Safety at sea and sustainable fisheries governance mean little if a bad season or an accident can push a fishing household into crisis. Friends of the Nation (FoN) works to diversify and strengthen the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities, so that families are not entirely dependent on a single, increasingly unpredictable source of income.

What We Do

FoN supports fishers, fish processors, and their households to take up viable alternative and supplementary livelihoods, including small livestock rearing, vegetable farming, soap and shea butter production, and other value-addition enterprises led largely by women in fishing communities. We provide business skills training, support the formation of savings and loans groups (VSLAs) that give households access to capital during lean seasons, and help link producers to markets. Where a household includes a fisher affected by injury or accident at sea, FoN works to connect them with livelihood support that eases the transition to alternative income sources.

Why It Matters

Livelihood diversification reduces the pressure on already stressed fish stocks by giving households other ways to earn a living, while also building a buffer against the shocks that are common in small-scale fisheries: bad seasons, gear loss, accidents at sea, and market price swings. A fishing household with more than one source of income is better placed to weather these shocks, and to support broader efforts to fish sustainably rather than fish harder simply to survive.