Together we are strong: Liberia's fishmongers building fairer fisheries

“Together we are strong”. The motto of over 600 women participating in Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in Liberia under EJF’s Communities for Fisheries project.
In Liberia, fisheries are a life support system for coastal communities. But although female fishmongers play a huge role within the sector, historically, their voices have been excluded from managing this vital resource.
Recently, EJF has established VSLAs in an effort to change this. These village-level money-saving groups have united female fishmongers across Liberia, allowing groups of women to pool their savings and take out loans to support their fisheries businesses. But, crucially, these groups are more than a financial tool. They have provided a platform for political and social engagement and have driven female participation with Collaborative Management Associations (CMA) along the coast.
“Together we are strong” follows the election runs of three women in Liberia as they campaign for leadership positions in the Buchanan CMA. Shoulder to shoulder with their fellow VSLA members, these women are speaking up, determined to have a say in how the resources that underpin their livelihoods are managed.
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