250
K. Frangoudes et al.
Regional Meetings: Problems, Constraints, and Solutions
The regional meeting organized in 1995 brought together mariscadoras who
overcame cultural barriers that would have prevented them from attending such
meetings in the past. “When I went to the first meeting of mariscadoras organized by the Consellería de la pesca, I asked my husband’s permission. I prepared the food for all the family and … for future meetings I just told him”
(Frangoudes et al. 2008b , 228). During the meeting, women struggled to understand why they should unify their efforts, because, up until that point, they had
been competing for the same resource. When the women met at that fi rst meeting, they became aware of the discrimination they had been subject to (Marugán
Pintos 2004 ) .
Finally, at the end of the meeting consensus was reached on the importance of
the following issues:
Shell fi sh gathering on foot was considered a marginal activity by
•
cofradías ;
Gatherers themselves failed to consider the occupation as a profession and lacked
•
social security protection;
Income was poor;
•
Women wished to obtain a brand name for their catches;
•
Poaching presented a signi fi cant problem, as many people considered the inter•
tidal zone as open access;
Need for training courses.
•
Following these agreements, the fi sheries administration dedicated European
funds to fi rst prepare trainers and then train the women. The trainers were equipped
to instruct women in the building of organizations, management of resources, development of shell fi sh farming activities and, more importantly, the bene fi ts of being
organized. The initial training program was held at Cambados, the main shell fi sh
production area. The event was not overly publicized, because participants did not
want the wider community to know of their efforts at self-improvement
(Santasmarinas 2003 ; Frangoudes et al. 2005 ) .
The women who participated in the fi rst regional meeting and ensuing training
program occasionally needed to convince their husbands, family, and even themselves of the importance of these events. With that said, 2,888 women overcame
these cultural obstacles and participated in 152 training courses organized by the
fi sheries administration.
Regional meetings were organized biennially and were always productive. At the
second meeting, in 1997, the women opted for a more professional approach to their
work, establishing their own organizations ( agrupación de mariscadoras ) at the
local scale and as part of the cofradías . The third meeting focused on the legal recognition of their work in order to ensure access to the social security system, ways
to act against poaching, and means of obtaining brand names for their catches. The
meeting in 1999 examined their achievements to date and identi fi ed their future
objectives.
K. Frangoudes et al.
Regional Meetings: Problems, Constraints, and Solutions
The regional meeting organized in 1995 brought together mariscadoras who
overcame cultural barriers that would have prevented them from attending such
meetings in the past. “When I went to the first meeting of mariscadoras organized by the Consellería de la pesca, I asked my husband’s permission. I prepared the food for all the family and … for future meetings I just told him”
(Frangoudes et al. 2008b , 228). During the meeting, women struggled to understand why they should unify their efforts, because, up until that point, they had
been competing for the same resource. When the women met at that fi rst meeting, they became aware of the discrimination they had been subject to (Marugán
Pintos 2004 ) .
Finally, at the end of the meeting consensus was reached on the importance of
the following issues:
Shell fi sh gathering on foot was considered a marginal activity by
•
cofradías ;
Gatherers themselves failed to consider the occupation as a profession and lacked
•
social security protection;
Income was poor;
•
Women wished to obtain a brand name for their catches;
•
Poaching presented a signi fi cant problem, as many people considered the inter•
tidal zone as open access;
Need for training courses.
•
Following these agreements, the fi sheries administration dedicated European
funds to fi rst prepare trainers and then train the women. The trainers were equipped
to instruct women in the building of organizations, management of resources, development of shell fi sh farming activities and, more importantly, the bene fi ts of being
organized. The initial training program was held at Cambados, the main shell fi sh
production area. The event was not overly publicized, because participants did not
want the wider community to know of their efforts at self-improvement
(Santasmarinas 2003 ; Frangoudes et al. 2005 ) .
The women who participated in the fi rst regional meeting and ensuing training
program occasionally needed to convince their husbands, family, and even themselves of the importance of these events. With that said, 2,888 women overcame
these cultural obstacles and participated in 152 training courses organized by the
fi sheries administration.
Regional meetings were organized biennially and were always productive. At the
second meeting, in 1997, the women opted for a more professional approach to their
work, establishing their own organizations ( agrupación de mariscadoras ) at the
local scale and as part of the cofradías . The third meeting focused on the legal recognition of their work in order to ensure access to the social security system, ways
to act against poaching, and means of obtaining brand names for their catches. The
meeting in 1999 examined their achievements to date and identi fi ed their future
objectives.