Community Enterprise Initiatives for Coastal Management: Lessons from Cambuhat, Buenavista, Bohol

Innovativeness, high-impact results from a modest start-up, community spirit, and a highly creative and practical way of combining a wide range of enterprises have transformed Cambuhat from a sleepy, non-descript rural coastal village into a model of integrated enterprise development.

By Ma. Monina M. Flores
Enterprise Development Specialist, CRMP

ambuhat is a rustic coastal village characterized by its lush mangrove and palm vegetation, a sloping landscape and a winding river. Nestled quietly in the town of Buenavista, northwest of Bohol, it is about one and a half hours away from the east of Mactan by rented pump boat, or two hours overland from Tagbilaran City.

Cambuhat’s attraction: a quiet rustic setting typical
of many Philippine coastal villages

Like many other coastal communities situated far from the urban center, Cambuhat was barely touched by development assistance when the Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP) went there in early 1998. The primary source of livelihood was fishing, often supplemented by income from the production of traditional handicraft, such as nipa thatches, raffia weaves, brooms and other items made of buri palm leaves, most of which were sold locally at very low prices. Most families lived at subsistence level, their income from fishing was never enough, even when augmented by whatever they earned from the sale of their craft items. Worse, despite the local economy’s heavy dependence on coastal resources, the coastal environment was neglected and lacked active management by local villagers and institutions.

Initially, CRMP signed a memorandum of agreement with the municipal government of Buenavista to help them plan and implement an integrated coastal management program in the municipality. This agreement served as the basis for using Cambuhat as a pilot area for modeling enterprise development strategies among village leaders, fisherfolk and local craftspeople (who were mostly women).  The objectives of the enterprise projects were to:

1. Provide incentives for co-management of the Cambuhat River and coastal resources by the community and government institutions;
2. Increase household incomes through viable alternatives to capture fishery; and
3. Promote wise coastal practices.

Thus, we reintroduced oyster culture in the Cambuhat River, with a slight twist: Ownership and management of the oyster culture facilities were given to individual households instead of the village association. The beneficiary-families shared the cost of start-up production, which was partly funded by counterpart financing from the local government. CRMP, meanwhile, provided training and field advisory throughout the project development phase, and, after careful assessment of the river’s carrying capacity and other resource management considerations, helped the villagers to design, plan and install the culture facilities.

An “oyster highway” lining a portion of Cambuhat River

Two years after the project started in June 1998 with 17 fishermen, oyster culture along the sides of the Cambuhat river reached its peak of 64 oyster growers earning an average additional income of P1,000 per month.  The project also secured “food on the table” for the growers’ families, and inspired two adjacent villages to replicate oyster culture in their areas.

The benefits were more than monetary. The villagers’ involvement in oyster culture increased their appreciation for the importance of managing their river, estuary and mangrove resources. Positive changes in community behavior were clearly discernible. Local residents and the local government units started to protect their river from waste pollution and illegal fishing through corrective action, local legislation and organizing.  All told, the following changes observed in Cambuhat could be attributed to the villagers’ involvement in oyster culture:  

1. Less capture fishing activity by 64 oyster growers
2. Stoppage of all illegal fishing activities in the Cambuhat River
3. Increase in fish population in the river
4. Removal of pig pen, housing structure along the river bank
5. Community and local government action on river and mangrove management issues 
6. Formulation of management zones, and user guidelines for river and mangrove areas
7. Increased environmental awareness, action and organization among fishers and oyster growers 
8. Spread of experience and lessons to other villages, municipalities, provinces and countries through study visits to the project

Sustaining traditional crafts making: Enhance local skills
The women of Cambuhat, weaving bundles of raffia cloth using wooden handlooms underneath their houses and fashioning brooms, doormats, grass skirts and other products from different parts of the buri palm tree, inspired the idea for our second enterprise activity. To increase the village weavers’ incomes, CRMP worked with a local institution to improve their production and assist them in marketing their products. Access to direct and more sustainable markets for raffia cloth (blanket weaves from buri fibers) was established for the village. Technical assistance and training from government and international development agencies helped to improve the efficiency of traditional weaving looms and introduced to local weavers high value products like the buntal fiber. These activities and plans to set up a business incubation center will greatly enhance Cambuhat's crafts making and entrepreneurial capability.

Traditional raffia weaving enhanced by improved looms

If successful, the marketing assistance being extended to the women weavers in Cambuhat will boost the earnings of about 200 women.  Increased efficiency in weaving is expected to save time for women to engage in value-added production.

The introduction of improved technologies in crafts production resulted in increased community awareness and knowledge of sustainable harvesting and processing of the buri plant to eliminate any harmful effects of buri production on land and water resources.  Community appreciation for sustainable agro-forestry and agriculture activities was also enhanced.

Promoting village ecotourism: Package the village
Cashing in on the oyster-culture project of the fishermen, the natural beauty of their surroundings and the variety of Cambuhat traditional crafts and folk cultural forms, the Cambuhat Women's Group then went into ecotourism venture development. CRMP provided them with the technical assistance and market linkages to create a unique ecotourism product, which later became the Province of Bohol’s flagship ecotourism project.

