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Pearl-based livelihoods empowering women in Fiji
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This presentation was given by Katja Mikhailovich (KPM EPOCH Consulting), as part of the Annual Scientific Conference hosted by the University of Canberra and co-sponsored by the University of Canberra, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research. The event took place on April 2-4, 2019 in Canberra, Australia. Read more: https://www.canberra.edu.au/research/faculty-research-centres/aisc/seeds-of-change and https://gender.cgiar.org/annual-conference-2019/
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Pearl-based livelihoods empowering women in Fiji
- Pearl-based livelihoods empowering women in Fiji Katja Mikhailovich (KPM EPOCH Consulting) Michael Clarke (AgEconPlus) Photographs provided by Professor Paul Southgate
- Background • Pearl related enterprises- winged pearl oyster farming and spat collection, mabé production and mother of pearl shell carving and jewellery production. • Livelihood opportunities coastal communities, women and youth • BENEFITS AND IMPACTS FOR WOMEN INVOLVED IN ACIAR FUNDED PEARL LIVELIHOOD ENTERPRISES IN FIJI
- Context and Culture Fiji • Traditional roles for women: raising children, maintaining household, making handicrafts, inshore fishing • Male roles: decision makers, fishing, forestry, agriculture • Kinship structures: inform behavior, relationships and gender norms • In fisheries sector: cultural defines roles and participation (women inshore fishing / men offshore fishing) • Culturally oyster harvesting and artisan carving are consistent with pre-existing cultural practices in coastal communities in Fiji.
- Approach and frameworks • Assessment frameworks/ tools: • Rapid appraisal approach • Women’s economic empowerment framework (Golla, Malhotra and Mehra (2011) • A-WEAI (IFRI 2012) • Selected domains and indicators: participation, skills and knowledge, productive assets, income, leadership, time and workload. • Methods: literature and project document review, structured individual interviews and community or group interviews (18 men and 32 women) across five locations. • 4 sites focused on spat and mabe farming and 1 shell handicraft group • Limitations: time, resources, access and logistics projects at different stages of development • Case study and Vignettes Namarai Natuvu Ba RaviRavi Ravita
- Empowerment domain Indicators Success level Capacity development: skills and knowledge Training is available to women and girls in spat and mabé production Women acquire new knowledge and technical skills in spat and/or mabé production Women are able to apply skills and knowledge to practice independently Women gain increased confidence and recognition in their community Access and control of productive assets and income Women have access to/ownership of resources/assets to engage in production Women derive income as a result of production Women have control over how to spend earned income Women buy new resources/assets from pearling activity income Decision-making and leadership Women are involved in decisions about production Women are involved in leadership in production Women are involved in leadership in community Workload and time Women’s work hours and conditions are manageable
- Benefits for women • Participation • Women 60% (spat & mabe), 90% shell handicrafts. Estimited 340 women across 17 villages. • Specialised knowledge and skills – enhanced standing in community related to income producing activity • Access and control of assets - belonged to women’s groups in 2 of 4 villages . Remaining 2 community controlled. Artisan carvers assets and income mix of individual and collective control. • Time involved in enterprise/ Age of participans
- Benefits for women contd. • Income – Dependent on stage of development access to markets and community structures- Individual and collective income • Decision making- some have high autonomy in decision making about production and income others operate in the service of the broader community or cooperative structures • Time and workload - work not burdensome in time or effort but most women needed the support of men with some aspects of production. Can work close to home but lack of boats identified as a barrier. • Carvers wanted more time to work unaided by project team.
