UNDP FUNFED CAPACITY BUILDING TRAINING REPORT

APRIL 2013

Acknowledgement

The funding of the Capacity Building Programme funded by the UNDP Gambia-Office for TRY Oyster Women Harvesters on hygiene and processing for Value Addition based on experience gained from the recent Study Tour to Soucouta in Senegal is sincerely acknowledged. Also worthy of acknowlegement is the workshop participants from all the Oyster communities of TRY and Allahein Kafoo for their active participation and involvement throughout the workshop period.

1.0 Introduction

The capacity building programme on basic principles of hygiene and processing of Oysters for value addition with simple traditional technology of processing was funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) The Gambia Office for TRY Oyster Women Association operating within the TANBI Wetlands National Park (TWNP) and Kartong Allahein Kafoo respectively. The provision of such training was intended to provide an in-depth working and practical knowledge on better and improved oyster processing techniques, oyster product safety and hygiene and sanitation.

The primary aim of the capacity building workshop was to further raise the awareness of TRY members on value addition with reference to the improved ways of processing, packaging, and preserving oysters and cockles from an established group of female oyster and cockle harvesters at Soucouta in Senegal through Video show and explanations by TRY members who visited the Soucouta Centre during the Study Tour.

2.0 Opening Ceremony of the Workshop

The opening ceremony of the workshop was chaired by Mrs. Fatou Janha Mboob, Coordinator, TRY Association. Mrs. Janha Mboob welcomed participants for their presence and thanked them for attending the workshop. On behalf of TRY Association, Mrs. Janha Mboob extended sincere thanks and gratitude to the UNDP Gambia Office for funding the capacity building programme and their recent trip to Soucouta, Senegal. According to Mrs. Janha Mboob, the funding of the programme is very timely and useful as three members of TRY herself went to Soucouta in Senegal on Study Tour. She told the participants that they learnt a lot from women from Soucouta concernining oyster and cockles processing, preservation and value addition. She then told the participants that Soucouta was selected as the site of the study tour because TRY Association had previously visited this site three years ago and was impressed by its well-run seafood processing center that is managed solely by a Serer women’s group.

Workshop Participants

The workshop participant comprised three different groups :

!st day : Kamalloh, Abuko and Wencho.

2nd day: old jesewhang and faji kunda

3rd day : lamin kubuneh and karting and the surrounding villages from southern Senegal that shares the same bolongs.

In all one hundred and fifty seven participants attended the training program from the 21st to 23rd april 2013.

Figures 3 show a cross-section of the participants from oyster and cockles harvesting communities within TANBI and ALLAHEIN KAFOO (Affiliated members of TRY )

The center also partners with FENAGIE (Federation Nationale de Gie de Peche), a co-op that specializes in the processing, packaging, marketing, and selling of fisheries products in Dakar, Senegal, which TRY Association visited in 2011. She explained that upon their arrival at Soucouta on Sunday,the TRY representatives were welcomed by the community leaders. A short meeting was held and representatives of the women’s group gave an overview of the processing center, its history, and its management. The center was constructed in 2010 with assistance from PISA (Project Italien pour la Sécurité Alimentaire) through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Senegal. Prior to the construction of the center, the women were an established, organized group.

During the meeting, the women described how they work in small groups for harvesting and processing. They join together as a larger group concerning the management and organization of the center. They explained the rules of the center and how crucial it is for them to be followed. Rules, for example, include: clean an area or piece of equipment thoroughly after each use, no children allowed during any of the processing steps, and limit talking inside the processing factory building to allow for full concentration. The rules are simple, but effective because all of the women understand and enforce the rules themselves. The women also described how they pay small fees to use the various facilities. This money is collected and managed by a treasurer. This fund is used to help maintain the center’s facilities, as well as pay for utilities, including water and electricity. The center also generates income from its guest house, which is located in the center’s campus. This is where the TRY representatives stayed.

This region of Senegal comprises of ten communities who all harvest and process seafood, including cockles, oysters, fish, and snails. Each community has its own processing center, however, Soucouta’s center is the largest and most organized. Each community also has a representative posted in the capital city, Dakar, who is responsible for the transactions there. FENAGIE also has a representative who is posted to this region to assist the various communities with administrative duties, including financial management, and to help them with product development and marketing. Each community sells their products locally, in Dakar, in the sub-region, and abroad. Customers will often travel to the centers to purchase seafood products for home use. The women of Soucouta described how they often attend trade fairs in Senegal and in the sub-region to promote and sell their products. During the harvesting season, the representatives posted in Dakar make arrangements for a vehicle with refrigeration capacity to travel to this region to collect fresh oysters, cockles, and other seafood products. These arrangements are based on orders placed by restaurants and other businesses, mainly located in Dakar. The women are responsible for contributing to the transportation costs involved. The bottled products produced by the women in Soucouta are often exported to European countries. At the Soucouta center, at the end of the harvesting season, each group of women is paid all of their profits made in a lump sum. This sum is based on the amount of oyster and cockle product each group harvested and processed at the center. During the off-season, the women work together in other income generating activities, including making café touba and doing catering activities. She told them that on Monday, the TRY representatives joined a group of women harvesting oysters and cockles in the mangrove forests. They collected some oysters and cockles to use later in the day to practice processing at the center, and also observed the mangrove forests, which they reported to look very healthy. The women explained how they harvest on specified days of the week (3-4 days) to reduce over-exploitation of the oysters and cockles and to reduce impact on the mangrove forests. Previously, the women had requested a machine boat from donors to allow for easier and quicker access to their harvesting sites. A 16 meter machine powered boat was donated. When they harvest, they are dropped off at their sites in the morning and picked up in the early evening, or when they are finished. The women contribute to purchasing the fuel and payment of the boat driver. She then told the participants that what they learnt in Soucouta should be replicated by TRY. That TRY women should establish good leadership skills and delegate responsibilities to other members in organizing meetings, Ceremonies and other social activities as well as embracing team work.. She further told them that Try members should ensure the application of basic principles of hygiene during oyster and cockles processing and improve sanitary conditions of processing environment for the production of good quality oyster and cockles products. She told them that the video clips of the Study Tour to Soucouta would be shown and the three TRY members would then explain the processing flow of bottled cockles and oyster from reception to finished products as shown in the photos below captured during the Study Tour.

