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In the decades since Mauritius gained independence in 1968, it has joined the ranks of the middle-income countries. Severe poverty is rare in comparison to other parts of Africa, but there are pockets of poverty in the northern and eastern parts of the island of Mauritius and on Rodrigues Island, which is substantially poorer. An IFAD-funded programme, started in April 2000, is helping more than 15,000 poor smallholder farmers, artisanal fishers and microentrepreneurs diversify their incomes and improve their way of life.

Lima Casimir, piqueuse ourite Credits: IFAD, R. Samii

Lima Casimir is a 52-year-old piqueuse ourite – an octopus fisher – who lives on the island of Rodrigues, 640 kilometres off the island of Mauritius. Her day starts at 5.30 a.m. when she takes her son’s boat to go to her ‘office’ – a vast lagoon that opens onto the Indian Ocean. Her office furniture includes the boat and an expanse of magnificent coral reefs.

Indian Ocean lagoon Credits: IFAD, R. Samii

Casimir walks the lagoon with an iron rod slung over her shoulder, and when she feels or sees an octopus, she uses the rod to catch her prey. She pulls the octopus out of the water and fixes it to the rope attached to the rod, then continues her hunt. She works skilfully, without damaging the reef.

Casimir used to live below the poverty line. But her life has improved significantly thanks to the IFAD-funded Rural Diversification Programme. She received training in how to catch octopus without damaging the coral reef and learned how to add value to her catch, which in turn helped boost her income.  

Octops drying Credits: IFAD, R. Samii

“The training taught me not to capture small octopus, because they are young and need to grow,” she says. “So I look around and catch the big ones. Depending on the day and the tide, I work for four to five hours. On a good day I catch 5 kilograms of octopus.”

The programme, which has a strong community-driven development component, has boosted the livelihoods of the poor rural people of Mauritius and Rodrigues.

Strengthening communities

Through community-driven development, 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 simply as recipients of the benefits of public expenditure.

The programme also assisted project participants in diversifying their activities. Now they are engaged not only in fisheries, but also in agriculture, microenterprises and self-help community initiatives.

Casimir, for example, has learned to process her catch in a variety of ways. She sells grilled and dried octopus and 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 (about US$1), and they would then be sold by others for 50 rupees in the local market. Thanks to the community-driven development component of the programme and the construction of a paved road, Casimir was able to visit the local market and find out what the market price was. She now sells her products directly to the consumer at the market, where she has a stall. She also takes her products to the exhibit centre, where she manages to sell them for 75 rupees per 100 grams.

A pressing need for income diversification
But Casimir and her fisher colleagues face some tough times because of depletion of the lagoon’s fish stock. 

“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 and Agricultural Resources Support Programme (MARS) in Mauritius.

“I started fishing when I was 17,” says Casimir. “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 trained her in better ways of breeding livestock, and she also raises poultry as an alternative way to earn an income. She now has 30 chickens, which she sells to shops and neighbours. Rodrigues white chickens are a delicacy. They are used to make curry and are in high demand in Mauritius. Casimir 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.

Casimir’s life has improved thanks to the IFAD-funded programme, but she still faces two challenges: she needs financing and better access to markets.

She has a clear vision of 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. I want to help other women earn money and have a better life.”

Source: IFAD