Quality Products. Training Empowers Fisher Women Groups

The Department of Food Science and Technology, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and ABALOBI, are collaborating to train South African women in seven west coast small-scale fishing communities in quality assurance and good manufacturing processes.

The groups of women of Lamberts Bay, St Helena Bay, Steenbergs Cove, Langebaan, Buffeljagsbaai, Struisbaai and Arniston, are harnessing their talents and producing a range of homemade goods for sale. These products include pickled alekreukel, sour fig jam, curried fish, curried and pickled black mussels, and dried seaweed which they sell at local markets.

They are also available to restaurant chefs via the ABALOBI marketplace application (exclusive to restaurant chefs). UPDATE: KZN Small-scale Fisheries Sector Launched

ABALOBI, a non-profit and public benefit organisation, uses technology (i.e. a digital suite of phone Applications) to assist traditional fishers to connect with like-minded restaurants. The fishers get a better/fair price and market access, while restaurants get premium quality, traceable products, a story behind each batch, and local catch diversity.

ABALOBI also connect with a fisheries management programme helping fishers to spread the load a bit on different species and manage catch trends with the relevant stakeholders.