Indonesian women cash in on mangrove restoration: Interview with community leader Wisye Sahambangung.
Wisye Sahambangung, a fisher in North Sulawesi, leads Rhizopora, a women's group that restores mangroves and earns income from seedlings, mud crabs and a savings-and-loans scheme, Mongabay reported.
Wisye Sahambangung, a 45-year-old fisher from the coastal village of Sarawet in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, leads a women's group that restores mangroves and earns money from them, according to an interview published by Mongabay. In 2022 she was receiving Program Keluarga Harapan, a government assistance program for low-income families, when the local fisheries and marine affairs office invited village women to mangrove restoration training.
That training led to Rhizopora, named after the Rhizophora genus of mangrove trees. CARE Indonesia and Yayasan Bumi Tangguh selected nine women to start the group. Members collect propagules and seedlings, support restoration projects, monitor coastal areas and teach other villagers how to plant mangroves. Working with the two organizations, the group helped plant 30,000 mangrove trees during an eight-month restoration project this year.
The work brings in income in several ways. Each seedling sells for 2,000 rupiah (about 11 U.S. cents), and a wooden support stake adds 500 rupiah, for a total of 2,500 rupiah (14 cents). The group supplies seedlings in bulk for corporate environmental and social responsibility programs, including projects involving Alfamidi, BPJS Kesehatan and PLN. It also sells mud crabs at around 350,000 rupiah ($19.40) per kilogram, and some are sent to Manado before export to Singapore. Members run a savings-and-loans scheme and are developing a mangrove-based soap, which still needs business and product registrations.
Sahambangung said one member, a single mother, used the group's activities and the savings-and-loans scheme to buy a house and start a small cake-selling business. She described a difficult start: criticism and jealousy from people outside the group, and limited resources. The members built their own secretariat, since the fisheries office offered mentoring but no funding, and the mud in coastal areas could sometimes reach her chest.
She reported that the community is now more committed to protecting the mangroves, and that fishers say they are catching more fish. These are her own accounts, and the interview gives no measurements. The group has gained the trust of fisheries authorities and now takes part in a community-based mangrove monitoring group. Sahambangung also traveled to Melbourne, on her first airplane trip, to speak at Women Deliver 2026. “Since Rhizopora was established, Sarawet has become more widely known nationally and internationally,” she said.
At a Glance
- Rhizopora began in 2022 in Sarawet, North Sulawesi, with nine women selected by CARE Indonesia and Yayasan Bumi Tangguh.
- The group helped plant 30,000 mangrove trees during an eight-month restoration project this year.
- A seedling with a stake sells for 2,500 rupiah (about 14 U.S. cents).
- Mud crabs sell for around 350,000 rupiah ($19.40) per kilogram, and some are exported to Singapore via Manado.
- Sahambangung spoke at Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne, Australia.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.