the people: Manu, Community Empowerment Officer
Eating seaweed is just one of the challenging aspects of Manu's work in Bali Barat.
Gede Manu Drestha (or simply Gus Manu for those who know him) works closely with the people of the villages that surround Bali Barat National Park. Here, Manu and the local communities are working to identify new activities that will bring much needed income to the area, while reducing the reliance on coastal resources such as coral.
"This is a long and dynamic process", grants the 30-year-old biology graduate.
We had to go from house to house, always serving seaweed...
Manu is currently helping the community develop seaweed cultivation, as well as other activities that can bring income solutions for the local people. His first hand experience in bringing new concepts to the community has opened his eyes to the difficulty of this exercise.
Still so much to achieve locally
"This is an experience and a challenge on its own", he explains, "and it would be a great loss if WWF's project in Bali Barat was soon to be finished, as we still need to carry out so many activities for the community here to accomplish our target."
"At this time, the constraint for capacity building is increasing communications and information sharing within community groups in the four villages that surround the National Park."
Seaweed cultivation is a tool to involve community in conservation work that gives direct benefits
Personal sacrifices
For this kind of work, some small sacrifices have to be made. Manu stresses that one must be able to communicate with several kinds of people, and the field demands are such that your personal life may be affected.
Community work can also be challenging in unexpected ways. Just ask Manu what he thinks about eating seaweed. "Once, I was almost sick eating the stuff during a roadshow we developed with the community. We had to go from house to house, always serving seaweed."
A shared vision with the community
And yet, despite these difficulties, Manu finds the work gratifying, most likely because of the impressive pace at which the local community has organized itself. His vision? Develop an alternative livelihood community programme that brings economic and ecologic benefits. Sounds simple, but Manu is the first to know what it will really take to get there.
...discuss with Friends of the Reef team how to use the money. I am interested about using these funds for community capacity building, helping the community move forwards, and collaborative management activities, he says.
