This FADI Alternative Livelihoods Programme : Brick Construction Skills is in response to already poor fisher folk
becoming even poorer due to worsening income uncertainty from fishing. In South
Africa coastal fishing groups are now threatened with reduced fishing catches
caused by:
- Industrial overfishing
- Poaching
- Quota reductions and now
- Climate change.
Fewer fish to catch does mean less income and this causes already poor fishing
groups, especially the previously disadvantaged from coastal communities to
become even poorer.
This FADI Construction Skills Programme focusses on reskilling fishing communities in
skills that will allow them to earn additional income to fishing. The programme
focusses on small-scale fishers, women in fishing, and youth from fishing
families, fish processing workers (seasonal employees) and others affected by
changes in the fishing environment.
In our recent pilot, FADI trained 93 beneficiaries from
3 poor coastal fishing communities of Kenton-on-Sea (rural coastal Eastern
Cape), Saldanha Bay (West Coast) and Ocean View (Cape Metro) in construction
skills such as brick-paving, scaffolding and basic brick-laying. The work of
brick-paving was especially emphasised. For training FADI partnered with the
Ottery Skills Training Centre (OSTC), a well-known construction skills training
provider known for their commitment & quality outputs.
The pilot went exceptionally well and post the project, FADI has funded the establishment of 3 brick-paving enterprises in
each community. FADI has also assigned a business coach to each of these
enterprises to guide them over the next 12 months. In addition each entity also receives a
non-repayable grant of R50 000 from FADI for purposes of buying machinery,
raw materials and related operational expenses. The grant is provided on a
draw-down basis.
Important to note: The FADIAlternative Livelihoods Project does not seek to replace income
form fishing. The programme seeks to supplement income form fishing. FADI is
fully supportive of fishing communities right to fish – fair, equitable and
responsible access to the ocean’s bounty is a fight we fully endorse!
Alternative Livelihoods is designed to keep food on the table whilst the
greater fight for access and a fair share of the ocean’s bounty goes on!!