The Cambuhat River and Village Tour showcases Cambuhat's river, mangrove, estuary and lowland ecosystems, with interpretation provided by local folk. Villagers paddle guests up and down the river or walk them through the natural landscapes, telling them about the values of nature and their efforts to protect it. Visitors are treated to a riverside lunch of delicious oysters (served in four ways – fresh, grilled, omelet or bottled) and other seafoods, then learn how oysters are cultured as they ride the small outrigger canoes.  A short trek inland follows and guests get a glimpse of traditional craftsmaking beneath houses on stilts.

Cambuhat’s famed fresh oysters

The Cambuhat River and Village Tour, together with the Olango Birds and Seascape Tour, won for CRMP the Highly Commended Status from the Conservation International Excellence in Ecotourism Award in April 2000 in Toronto. Canada. A total of 69 global entries competed for the Award. As a result of this and other recognition, the tour has brought tremendous pride of culture and place among the people of Cambuhat, the town of Buenavista and the province of Bohol. The impact of international and national guests and media visiting Cambuhat placed the once reclusive village on the national and international scene.

Aside from monetary benefits, the project facilitated the formation of the village cooperative called Cambuhat Enterprise Development and Fishermen's Association (CEDFA) comprised of men and women. The ecotourism business also created opportunities for the community to learn service, management and creative skills.  The multiplier effect of tourism began as catering and craftsmaking for the tourist market were started.  Ecotourism increased sales of buri palm products by women and the oyster harvests by the men.  

Furthermore, the ecotourism project inspired the Cambuhat community, the local government units and the Philippine’s environment and tourism departments to support coastal resource management and tourism promotion of the locality. The guidelines set for conducting tourism activities and building facilities at the different environments provided the voluntary framework for regulating use of these areas.  The local government enacted local legislation to protect the estuary and river by declaring some parts as a local reserve. The local experience in ecotourism enterprise development prompted the local stakeholders to formulate an ecotourism destination development and management plan that extended to four villages and covered zoning of the area according to appropriate uses, user guidelines, development of sustainable products and services, training of local human resources and organization of management committees, among others. The tour also attracted many study visits aimed at learning about the local people’s initiatives in managing diverse coastal resources, establishing community enterprises and collaborating with different institutions.

All told, the Cambuhat River and Village Tour achieved the following:

1. Regulation of structures and activities at the river and easement areas
2. Proper design and installation of guest facilities
3. Participatory setting of local resource use zones, guidelines and development plans which were made part of the Integrated Coastal Management plan of the municipality
4. Formation of village ecotourism and resource management committees 

Learning from Cambuhat: Enterprise development can catalyze resource management

What was unique about Cambuhat’s enterprise development initiatives?

The enterprise projects provided both women and men in the community with appropriate and balanced opportunities to earn additional incomes, acquire new skills, create organizations, learn new knowledge, assume collective responsibilities, gain self-confidence, experience collective pride and achieve unity.

Cambuhat folk sharing their experience in developing their
village as a model of integrated enterprise development

The micro-enterprises were a combination of traditional and non-traditional types, and thus provided the community with a variety of experiences and ideas to enhance existing livelihood, revive failed attempts and pioneer new undertakings.

In sum, the enterprise projects that were introduced:

• Enhanced community appreciation of their environments;
• Enabled villagers to learn and implement environmental controls, and share with others their learning on the values of managing the river, mangrove, estuarine and inland resources;
• Gave the community positive results of implementing best practices to their environment; and
• Increased community participation in natural resource management planning and implementation.

Key to the success of Cambuhat as a model for integrated enterprise development and local resource management were the following factors.

• The identification of projects was tailored to the express needs of the target sectors -- the fishermen and the women. Because the stakeholders felt that the projects were meeting their needs, they became highly committed to environmental management, and learned to trust that CRMP's local coastal management efforts were in their best interest.
• The projects started in a modest scale, with very little infusion of capital from external sources, with whatever resources were available locally, and with a conscious effort to link socio-economic objectives with environmental objectives on a very practical level. Moreover, they valued community spirit and creativity as much as technical efficiency in the delivery of assistance to local stakeholders. Participants were encouraged to generate bold ideas, to experiment, and to innovate. They were taught to be always on the lookout for opportunities to expand and to network, and to distribute risks, responsibilities, contributions and recognition among community participants and their government and private sector supporters. Even while the products were still being developed and polished, they did not hesitate to promote their products to wider audiences, and readily welcomed and encouraged assistance from others, as well as the opportunity to assist other projects and communities in return.
• The projects combined in a very creative way a wide range of enterprises -- oyster culture, ecotourism, traditional crafts, and eventually agro-forestry and agricultural development -- which were already intertwined in the community's way of life. By linking community needs with natural conservation, the projects not only provided ample room for future expansion into other doable, creative projects but could also serve as a catalyst toward ecological balance.

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