Gendered Livelihood Vulnerability and Resilience of Sama-Bajo Fishers in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Small-scale fisheries (SSF) communities in Indonesia obtain a range of outcomes such as food and nutrition, income, and cultural values from livelihood strategies centered around the use of marine and coastal environments. Recently, factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate issues, depletion of marine resources and habitats, and other socioeconomic challenges have threatened the sustainability of SSF livelihood practices. The Sama-Bajo maritime communities in Southeast Sulawesi, Eastern Indonesia, rely more heavily on marine resources to satisfy their livelihood and well-being needs more than other SSF communities in Indonesia due to their landless existence, marginalization, and poverty. Mainly, women depend on natural resources and play diverse roles within the community. However, their needs should be addressed in public decisions and interventions that could improve their livelihood practices and resilience efforts. The overarching aim of this study is to examine gendered livelihood vulnerability and resilience among Sama-Bajo communities in Southeast Sulawesi. More specifically, this study will (1) assess the gendered household livelihoods, vulnerabilities experienced from different forms of shocks, stressors, and disruptions experienced by men and women over time; (2) identify gendered barriers and enablers of Sama-Bajo women’s livelihoods through value chain analyses; (3) understand how Sama-Bajo women cope with livelihood vulnerabilities, and how these responses impact on gender relations. The study will be achieved through a qualitative research design and methods, namely grounded theory, case studies, and narrative approach in two small island communities in Southeast Sulawesi province. This research will contribute knowledge to encourage more significant consideration of gender intersectionality issues within fisheries-based livelihood, resource management, and community development discourses.
The PhD project Is supervised by Professor Natasha Stacey (Primary Supervisor), Dr. Kylie McKenna (Co-Supervisor), and Professor Andrew McWilliam from Western Sydney University (Advisor). It is funded by an Australia Awards Indonesia (AAI), The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) PhD Scholarship 2023, and an Allison Suradjat Prize.