It’s early morning in the coastal town of Buenaventura. As the sun rises over one of Colombia’s busiest ports, the rhythmic sound of Chonta Marimba music is heard on the streets as fishers and fish workers make their way to work.
Sandra Gómez Montaño, a 55-year-old fish processor, is one of the town’s 400 000 inhabitants, and like the majority of the population, she depends on fisheries for her livelihood.
Every day, she buys freshly caught fish from women known as the Platoneras because they traditionally carried large plates, or Platones, on their heads. This Afro-Colombian tradition is passed down from generation to generation, and these women fish vendors are proud of their heritage and role in society.
“The Platoneras play a very important role,” says Sandra, who works closely with the women fish vendors and turns this fresh catch into nutritious products for the community.
Both the Platoneras and women fish processors are a crucial link between locally produced seafood and communities, providing essential nutrition for local families.
Working in the fish sector is embedded in Sandra’s heritage since her mother was a Platonera. However, she recognises that there are significant challenges in this field: incomes for women fish workers are typically very low and can vary greatly from month to month.
And while the women fish workers have access to public health care, they are among an estimated 70 percent of Colombia’s workers excluded from social protection programmes. Too often they miss out on retirement pensions and unemployment benefits, leaving them more vulnerable to livelihood and food insecurity.
Now through its SOCPRO4FISH project, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Colombian Marine and Coastal Research Institute (INVEMAR), with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), are working to improve the Platoneras’ business skills and raise their incomes, as well as enhance their access to social protection schemes.