10.2.3 Role of women
Some women are working in the village organizations, often as treasurer or other “female-related
tasks”, but they are not found in the LMD or LKMD. Despite their active role in income generating
activities, women are excluded from most village affairs: 10% of survey respondents considered
women to be completely outside of decision-making processes. Women’s public activities in the
village are usually related to what they do in the household, i.e., they provide the refreshments at
village meetings and traditional ceremonies. Women also expressed reluctance to take concerns
directly to village leaders. They would be more likely to deal with their clan leader or try to
approach government through the PKK or the wife of the village head.
Many women are involved in cottage-scale businesses related to food processing (sago2, bread,
smoked fish) and trading of fish and agricultural products. In the 1990s when the clove
monopoly caused a severe reduction in income from cloves, pressure on marine resources
and the number of women involved in fish trading3 increased tremendously. The women
also harvest shellfish, small fish, and octopus from intertidal and shallow inshore waters.
This is strictly a food fishery. The shell fishery has also intensified over the years, and for the
women, it has become harder to find large shellfish as well as certain species.
The women are worried about the decline in marine resources because they depend on shellfish
for food, and on the fishery for household income. To the women, sasi, just like most village
matters, is “a government affair” and they have no voice in decision-making regarding sasi
nor do they attend the sasi rituals. The women interviewed did express the need to be involved
in decision-making on marine resource management. Yet, they thought that since their fishery
is for food and not profit, the men in charge would not take their concerns seriously.
10.2.4 Profile of fishers
Of the 30 fishers surveyed, 93% were born in Nolloth and the same percentage has only
elementary education. On an average, fishers in the sample were 47 years old, while nearly
half of respondents were under 45. The respondents had an average of 6.6 household members,
i.e., more than the overall village average. No women were interviewed.
On an average, fishers had been active in this profession for 27 years. They generally spend
more than 8 hours per day at sea (most common is 7-10 hours daily), which is second highest
from our sample villages. The fishers expressed great personal satisfaction in their chosen
career but only 18% (still twice as high as the other villages) want their children to be fishers.
Most (61%) want them to be government staff. Only three of the respondents belonged to a
fishers’ group and membership in other village organizations was also low. All of them said
that sasi is very important.
The principal part of their income (81%) is from fishing. Other income comes from land crops
(peanuts, coconuts, spices etc.). About a third (27%) have income that is sent from a distant
family member. Children who have left Nolloth have usually gone looking for work, and
often provide the family with an external income that is on an average Rp264,000 (USD105,
early 1997 rate) per year.
2 The sago processed in Nolloth is imported from Seram, and the end product is sold in Ambon.
3 The women involved in the fish trade are usually those living next to the shore in Nolloth and Itawaka where fish are landed.
Desa Nolloth, Saparua Island 101