SUCCESS Stories

NicaraguaNicaragua bread making

Women in a cooperative in the Padre Ramos area of Nicaragua traditionally made their living collecting shrimp post-larvae to sell to shrimp farmers. However, a new management plan for the estuary, which is part of a Protected Area, established the area as a no-take zone for resources such as post-larvae.  

The choice facing these women?  Continue illegally fishing post-larvae—and face arrest—or obey the law and lose their income. They chose neither.  Instead, they identified an alternative—making and selling bread. Because of the remote location of Padre Ramos, bread was typically brought in from a distance, making it expensive. So, making and selling bread locally not only provided the opportunity to make a healthy, lower cost food for their families but also provided the chance to sell the product at competitive prices and earn income.

The SUCCESS Program worked with these women on a feasibility study, then supported skills training in bread-making, assisted in forming a small business and improving the adobe oven used for baking. A classic case of turning a problem into an opportunity.

EcuadorEcuador beekeeping

The Program and local partners are tackling accelerating threats to the rich biodiversity of the Cojimies estuary from human-induced conditions: 1) the collapse of lagoon shellfisheries due to overfishing; 2) the exploitation of coastal timber resources from excessive cutting, and the resultant sedimentation that changes the estuary’s hydrology, pulsing, and water quality; and 3) conversion of mangroves to shrimp ponds.

Poverty and a lack of governance are at the root of this situation. This, exacerbated by an absence of a governance system—a lack of laws and/or enforcement, government support or revenues, and long term planning—puts the estuary and its biodiversity at even great risk. SUCCESS is working to change this by introducing eco-friendly livelihoods such as a revived culture of the native fish Chame (Dormitator sp.), home gardening, and beekeeping/honey production.  Equally important, the Program is working with local communities to create a longer-term vision for the future of their place—one that includes conserving the estuary’s remaining resources and biodiversity, restoring what is possible to restore, and helping ensure the Cojimies provides food, income and biodiversity for today and tomorrow.

TanzaniaTanzania grafting

Today, pearl production is a thriving business for coastal communities in many parts of the world. This was once the case for the coast of East Africa as well, as it was legendary for its pearl fisheries.  Today, however, pearling is no longer a major industry here. Yet, the SUCCESS Program recognized the livelihood opportunity that lies in farming of the mabe, or half-pearl, for Tanzania’s poor coastal communities—especially its women.  Unlike round pearl farming, mabe farming is particularly well suited to those who wish to farm pearls, but lack the funds or skills necessary to produce round pearls. 

SUCCESS has trained communities, with a focus on women, in mabe farming and in making jewelry from the final product.  Although still in its early stages, this effort is already showing great potential as an alternative income-generating activity. An additional output from this initiative is a simple, clear, step-by-step guide to “Producing Half-Pearls (Mabe). This guide can be accessed from the publications section of this website.