Photo Stories

Seaweed farmers trading initiative led by women kicks off in Guiuan

June 9, 2016

The seaweeds enterprise project in Sitio converse, Barangay Ngolos is Oxfams very first communitylevel partnership with a people’s organization in the municipality of Guiuan.

Words and Pictures: Maria Carolina Bello/Oxfam

Seeweeds farmer dry his product

Before Haiyan, Sitio Converse has been known for its vast seaweed plantation and capacity to produce tons of dried products.

Converse Seaweed Farmers and Traders Association Secretary Daisybel Tablan shows off her seaweeds

“My husband and I used to earn 6,000 pesos for every batch of dried harvest sold, but after Yolanda (Haiyan) our harvest and income went down to less than 2,000 pesos. Through OXFAM’s assistance, we will be able to help our community increase harvest, market our products and start a fund to expand our enterprise and use some of it to help us recover whenever disaster strikes.” said Daisybel Tablan, Converse Seaweed Farmers and Traders Association Secretary.

Seaweed Farmers in Sitio Converse dry their harvests in the open under the sun.

In partnership with OXFAM the farmers have the opportunity to strengthen business planning, install sustainability and disaster preparedness and resiliency mechanism, promote shared household roles between women and men, promote local legislation and implementation of coastal laws especially to protect the seaweed farms, and strengthen community and local government collaboration in pulling together funding, technical and structural resources for holistic community development.