Fishermen's Mentorship Training

On the 20^th of July 2017, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance hosted a fish not oil, fishermen’s mentorship workshop geared for the subsistence fishermen of Kwa Zulu Natal at the Austerville Community Civic Centre.

Subsistence fishermen were selected jointly by the SDCEA  and the KZN Subsistence Fisherfolks to be trained as mentors in their fishing communities. The fishermen were chosen from different fishing areas along the Indian Ocean and the Durban Harbour. They reside in areas with unemployment rates such as, Wentworth, Phoenix, Chatsworth and Umkomaas.

The purpose of the fishermen’s workshop was to educate and train the subsistence fisher folk representatives in mentoring skills, leadership skills, conflict management skills and safety skills. The representatives are seen as leaders in their different fishing communities therefore it is imperative that they learn these skills in order to take back to their fishing areas and mentor other subsistence fishermen in the same regard.

Margie Angamutu of MA Training was appointed by SDCEA to carry out the training responsible for the subsistence fishermen. Margie’s training regime was presented in a simple to understand, easy to digest programme, which they easily understood. The workshop was a success as the subsistence fishermen  agreed that the training was well presented, easy to understand and perfectly suited to them. We hope to see the newly trained fishing mentors in their communities, sharing their new found knowledge and understanding with other subsistence fisher folk.

This workshop was only part one of the SDCEA fishermen’s training programme. Part two will take place at Austerville Community Civic centre at 9am-2pm. Part two looks to educate fisher folk on Oil and Gas exploration activities that will have a direct impact on their livelihoods. Samuel Chademana of Groundwork will conduct the presentation. The issue of Housekeeping will also be touched on in part two, with Preston Chetty of DSW conducting the presentation.

Written by: Chadley Joseph

Tel: 061 843 6580

Email: chadley@sdceango.co.za