Eight Women Become Boat Captains in the South

Eight women who participated in the seaweed mariculture sector graduated from a boat captain training program today. The training was provided by the Belize Women’s Seaweed Farmers Association. The initiative was a collaboration involving the Belize Coast Guard, the Belize Defence Force, the Belize Port Authority, and Women in Maritime Association Caribbean, with funding by the Blue Social Challenge Fund and the British High Commission. The training equipped the captains with essential skills in farming seaweed twenty miles off the coast of Placencia. British High Commissioner, Nicole Davidson, along with Akeem Tejeda, the boat captain instructor, and Jalima Gold, president of the Belize Women’s Seaweed Farmers Association, shared their perspectives on the program.

 

Nicole Davidson, British High Commissioner to Belize

“It’s a very special program for us because it really speaks to engagement in the community, work in the blue economy, and working with communities who are engaged in the blue economy. This has been funded under the United Kingdom Social Challenge Fund, which is a fund specifically aimed at communities and people working in the community space, and particularly, Communities that don’t normally have access to funding.”

 

Akeem Tejeda, Boat Captain Instructor

“We went over some basic, boat training, which is the seaman terminology – your docking and slipping, also maneuvering the boat in open water as well. I’d say 90 percent of all the women that participated, they have done well. They have made me proud, and I hope they can make themselves proud.”

 

 

Jalima Gold, President, Belize Women’s Seaweed Farmers Association

“We had 11 participants from all around the, mostly the southern part of the country. This is a very significant and important training for us. It is the first of its kind done in the country. We are working with Belize Post Guard, Belize Defense Force, Port Authority, and local captains to put together a training that really encourages and empowers women specifically and some youth to become boat captain trainings. In the past it has always been a little bit hard for women to get into this field and kind of push boundaries and barriers when it comes to anything in maritime and so this is something that’s very important to us as an association, and we are very proud of what we’ve accomplished here today.”