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Figure 3. The tour guide demonstrates the weighing system.

Figure 5. The TRY members wash the oysters several times in designated bins

Figure 4. The TRY members wash the cockles several times

Figures 6, 7. The bag was put in a large cooking pot (property of the plant) and then placed over a fire to steam the cockles.

The next step of the processing moved to the factory building. The factory building consists of seven different rooms, each with its own purpose. The rooms are set up in an assembly line fashion so you move from one room to the next. Every room has a supervisor who makes sure her room is in order and the rules are being followed. To enter the factory, the women were required to remove all accessories and place their belongings in a locker in the designated changing room. The women were given white uniforms, rubber boots, hairnets, and face masks to wear by the site manager (see Figure 8).

Figure 8. Isatou Sambou, TRY President, puts on a white uniform over her clothes.

Then, the women shucked the cockles, placing the meat and the shells in separate bins (see Figure 9). The meat was then weighed and recorded (see Figure 10). The women washed the meat thoroughly in several iodized salt water rinses.

Next, the TRY members practiced bottling the cockle meat. The ingredients used are purchased locally and the bottles are purchased in Dakar. The women contribute to purchase these items. First, the women steamed the cockle meat. While this cooled, they steamed the vegetables (these depend on the season) that would later be added to the mixture in the bottle. Once cooked, the vegetables were allowed to cool. Once the vegetables and the meat were ready, the women added them to the bottles, adding specified amounts of each. They also added black pepper and

Figure 9. TRY members shuck the cockles.

Figure 10. TRY members weigh the cockle meat.

bay leaves for seasoning. The women then added a solution (consisting of one part vinegar and eight parts boiled cooled water) to the bottles, enough to cover the contents of the bottle. The solution contained sliced onions which had been added the night before to marinate in the vinegar. The women then closed the bottles and put them all in a large steamer for ten minutes to seal the bottle lids (see Figures 11 and 12). Once sealed, the bottles were removed and allowed to cool. Each bottle was then weighed and labeled. The labels included an expiry date, which calculated six months from the date of bottling. After finishing the bottling, the women cleaned all of the areas and all equipment used.

On Tuesday, the TRY women processed the oysters that had been harvested the day before. The women followed the same steps they had the day before with the cockles. After bottling, the women were instructed on how to properly dry oysters, which is another way the women here process their seafood products. In the center campus, there is an area set up for drying seafood products, which features numerous tables with wire mesh tops (see Figure 14). The TRY members were first trained on the importance of creating a sterile environment for the oyster meat. Then they placed the meat on one of the tables and used an additional thin sterilized white mesh both under and over the meat to prevent any contamination (see Figure 13). The meat was dried for four to six hours under the hot sun and then put in plastic bags, which were sealed and labeled.

Figure 11. The women place the bottles in the steamer.

Figure 12. The women remove the bottles from the steamer once the covers were sealed.

Figure 13. The TRY women prepare to dry their oyster meat under the hot sun.

Figure 14. The TRY women observe different varieties of fish and snail meat drying.

According to her on the Wednesday thre TRY women travelled to from Soucouta, to visit their oyster farms. TRY representatives had visited this site three years ago and they wanted to see the progress made, as well as compare their system to TRY’s current oyster culture system. The TRY women were very impressed with the extensive farms and the sizes of the oysters produced (see Figures 15, 16, and 17).

Figure 15. Oyster culture racks line the edge of the mangrove forest. Figure 16. TRY Secretary, Sabel Jatta, examines the oyster culture racks.

Figure 17. The TRY women observe another method of oyster culture currently being practiced.

Women watching video of the Soucuta study tour.

The following topics were covered during the training:

(a) Hygiene requirements when handling seafood (b) The Importance of Hygiene in Combating Contamination (c) Prevention of contamination (d) The importance of water, sanitation and hygiene in oyster production and processing (e) Video show of the Study Tour to Soucouta in Senegal (f) Presentation by TRY members from the Study Tour to Soucouta in Senegal

After the video show the three TRY members who went to Soucouta on Study Tour explained in detail the processing flow of the cockles and oyster, as well as fish drying and Cafe Touba production.

Expected Outcome

- A sound knowledge of basic principles of hygiene and sanitation in the processing flow of oysters and cockles - A better understanding of Value Addition of oyster and cockles products through hygiene and sanitation and

improved processing by oyster women at Soucouta in Senegal on Video - Increased awareness of TRY members and availability of potential resource persons/trainers from the study

tour.

CONCLUSION

The training programme on oyster and cockles handling, processing and value addition trained 157 TRY women in the 15 communities including Allahein Kafoo. It is expected that the impact of the training in terms of raising the awareness through capacity building on improved oyster and cockles handling and processing practices will

contribute to the attainment of increased production of high quality and wholesome products in the oyster and cockles fishery.

It can therefore be asserted that this training programme on handling, processing and quality control through video show was very successful and it is anticipated that follow-up workshops should be conducted periodically and visits to bases of operation be undertaken at regular intervals to ensure that lessons learnt are implemented and not abandoned.

The coordination, team work spirit, management skills manifested by the women of Soucouta is well appreciated by TRY women as shown on video and TRY women’s interest is spurred to emulate and attain their level