<commit_before>---
layout: post
title: Engaging Fisherfolk in the Caribbean
description: ""
modified: 2015-03-25
category: articles
tags: [project, caribbean, engagement, fisherfolk, assessment, usability]
image:
  feature: posts/cnfo/soufriere.jpg
  credit: <NAME>, Soufriere, <NAME>
comments: true
share: true
---

# A Network of Fisherfolk

As fish abundance decreases, food security is a growing issue in the Caribbean Islands and many other islands of the world.  Many of the small community-based fisheries in these countries are concerned that their access to traditional fishing grounds is under threat, and with it their ability to engage in management of the resource, maintain their livelihoods, and feed their people.  The Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organizations (CNFO) was formed to increase the voice of fisherfolk in the Caribbean region so that among other things they can inform decision- and policy-making that improves the contribution of small scale fisheries to food security.  

Through my work on the CaribNode project I've had the privilege of meeting <NAME>, the coordinator of the CNFO, a few times.  He's a humble man who would much rather be on his fishing boat or with his family but he realized that they are both at risk if action isn't taken.  So he spends a lot of time away from home, sharing his message with anyone who will listen.  And it's hard not to connect with what he has to say.  Listen to a little bit of his speech at the opening ceremony for the project in Guyana last February.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/89IEeF44Zh4" frameborder="0"> </iframe>


# Connecting the Dots

As Mitch might say the CNFO is a loosely organized network, and many of those involved are commercial fisherfolk.  This makes it challenging for each of the National Fisherfolk Organizations from 12 different countries to collaborate on a regional scale.  So last year with funding from the EU, CNFO partnered with the ICT Research Programme at the University of the West Indies, led by Dr. <NAME>, to create an online engagement platform that they could use for everyday communication and collaboration.  To start, it would integrate tried-and-true tools for virtual communities like a message board, document repository, and membership directory as well as more modern tools like Google Hangouts.

In February the ICT team reached out to me do a rapid assessment of the beta release of their platform.  Their testing had turned up some usability and performance issues and they were figuring out how to best implement the more sophisticated features they had planned.  The project team clearly knew what they were doing and most importantly what they needed the site to do.  What they wanted was some fresh insight.  An outside perspective. 

So over the course of a few days I met with the project leads, distilled down their needs and concerns, researched best practices for leveraging Joomla their chosen CMS, tested the UI workflows against project requirements and usability guidelines, summarized my thoughts, and presented a set of pinpoint recommendations.  

The feedback was well received, even invigorating for the project team.  I think because it not only gave them options and solutions they hadn't considered, it confirmed many of the things they were already thinking, and decisions they had already made.  This gave them confidence and energy that they could take into the next phase of development, and I wish them success with that.  The fate of some of these small scale fisheries may rely on it.<commit_msg>update cnfo article<commit_after>---
layout: post
title: Engaging Fisherfolk in the Caribbean
description: ""
modified: 2015-03-25
category: articles
tags: [project, caribbean, engagement, fisherfolk, assessment, usability]
image:
  feature: posts/cnfo/soufriere.jpg
  credit: <NAME>, <NAME>
comments: true
share: true
---

# A Network of Fisherfolk

As fish abundance decreases, food security is a growing issue in the Caribbean Islands.  At the same time small community-based fisheries in these countries are concerned that their access to traditional fishing grounds are under threat, and with it the ability to maintain their livelihoods, participate in management of the resource, and feed their people.  The Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organizations (CNFO) was formed to increase the voice of fisherfolk in the Caribbean region so that they can address these concerns among others.  

I've had the privilege of meeting <NAME>, the coordinator of the CNFO, a few times.  He's a humble man who would much rather be on his fishing boat or with his family, but he realizes that they are both at risk.  So he spends a lot of time away from home, sharing his message with anyone who will listen.  And it's hard not to connect with what he has to say.  Listen to a little bit of his speech at the opening ceremony for the project in Guyana last February.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/89IEeF44Zh4" frameborder="0"> </iframe>


# Connecting the Dots

The CNFO is a loosely organized network of National Fisherfolk Organizations from 12 different countries.  As you can imagine it is challenging for them to work together across geographies to collaborate on a regional scale.  To address this, the CNFO partnered with the ICT Research Programme at the University of the West Indies, led by Dr. <NAME>, to create an online engagement platform that they could use for everyday communication and collaboration.  It would integrate tried-and-true tools for virtual communities like a message board, document repository, and membership directory as well as more modern tools like Google Hangouts and a virtual classroom.

In February the ICT team reached out to me do a rapid assessment of the beta release of their platform.  Their testing had turned up some usability and performance issues and they were figuring out how to best implement the more sophisticated features they had planned.  The project team clearly knew what they were doing and most importantly what they needed the site to do.  What they wanted was some fresh insight.  An outside perspective. 

So over the course of a few days I met with the project leads, distilled down their needs and concerns, researched best practices for leveraging Joomla their chosen CMS, tested the UI workflows against project requirements and usability guidelines, and presented a set of pinpoint recommendations.  

The feedback was well received, even invigorating for the project team.  I think because it not only gave them options and solutions they hadn't considered, it confirmed many of the things they were already thinking, and decisions they had already made.  This gave them renewed confidence and energy that they are taking into the next phase of development, and I wish them success.  The fate of some of these small scale fisheries may rely on it.
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