In January 2024, Hatch Blue and Conservation International, called more than 20 Latina women working on ocean food issues and gathered us for two weeks in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, through a business accelerator focused on women. The call focused on women entrepreneurs and diverse leadership teams. More than 140 applications arrived. The aim was to develop more successful and innovative companies in marine food and to build a network in Latin America, already replicating an experience that had been successful in 2022 in Southeast Asia to incorporate more women who contribute to a sustainable ocean economy.
The call is called Women in Ocean Food Innovation Studio Latinomerica and a month ago, the applications were re-opened, with a deadline of November 29. The idea is to identify 10 new female leaders in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Latin America and the Caribbean and repeat the call for January 2025.
In our case last year we postulated with the business idea of a Three Fish Mobile Fishing, which works as an ethical intermediary to connect to the world of fishing and gastronomy (@trepespespescaderia). The experience was extremely valuable, not only for the opportunity to participate in trainings to improve our businesses but also to be able to connect with other women who have advanced in their businesses and, especially, to share knowledge. For example, understanding the concept of “living tasty” of Tumaco women, Colombia, meeting in Asofalipre, an exclusively female cooperative that is creating novel products (co-products) from by-products of the fish market that would otherwise be considered waste, or the strength of the Almejeras de Santa Cruz, a Marisquera cooperative and multigenerational shrimp from Sinaloa, Mexico, formed by women with a belief in the responsible use of resources, based on principles of fair trade, whose history has just been rescued by Oceana Mexico in the short documentary “Té con agua salta” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaRJWTk1rfQ).
To this I add the creativity and energy of Paulina Zanela, that through Thalasso: a startup based in Mexico and Norway, builds microbiorefineries in containers to extract high-value ingredients and create products from the seaweed (Sargassum), among other inspiring stories.
The closing day of Woman in Ocean Food, Wayne Murphy, at the head of Hatch Blue, he called us to act local and think global and seek success, because if this group of twenty trained women is doing well, then other women can also be part of this network.
And this has been demonstrated by Thamires Pontes, who was part of this call with his company Phytolabs, which uses seaweed grown from Brazil to create textiles, threads and materials as an alternative to petrochemical products. She has just won the Unlock Her Future 2024 Award, which recognizes entrepreneurs with startups with a social impact. Or our own three-fish wheel mobile fishmongering that was chosen in October as one of the 50 most innovative food and services in the food industry of Chile 2024, convened by Food Transform.
Already more than ten months from this experience we continue to connect via Whatsapp and share stories with women leaders of Biomarine, from the cultivation of the Caribbean’s real crab Healthy Reefs for Healthy People, of the organization of ostricultores OPRE, of the association of women cultivators of algae of Belize, the use of the satellite technology of Mar d ́ Sal, or the researchers of the cultivation of steal it from Snookeat, of biotechnology to reduce the use of antibiotics Tar or the promotion of responsible fisheries to reduce by-catch of sea turtles Blue Turtle Sustainablebased in Mexico. In addition to the already mentioned Almejeras de Santa Cruz, Thalasso, Asofalipre and Phytolabs.
If you are a woman and you undertake in the world of marine food don't miss this opportunity and post here..