- Social Benefits • Relationships- compatible with collective approach to community activities • Self confidence and efficacy- growing confidence, pride and capability, high personal satisfaction • Increased networks – Fisheries officers, Gov depts, Women in fisheries networks, facilitating grant applications • Strengthening cultural practices- fishing and aquaculture, carving
- Conclusions • Pearl related enterprises offer viable livelihood opportunities for women and youth • Full economic benefits will take time • Projects worked within the existing cultural and gender norms- collective activity • Some women were exercising autonomy, agency and power to make productive decisions within their cultural and social context • Women’s standing within communities enhanced by their capacity for economic activity • Risk and challenge: markets for shell handicrafts
- Chapter 5: Impact of women's involvement in mabé and pearl industries https://www.aciar.gov.au/publication/Aquaculture- based-livelihoods-Pacific-region
Editor's Notes
- Pearl related enterprises are high priority and value aquaculture products in the Pacific. Have potential to offer livelihood opportunities to rural coastal communities, women and youth. Discusses an impact assessment of aquaculture-based projects funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) in Fiji. The projects involved working with indigenous coastal communities and small women’s organisations involved in winged pearl oyster (Pteria penguin) farming and spat collection (juvenile oyster), mabé (half pearl) production and mother of pearl shell carving and jewellery production. The assessment was part of a larger impact assessment conducted by my colleague and co-author Michael Clarke in 7 Pacific countries looking at a broad range of economic, environmental and social impacts. I collaborated with Michael as part of the impact assessment study of pearl-based livelihoods in Fiji to focus specifically on benefits for women. A focus on women was the result of ACIAR’s increasing interest to explore how and if funded projects were contributing to women’s economic empowerment and its commitment to gender equitable research in agriculture. The aim of this assessment was to identify benefits and impacts for women involved in specific ACIAR projects in spat collection, mabé production and pearl handicrafts in Fiji. Golla et al. (2011) define women’s economic empowerment as the ability to succeed and advance economically, and the power to make and act on economic decisions. This requires skills and resources to compete in markets, together with fair and equal access to economic institutions.
- Trying to understand how communities are structured, how they function, and the roles and responsibilities of women and men is a really important part of an analysis of context and culture prior to any assessment. We did preliminary wok on this through literature, informal interviews. Focusing particularly on literature produced by women engaged in fisheries and aquaculture in Fiji. We drew on reports Asia development Bank and Pacific women shaping Pacific development for overall picture of gender and development in Fiji Global gender gap report Fiji 122 of 136 on gender disparity index 46% women participate in informal and formal economy Good progress in gender issues- educational attainment and legal protections Multi-racial and cultural society 57% indigenous heritage Predominantly patrilineal (some say patriarchal) Data from the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs show that, across Fiji, women hold 7% of village chief positions and 8% of positions as head of landowning units (Asia Development Bank 2015). ( Vunisea, 2014)
- For our assessment we adopted a rapid appraisal approach, integrating elements of Women’s economic empowerment framework (Golla, Malhotra and Mehra (2011) Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEIA) (IFRI 2012) to develop a framework for our assessment. We focused on 6 domains around which we developed indicators Methods: literature and project document review, structured individual interviews and community or group interviews (18 men and 32 women) across five locations. 4 sites focused on spat and mabe farming and 1 shell handicraft group Limitations: time, resources, access and logistics, projects at different stages of development Case study and Vignettes Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) methodology owes much of its early development to Farming Systems Research and Extension as promoted by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR). http://www.fao.org/3/w3241e/w3241e09.htm
- Table shows domains and indicators of women’s empowerment across four domains. A simple ‘tick’ scale shows progress towards successful achievement of the indicators within each domain. Three ticks indicate a strong achievement against the indicator, three ticks strong achievements, two ticks indicate a moderate achievement and a single tick indicate some achievement.
- Participation enables livelihood opportunities - women are central in community-based spat and mabe production enterprises and artisan shell crafts. 60% women (spat & mabe); dependent upon capacity to buy and sell product 2-3 artisan carving groups 90% women. In total 340 women across 17 villages but Inclusive of all community members. Specialised knowledge and skills –in all aspects of production. Need for ongoing support to move to independent operation. Requires min 5-6 years training. Need for ongoing support Access and control of assets - In 2 of 4 communities capital assets and income belonged to women’s group. In the other two they were community controlled (youth). Artisan carvers assets and income controlled by project and cooperative.
- Income – small- only 5 communities at production stage. Artisan carvers have limited markets. Income contributes to community infrastructure- flow on effects to family and community Income from spat and mabe production and oyster shell carving. In Fiji, spat collection generates about A$120 per participant per year (F$4,000 or A$2,400 divided by 20 people). This represents about 10% of household income. A village selling 1000 shells can earn up to A$2200.00 after production costs are taken into account. Shell artisans purchase shell from mabe farmers to produce half pearl items valued at up to $100 a piece and mother of pearl items at A$20. Income distribution varies in response to community agendas- distributed by women’s group or contributing to a community pool Decision making- some have high autonomy in decision making about production and income others operate in the service of the broader community and village governance structures Time and workload spat and mabe producers said work not burdensome in time or effort although most women needed the support of men with some aspects of production. Can work close to home but lack of boats identified as a barrier. Carvers wanted more time to work unaided by project team.
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