Tag: social entrepreneurship
Belioness: 15 women, seven communities, four languages, one vision
The Belioness lionfish jewelry group gather from across Belize to develop a shared vision for their social enterprise; United women, empowered communities, and a healthy, beautiful reef.
Spreading the word about lionfish!
By Winnie Courtene-Jones, Field Scientist, Belize Since their arrival in Belize in 2008, lionfish have dramatically increased in numbers and spread throughout the country’s waters, devastating the World Heritage listed Belize Barrier Reef. What better way than to help tackle...
Making a living from the forests between land and sea
by Kitty Brayne, Country Coordinator, Madagascar I’m in a fishing village, but I can’t see the sea. Ankazomborona is perched on the edge of a muddy channel separating land from a forbidding forest of twisted mangrove trees, their roots veering...
Using the beast to create some beauty: A photo diary
by Silvia Parmeggiani, Community Officer, Belize Lionfish are beautiful but because of their exotic looks they are prized specimens within the aquarium trade, and are exported all over the world. But just like their name certainly suggests, they are also aggressive predators...
Entering the third dimension in Belo sur Mer
By Jérémie Bossert, Belo Sur Mer Coordinator, Madagascar Finally Madagascar has a democratically elected president! Things here have a tendency to move slowly, be it getting an authorisation signed, ordering a new generator part, or even electing a president. However,...
Development of a community aquaculture project: going beyond for real sustainability
by Minnie Lanting, ex-Velondriake Programme Coordinator, and Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Consultant, Madagascar This is Blue Ventures’ approach to promoting sustainable alternative livelihoods through our community-based aquaculture programme. Instead of giving one-off donations or handing out money to local fishers, the...
Spicing up aquaculture: experiences from our regional workshop in Zanzibar
by Jo Hudson, Conservation & Communications Officer, London As I stepped off the plane in Stone Town, Zanzibar, the heat hit me like a slap the face and I was dazzled by the sunlight – I thought to myself “Toto...
Staff Q&A with Antoine Rougier, Aquaculture Advisor
In the fifteenth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Antoine Rougier, our Aquaculture Advisor (previously our Aquaculture Coordinator for 3 years in Madagascar), some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your...
Reaching the hardest to reach with reproductive health choices
Two boys splash across the shallows as the tide goes out in the channel by Begamela, a small fishing community on Madagascar’s southwest coast, chasing after their model pirogues, adjusting the sails and setting them off in a race towards...
Happy Birthday Blue Ventures and Happy Birthday Safidy!
By Vik Mohan, Medical Director This year, my annual trip to Madagascar coincided with two important anniversaries. Not only is Safidy, our community health programme, six years old, but we are also celebrating ten years of Blue Ventures’ work in...
Staff Q&A with Alasdair Harris, Founder and Research Director
In the fourth instalment in our series of Q&As with Blue Ventures staff, we ask Alasdair Harris, our Founder and Research Director, some searching questions about science, conservation and superpowers… What is your scientific background? As an undergraduate I studied...
Tuck School of Business students study aquaculture in Madagascar
In March, five students from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth came to Madagascar to work alongside Blue Ventures’ community-based aquaculture project as part of their First Year Project. These highly experienced business students came to Madagascar, and got...
Symposium on ecological and social resilience in New York
By Kame Westerman, Blue Ventures Velondriake LMMA Coordinator from 2010 – 2102, Madagascar A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the American Museum of Natural History’s symposium on ecological and social resilience in island systems, which brought...
The choice is yours: Safidy reproductive rights training
By Brian Jones, Conservation Coordinator, Toliara, Madagascar While in Andavadoaka a few months ago for the Velondriake Association’s election and first general assembly of 2013, I was lucky enough to catch the Safidy programme’s quarterly review and reproductive rights training...
24 hours of aquaculture site visits
In March, five students from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth came to Madagascar to work alongside Blue Ventures’ community-based aquaculture project as part of their First Year Project. These highly experienced business students came to Madagascar, and got...