Fatou and Marie (L to R) check and clean their oysters in The Gambia, January 2024. Image: Bacary Mane for UP/SHA
In the south-west of The Gambia, the surrounding mangroves provide a vital source of seasonal income for oyster farmers like Fatou and Marie. But these mangroves are increasingly under threat. Human activity and the impact of climate change have all contributed to the loss of vast areas of mangrove forests here in recent years.
Our Irish Aid-funded ‘Integrated Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience-Building’ (ICCR) project is working to change that, while also enabling the region’s women oyster farmers to improve their livelihoods.
Fatou and Marie are among thousands of women oyster farmers living across 18 communities in The Gambia who have been scaling-up their oyster production – while also protecting the environment – through their use of innovative ‘rack culture’ methods.
Implemented in collaboration with a local partner, the Kartong Association for Responsible Tourism, the ICCR project promotes the use of rack cultures as an alternative to harvesting oysters from the mangrove roots.
The racks are constructed using wooden poles driven into the bottom of the river bed, two to four metres apart and connected by horizontal poles that support suspended strings. The oysters cling to the string rather than the mangroves’ roots.
This method allows Fatou, Marie and their fellow oyster farmers to avoid damaging the mangroves during harvesting. This is great news for the planet. Mangroves are nature’s greatest coastal defences and carbon sequesters, but are increasingly vulnerable to deforestation, pollution and the effects of climate change. As well as protecting the surrounding mangroves ecosystem, the rack culture method also results in larger, healthier oysters – boosting the incomes of thousands of women oyster farmers.
“Before, life was difficult.” Fatou said. “But [as we are now nurturing bigger oysters], I feel better able to support myself and my family. There are still some challenges, but I can go to the market and buy what we need. I have even been able to buy us a house and move into it.”
“This rack culturing method has changed our lives,” Marie added. “It makes us harvest a lot. It is because of this, I can afford [my children’s] school fees, their food and their clothes. I work hard because I want my children to be educated.”
The ICCR project also incorporates training in sanitary oyster handling, as well as the installation of good quality toilets and hand washing facilities. The aim is to boost hygiene levels in the communities and make it easier for the women to expand their oyster sales into local restaurants, hotels and supermarkets.
“Before, [when we collected oysters] from the river, we would boil them using the wrong pans and materials,” said Marie, who uses her oyster income to support the education of her two children.
“They would corrode and affect the oysters, which was a health risk. Now we have stopped that process and are using better equipment.”
Marie on the banks of the mangroves in The Gambia, January 2024. Image: Bacary Mane for UP/SHA
With harvests increasing and further training on oyster processing and business skills planned, we hope the women can expand their customer base, both within The Gambia and beyond. We’re also working with Fatou, Marie and the communities on climate-smart vegetable production, so that women oyster farmers can earn a living outside of oyster harvesting season.
The Irish Aid ICCR project, which began in 2023, aims to directly reach more than 12,000 women and young people – enhancing food security and increasing their incomes through sustainable oyster harvesting and processing, waste management, and vegetable production.