In the community of Praia Abade there is a committee of local fishermen and palaiês that produces handmade soap.

This committee has its origins in the intervention of the Omali Vida Nón project in the fishing communities with which it has been working.

This group of fishermen and palaiês participated in a community ideas competition, which aims to promote sustainable income alternatives in fishing communities, with the proposal of producing handmade coconut soap.

The support they have received (training and materials) has enabled them to produce handmade soap made from coconut oil, which has many benefits for our skin and body.

The project continues to support the group, which has allowed them to continue producing soap and making it available to the local population.
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This soap is available for sale at Bela Casa, Lusocash, and Mr. Hipólito's shop, all located in the city of Santo António.

The extensionists of the Omali Vida Nón project are fishermen and palâies from the fishing communities covered by the project. In their work, extensionists go to the beaches of their communities and collect data on fishing effort, such as:

- the fishermen and their fishing gear

- fishing practices (including effort and fishing areas)

- types and quantity of fish
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- size and weight of selected species

This data has contributed to the development of a database essential for the definition of marine protected areas in Príncipe and the participatory monitoring of the impacts of management interventions for the conservation of ecosystems and marine resources, done by directly involving the fishing communities.

The socio-economic data survey in the fishing communities of Príncipe island aimed at collecting socio-economic data of the fishing communities, essential to understand the living conditions of the various communities (especially fishermen and Palaiês) where the project takes place and their dependence on natural resources. Like this, we can take into account their needs and priorities, and inform the development of measures that benefit (and not harm!) the fishing communities. Beyond this, this information is also important to monitor the impact of the various marine management and conservation initiatives in Príncipe.
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In October, the Omali Vida Nón project successfully concluded its socio-economic monitoring work with a total of 532 respondents in 15 fishing communities on the island of Príncipe.
 

Congratulations to Príncipe island! The Regional Government and fishing communities, with the support of the Omali Vida Nón project, have agreed to create the first Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the country and jointly selected the priority areas for this purpose.

This major step was taken during the Assembly of the Co-Management of MPAs held on September 10th, in the presence of the President of the Regional Government and representatives of various stakeholders. With this initiative we intend to regenerate fisheries resources and improve the livelihoods of fishermen and palâies, protect biodiversity and marine habitats, as well as contribute to the Sustainable Development Plan of Príncipe (Principe2030) goal regarding the creation of MPAs.

Once again the island of Príncipe demonstrates to be a model of sustainability that cares for its natural resources and the class of fishermen and palâies - who feed the country! 

Fauna & Flora International
Fundação Príncipe
Oikos - Cooperation and Development
Marapa 
Blue Action Fund
Arcadia