It’s not an easy job to distil five years of research about poverty in fishing communities into a ‘coffee table’ booklet! But that’s precisely what a SEEDS worker is trying to do. Although there has been considerable success publishing the research in high quality scientific journals, which gives the work credibility, most local decision makers and practitioners who are at the coal face of poverty reduction simply don’t have the time or the inclination to read such publications. This book project uses a different style to grab their attention, using powerful images that demonstrate both the challenges and the creativity that exist in coastal communities.

The book will lead the reader on a three stage journey, firstly exploring the needs and constraints that are keeping fishing families’ poor. What are those crucial factors that enable and inhibit their livelihoods? Secondly, evaluating the programs and the specific interventions that the government has used to empower the poor. Are they addressing those crucial factors we identified in stage one? Thirdly, assessing how future programs can be better targeted to the needs of the poor. What can we do better?

The book should be published later this year and will be used as a catalyst to galvanize both government and other stakeholders into action. It’s a delicate process of getting change agents on board without alienating people who have been working in poverty reduction for decades. Watch this space for another update in due course on how this research has been turned into a meaningful contribution for the poor!