Aquaculture for all

Seaweed cultivation project reaches out to help rural Indonesia

INDONESIA - Five years ago Cult Industries saw the need to help save lives in impoverished communities - Nembrala, a small village on the island of Roti, Indonesia. Cult started with aid to Nembrala, one of, if not the poorest villages in Indonesia. But it took a few years to get it organised. Rather than just give money away Cult enlisted organised help.

Enter Opportunity International. This organisation helped us plan the first steps in saving lives and declaring that extreme poverty can be alleviated. It is our task to help them onto the road to development, at least to gain a foothold from which they can climb on their own. Cult and Opportunity International joined to start the first truly organised seaweed farm in this area.

In Indonesia the term Rumput Laut is used to describe a number of different types of macro algae. Some of these types of algae have economic significance because they contain chemical constituents that are very useful in the food, pharmacy and cosmetic industries.

In 2004 Opportunity International recognised the potential of Seaweed Cultivation as a means of assisting poor coastal farmers to increase their incomes. Our local partner TLM began a trial program that established the type of loan products and training materials that would best serve farmers already engaged in, or who have the potential to establish, a Seaweed Cultivation Plot.

Source: Global Surf News

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