The scoping workshop was conducted with 30 participants from the Chale BMU, consisting of fishermen and fish vendors from three local villages. It aimed to comprehensively assess various aspects of the small-scale fisheries within these communities.
Scoping Exercises
The workshop was structured into four main scoping exercises, each designed with specific objectives in mind:
1. Mapping Socio-Economic Systems: Participants collectively described their social, economic, and institutional spaces, shedding light on the assets and values attached to these spaces by different community members.
2. Identifying Threats, Stressors, and Opportunities: Participants categorized challenges into three main groups: environmental (including climatic), socio-economic, and management/governance-related.
3. Value Chain Mapping: The various nodes of the fisheries value chain were identified, providing insights into the different stages of the value chain and facilitating a clearer picture of how the fisheries system operates.
4. Gender Responsive Value Chain Analysis (GRVC): This exercise delved into the roles played by men and women in different nodes of the fisheries value chain. It aimed to recognize the critical but often marginalized role of women in fisheries, shedding light on their contributions and addressing issues related to gender dynamics within the fishery.
Rapid Participatory Assessment
Throughout these exercises, participants engaged in group discussions and provided individual responses to questions posed by facilitators. The insights and outputs generated, including maps, photographs, and charts, were used to summarize and report on the current state of the fishery. This rapid participatory assessment approach provided valuable information on market conditions, user expectations, value chains, gender dynamics, economics, technological readiness, and community well-being within the small-scale fisheries context. This provided partners with a valuable understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by the community.