What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems?

In Solomon Islands, women's groups play an important role in promoting socially inclusive development and women's empowerment. In this paper, we summarise the experiences of a 5-year participatory action research partnership to enhance rural livelihood activities based on aquatic foods. The women's...

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Autores principales: Batalofo, Margaret, Pollard, Alice, Ride, Anouk, Hauona, Edlyn, Van Der Ploeg, Jan, Isihanua, Mathew, Roscher, Matthew, Sukulu, Meshach, Eriksson, Hampus
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131584
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author Batalofo, Margaret
Pollard, Alice
Ride, Anouk
Hauona, Edlyn
Van Der Ploeg, Jan
Isihanua, Mathew
Roscher, Matthew
Sukulu, Meshach
Eriksson, Hampus
author_browse Batalofo, Margaret
Eriksson, Hampus
Hauona, Edlyn
Isihanua, Mathew
Pollard, Alice
Ride, Anouk
Roscher, Matthew
Sukulu, Meshach
Van Der Ploeg, Jan
author_facet Batalofo, Margaret
Pollard, Alice
Ride, Anouk
Hauona, Edlyn
Van Der Ploeg, Jan
Isihanua, Mathew
Roscher, Matthew
Sukulu, Meshach
Eriksson, Hampus
author_sort Batalofo, Margaret
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In Solomon Islands, women's groups play an important role in promoting socially inclusive development and women's empowerment. In this paper, we summarise the experiences of a 5-year participatory action research partnership to enhance rural livelihood activities based on aquatic foods. The women's savings groups that participated in this research identified solar-powered freezers as an innovation suitable to their skills and environment. The 12 freezers we used in our partnership to pilot this innovation had tangible benefits. More than 700 unique users accessed the freezers, 3900 kg of fish was stored and over USD6,000 was saved in total; however, accumulation of savings varied greatly between groups. The women's groups demonstrated that operating solar-powered freezers can be financially viable, and the innovation integrated well with their livelihood activities. This conclusion provides an alternative to dominant development narratives, which tend to focus on building large-scale infrastructure, and often exclude women. Existing marketing skills and cooperation were strengths on which the women built. Poor-quality technology was the biggest impediment to success. Solving this basic problem should be a priority for any future cold-storage initiative.
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spelling CGSpace1315842025-12-08T10:11:39Z What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems? Batalofo, Margaret Pollard, Alice Ride, Anouk Hauona, Edlyn Van Der Ploeg, Jan Isihanua, Mathew Roscher, Matthew Sukulu, Meshach Eriksson, Hampus rural development participatory action research fish research partnerships solar-powered freezers women’s collectives In Solomon Islands, women's groups play an important role in promoting socially inclusive development and women's empowerment. In this paper, we summarise the experiences of a 5-year participatory action research partnership to enhance rural livelihood activities based on aquatic foods. The women's savings groups that participated in this research identified solar-powered freezers as an innovation suitable to their skills and environment. The 12 freezers we used in our partnership to pilot this innovation had tangible benefits. More than 700 unique users accessed the freezers, 3900 kg of fish was stored and over USD6,000 was saved in total; however, accumulation of savings varied greatly between groups. The women's groups demonstrated that operating solar-powered freezers can be financially viable, and the innovation integrated well with their livelihood activities. This conclusion provides an alternative to dominant development narratives, which tend to focus on building large-scale infrastructure, and often exclude women. Existing marketing skills and cooperation were strengths on which the women built. Poor-quality technology was the biggest impediment to success. Solving this basic problem should be a priority for any future cold-storage initiative. 2024-04 2023-08-17T21:13:15Z 2023-08-17T21:13:15Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131584 en Open Access application/pdf Wiley Margaret Batalofo, Alice Pollard, Anouk Ride, Edlyn Hauona, Jan Van Der Ploeg, Mathew Isihanua, Matthew Roscher, Meshach Sukulu, Hampus Eriksson. (30/7/2023). What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems. Asia Pacific Viewpoint.
spellingShingle rural development
participatory action research
fish
research partnerships
solar-powered freezers
women’s collectives
Batalofo, Margaret
Pollard, Alice
Ride, Anouk
Hauona, Edlyn
Van Der Ploeg, Jan
Isihanua, Mathew
Roscher, Matthew
Sukulu, Meshach
Eriksson, Hampus
What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems?
title What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems?
title_full What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems?
title_fullStr What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems?
title_full_unstemmed What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems?
title_short What can the experiences of rural women in Solomon Islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems?
title_sort what can the experiences of rural women in solomon islands teach us about innovation in aquatic food systems
topic rural development
participatory action research
fish
research partnerships
solar-powered freezers
women’s collectives
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131584
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