LPA SACCO

The concept of fishing co-operatives is at the core of the Kuokoa LPA project.  Our fishing co-operatives function as community savings and credit groups, which empower local fishermen to invest in their businesses and grow the community economy. Our objective is to improve the profitability of group endeavours and to help members acquire boats and equipment that conform to government regulations.

Kuokoa works with the local fishermen at Kawunguli Landing Site on Bulago Island at the heart of the Koome LPA. This group of 50 fishermen from the community have committed to fishing according to government regulations and have invested in boats and equipment of the correct standards.

Boat owners in the group act autonomously, managing their crew and catch as they wish. They use the community savings and credit co-operative (SACCO) as a support tool to take out low-interest loans that can help grow their own business. The fishing SACCO also functions to make group investments that can increase the profits of all its members by taking on projects that would otherwise be financially out of reach. These endeavor to reduce costs for boat owners and allow them to expand into reachable areas of the fisheries value chain, resulting in new job creation in the community.

Aside from bringing more business to island communities, the LPA SACCO has a vital function of supporting the LPA conservation efforts. Joint security patrols are conducted twice per week to deter illegal fishing in the area, and research data is collected after each fishing trip to help inform decision-making in the reserve.

Kuokoa has an active role in providing financial literacy training to co-operative members. We teach about the management and use of SACCOs so they may take full advantage of this support tool. Kuokoa also provides business mentorship to the co-operative managing committee as well as individual boat owners to guide them on how to effectively grow their businesses so they may better support themselves, their families and their communities. Providing this knowledge is essential in order to empower subsistence fishermen and lake communities to take charge of their own future and build the local economy.

We work closely with the co-operative to fine tune its processes and practices to better suit the cultural nuances of fisherfolk. Over time, we aim to roll out this SACCO model to all landing sites around the Koome LPA, strengthening co-operation between fishermen, encouraging the adoption of legal fishing methods and gears, and improving the socio-economic outlook of lake communities in the district.