TACLOBAN CITY — Gone are the days where women are only expected to run the household and take care of children while their husbands work for the family.
Maridel Gabuya, 46, from Motiong, Samar, now helps her husband earn by producing and selling crab crackers from his husband's catch.
She is one of the 24 members of the Motiong Women's Association (MWA) from Brgy. 1, one of the 4 coastal villages in the municipality.
Their group thought of upselling and value adding to blue swimming crabs or 'masag' through crab processing, which is the main fishery commodity being caught in the locality.
"We wanted to have our own source of income to help support our families," she shared.
Although they were greatly affected by the community restrictions due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, Gabuya said sales have started picking up and they have already returned to supplying pasalubong centers.
MWA is only one of the five fisherfolk-entrepreneur associations launched in the Aqua-Based Business School with Gender and Climate Change Perspective here Thursday (November 26).
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-8) through its Fisheries, Coastal Resources and Livelihood (FishCORAL) Project aims to uplift and support fishery enterprise groups mostly run by women through linkages and product development.
Other groups include Magkasungiao Island Fisherfolk Association that produces dried fish; Casulungan Farmers and Fisherfolk Association with fresh tilapia; Cabungaan Fisherfolk and Multipurpose with fish crackers; and Barangay Ngolos Fisherfolk Association with seaweed crackers.