Other social benefits SOCIAL PERFORMANCE OF CARRAGEENAN SEAWEED FARMING
In India, women were the first and primary adopters of seaweed farming, which offered them an income within a safe environment Ramachandran, 2012; Krishnan
and Narayanakumar, 2013. Most SHGs are composed exclusively of women, and they have been a major source of financing and training.
Another country where women have taken the initiative is the United Republic of Tanzania. Women are leaders both in seaweed cultivation and in adding value Msuya,
2013. A women’s group in northern Zanzibar the United Republic of Tanzania has started producing seaweed flour, doubling its net profits and adding new products
Msuya, 2011.
Even where women are not the majority in seaweed farming, they play an important role. One survey of seaweed farmers in Sulawesi Indonesia found that although all
the farmers were men, the help of wives and daughters in tying the seed was crucial Zamroni and Yamao, 2011.
In Solomon Islands, most of the work is done by men, but the role of women is critical. Women are particularly active in planting and harvesting; they also usually
receive the cash. The men interviewed ranked women’s involvement in the activity among the most important benefits of seaweed farming. However, women seaweed
farmers often need to be away from family and hence had problems taking care of their children Kronen, 2013. The Solomon Islands case study also showed that children
were heavily involved in the seaweed family business. Children’s participation in seaweed farming often resulted in their leaving school at an early stage, forgoing access
to secondary and perhaps tertiary education Kronen, 2013.
In the Philippines, women as well as children played significant roles in seaweed farming, especially in seeding and post-harvest treatments. Women accounted for
about 44 percent of the regular seaweed farming labour force and were the main source of casual labour. The involvement of women and children helped reduce the cost of
production. Although women were usually confined to lower-paid jobs because of gender stereotyping, the survey in Flores and Zamboanga found no evidence of women
and children being exploited or abused Hurtado, 2013.
Generally speaking, the participation of women in seaweed farming did not result in conflicts in marital relationships. In the Philippines as well as Indonesia,
female seaweed farmers had equal power with their husbands in decision-making on household matters. Their role in farming business decision-making was generally
consultative but with a spirit of cooperation Hurtado, 2013; Neish, 2013.
In the study from the United Republic of Tanzania Msuya, 2013, no serious money–power conflicts between female seaweed farmers and their husbands were
observed. Albeit detaching themselves from seaweed farming as a low-paid activity unworthy of the effort required, husbands generally did not discourage their wives
from engaging in seaweed farming, except occasionally complaining about the smell of dried seaweed. More supportive husbands helped with laborious tasks such as seed
tying, harvesting and transportation.
As discussed above, occupational health hazards have significantly impaired the health conditions of women seaweed farmers in Zanzibar. Even though seaweed
farming is not a well-paid livelihood source, many female seaweed farmers in Zanzibar kept working even when pregnant or ill in order to maintain the so-called “livelihood
of the last resort” Fröcklin et al., 2012.