is its point person. Solene grew
up on a farm near Langebaan, left
school at age 13 to work at Air Force
Base Langebaanweg’s laundry
department and later as a chef.
She married into a local fishing
family and has seen hard times.
Yet, since the arrival of Abalobi,
there is positivity in this community
with a lagoon rich in harders – along
with newfound confidence. “All
that I tried to do in the past, I am
doing now,” Solene states. She is
responsible for the weighing, coding,
stringent cleaning and packing of
fresh Abalobi catch, but has also
started a food business called Helping
Hands with Marie Davids and Norton
Dowries, a retired fisherman and
long-time community activist. “Abalobi
has opened many doors for me and
our fishers,” she says, including
steering catering jobs her way.
Recently, Solene and Norton
attended a Slow Food workshop at
Cape Town’s Food Jams, where chefs
and fishers cooked together in a
relaxed environment. Veldkos expert
Loubie Rusch’s demonstration of
indigenous edible coastal plants was
a highlight. “We used to eat veldkool,
yet I didn’t know there was value in
these things,” Solene smiles. The
fishers also taught the chefs a thing
or two about how to fillet a fish,
Norton adds.
Abalobi is growing, with the platform
in pilot projects in the Seychelles and
soon the Comores. More workshops
are planned – the next will provide
training to fishers about better
methods of preservation to further
boost quality control and show chefs
how to get maximum usage out of
their fish.
While Abalobi originally ran all its
logistics, it is now working with a
small Lambert’s Bay fisher co-op that
delivers fish from the West Coast in
its refrigerated bakkie. The logistics
fees are passed on to the restaurants.
And while women in fishingcommunities are indispensable –
whether fishers or harvesters in
their own right, or contributing to
quality control, communications
and packing – they seldom get the
credit or compensation they deserve.
Abalobi is working within communities
to develop a pantry of products
that could be sold by women on the
Marketplace. Serge explains: “Chefs
will get their catch of the day but will
also be able to purchase bokkoms
[salted and dried whole fish], pickled
fish and shellfish, as well as sour-fig
jam. They would rather buy these
products, if they’re good, than make
them, particularly as this is another
way of supporting these communities.”
Serge’s passion for South Africa’s
small-scale fishers seems endless,
and his vision for the future of our
waters is positive. “While we have
certain concerns about overfishing,
compared to many fisheries across
the world, we can still turn the tide.
Because of the productivity and
diversity of our resources, the cultural
heritage of our fishing communities
and the level of science we have,
we have the opportunity to develop
sustainable fisheries,” he concludes.
ABALOBI.INFOABALOBI MEANS “FISHERS”
IN ISIXHOSA26 SEPTEMBER 2019