The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is now providing new opportunities for the Guna people by sharing knowledge about algae production and processing. A new training initiative for coastal Indigenous fishers, particularly women, provides them with alternative sources of income.
The Guna people have lived for centuries on the edge of the Caribbean Sea in an autonomous Indigenous Peoples’ territory in Panama. It circles the same-named gulf and includes an archipelago of around 300 islands. Naranjo Grande, a coastal town where the sea represents food, work, and life itself, is located within this territory.
The Guna people have relied on marine and coastal resources for their survival and livelihood for generations. However, Luisa, the president of the Naranjo Grande women’s association, claims that overfishing and climate change are making it more difficult for fishermen to make a living.
FAO is now providing new opportunities for the Guna people by sharing knowledge about algae production and processing. A new training initiative for coastal Indigenous fishers, particularly women, provides them with alternative sources of income. The FAO pilot programme, supported by the Panamanian Administration of Aquatic Resources (ARAP) and the territory’s Indigenous government, works with 20 women and five men to share knowledge on how to grow, harvest, and process marine algae before transforming it into commercial soaps and creams.
According to Alejandro Flores, FAO’s senior regional fisheries and aquaculture officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, the goal is to increase Guna women’s resilience and independence.