Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods for the Women of Valanthakkad Island
Valanthakkad Island in Kerala lies in Vembanad Lake and houses 45 families of the underprivileged “scheduled castes”. The Island lacks road and bridge connectivity to the mainland, school, or any other amenities. All of the inhabitants must depend on the mainland for their every need. People of the island currenlty depend on ferries and small boats for transportation and for the supply of fresh water.
The beneficiaries are being given training and support to take up fish farming as a sustainable source of livelihood and protein security from their own surroundings. Stakeholders are also receiving training in aquaculture and fish breeding to develop sustainable livelihoods.
The Need for a more Sustainable Future for Valanthakkad Island
Years ago, farming and fishing were the major livelihoods of the islanders; residents cultivated rice for half the year and then used the same farms for prawn cultivation. These farms and fishing from the backwaters around their island were the major income and food security of the community. Recently, however, continuous flood and pollution from the backwaters have perished this way of living and currently the inhabitants depend mostly on jobs away from farming, such as the harvesting of clams for daily sustenance - which is also in decline. With thick patches of mangroves bordering, the island makes for an attracting scenery. The need was great for a project utilizing the backwater and mangrove resources of the island for the generation of regular income for the island’s residents, especially women, as they are the most vulnerable and marginalized group in the community.
Project Outcomes
18 Women from the local area were selected and retrained on the new cage fishing method, most being housewives and already actively involved in fishing and related activities. As per the project plan, the selected stakeholders were given training on cage culture and divided into groups, each group were provided with one unit cage (two cages with a size of 2x2x5 inner frame and 8x3x2 outer outer frame).
Pearl Spot was the species selected for the project, as it has a high demand in the local market and is also considered the “signature” fish of Kerala. It fetches a high price in the market and is suitable for cage culture (250 fish per cage). The water quality and other ecological conditions were also suitable for cage culture. The (fish) “seeds” and training support were given by Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS). Initially, two units were stocked and started feeding, the remaining units were stocked by the end of December 2022 as per the availability of the seeds.
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Valanthakkad Island, Kochi, Kerala, India
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2022-2023
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Create awareness on the importance and value of the natural resources the local women have in the island
Give proper training on fisheries to utilize the same for the generation of better income
Build a more sustainable livelihood for the women of Valanthakkad Island. -
18 local women of Valanthakkad Island were educated and trained on cage fishing, providing a sustainable income and livelihood.
Read the full project report here
