 rupees each. "What I would like to do is to get these chickens and my octopus products to Mauritius so that I can sell them for more," she says. Lima's life has improved thanks to the IFAD-funded programme, but she still faces two challenges: she needs better access to markets and financing. But, Lima has a clear vision for her future and that of her siblings and peers. "My dream is to create a rural cooperative and get the products to the bigger market," she says. "I want to help other women to earn money and have a better life." The Rural Diversification Programme started in April 2000. IFAD's loan is US$11 million and total programme cost is US$16.5 million. The programme is reaching out to 15,180 poor small farmers, artisanal fishers and micro-entrepeneurs living in the deprived and neglected northern and eastern regions of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Source: IFAD |
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