By Olivia Miwil - April 5, 2021 @ 12:32pm
Villagers selling locally made virgin coconut oil to supplement their income apart from relying on tourism and fisheries. - Photo courtesy of Cintai Mantanani
KOTA BELUD: The local community off Mantanani island here is moving towards sustainable
livelihoods through farming and aquaculture.
It is made possible with the help of a non-governmental organisation Cintai Mantanani and other sponsors.
The Cintai Mantanani project manager Adzmin Fatta said that most of the people here are fishermen and some involved in the tourism sector.
"However, after the Covid-19 pandemic, we realise that there is a need to diversify their income beyond tourism and catching fish.
"Therefore, we have encouraged the community to do farming for their food consumption or income, produce virgin coconut oil and be involved in the field of abalone aquaculture," he said when met at the island here.
Adzmin pointed out response from the locals, especially among the women, had been encouraging.
Adzmin, who is also Reef Check Malaysia's member, said apart from promoting alternative livelihood, the organisation was also focusing on sustainable marine management among the community.
Mantanani Island is one of the two proposed areas by the state government to be gazetted as a marine park by 2023.
He said the marine debris and household waste, if not managed properly, would affect the number of fish in the sea and the beauty of the island.
"The locals need to look after the biodiversity and unlike other operators who can find income somewhere else, the villagers here would be left with nothing
"On average, 170 households here produce between four and six tonnes (of waste) monthly which leads to costly transportation (for disposal) from here to the mainland.
"Therefore, we encourage the locals to segregate their waste into organic and non-organic," he said, adding the method makes recycling and upcycling activities more feasible.
He also said that Cintai Mantatanani had been educating locals on the use of the internet as a means to market their homestays efficiently, other than improving their service quality and safety aspects.
In 2019, eight homestays managed to rake in RM50,000 despite having to compete with other operators.
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