Storytelling Series
CHARACTERS OF THE CLOSURES: Human Experiences of Marine Conservation & Management
The stories of this series come from the work I did with the OctoPINTS project . The stories can be read in English, French or Kiswahili on the OctoPINTS webpage. I have written 4 stories based on my fieldwork in Zanzibar in 2019.
The different characters of my stories experience an increasingly common fishery management and conservation intervention, a fishery closure- the one we work with is based on octopus.
Fishery closures or marine protected areas are more and more common as they are relied upon to help us meet the sustainable development goals for 2030 and protect life underwater. But life on land in many areas around the world is very much part of these conservation initiatives, which aim to encourage and assist people who live and rely on the sea to manage and conserve their natural resources. I decided to bring our fieldwork to life a bit to try and represent the richness of the human experience within conservation. Hopefully marine protected areas can become more of an understandable human experience to us who don’t live them.
All the stories that I create are based on the voices, opinions, perspectives and arguments of fieldwork participants, so I am prioritising what they say and how they say it through fictional characters, so my participants remain anonymous.
Find the show on Spotify and listen to any of the 4 stories in english:
Introduction to the Storytelling Series- “CHARACTERS OF THE CLOSURES: Human Experiences of Marine Conservation & Management” The OctoPINTS project would like to introduce you to a storytelling series, where we share a story of a character from a marine fishing village on the Swahili Coast.
Booklets
This booklet contains four stories, each of them representing the views and opinions of people involved in a type of conservation project that works on protected areas- octopus closures. The characters are fictional but their words, actions and thoughts represent the different people we worked with in Zanzibar, Tanzania. In sharing these stories we hope the many different impacts, and experiences of various groups who use and depend on the coast (not just fishermen) can become more clear and widely understood. Maybe you feel that some of these fictional characters reflect your experiences or people/communities you know?
Kijitabu hiki kina hadithi nne, kila moja inawakilisha maoni na mitazamo ya watu waliohusika kwenye aina ya mradi wa uhifadhi unaofanywa kwenye maeneo ya hifadhi-ufungaji wa pweza. Wahusika ni wa kubuni lakini maneno, matendo na fikra zao vinawakilisha watu mbali mbali tuliofanya nao kazi Zanzibar,Tanzania. Katika kushiriki hadithi hizi, tunatumai uzoefu mbalimbali wa makundi tofauti tofauti yanayotumia na kutegemea pwani (sio tu wavuvi) watapata uelewa na itawaweka wazi zaidi. Labda unahisi kwamba baadhi ya wahusika hawa wa kubuni wanaashiria uliyoyaona au watu unaowajua/jamii unayoifahamu?
A play of voices in marine conservation. Human experiences of fishery closures in Zanzibar.
This play script, developed through the OctoPINTS research project, brings together the voices and experiences of coastal communities in Zanzibar. It is based on real conversations with fishers, traders, and local leaders, which have been carefully woven into fictional characters and stories. The play explores everyday life, challenges, and different perspectives around octopus fishing closures, showing how conservation affects people in complex and meaningful ways. It was created as part of a feedback process to share research findings with communities and invite reflection, dialogue, and understanding.
Mchezo unaotumia sauti katika uhifadhi wa bahari Uzoefu wa binadamu kuhusu kufungwa kwa uvuvi, Zanzibar.
Tamthilia hii imeandaliwa kupitia mradi wa utafiti wa OctoPINTS, ikikusanya sauti na uzoefu wa jamii za pwani Zanzibar. Imetokana na mazungumzo halisi na wavuvi, wafanyabiashara, na viongozi wa kijiji, ambayo yameunganishwa na kuunda wahusika na hadithi za kubuni. Tamthilia hii inaonyesha maisha ya kila siku, changamoto, na mitazamo tofauti kuhusu kufungwa kwa maeneo ya uvuvi wa pweza, na jinsi uhifadhi wa bahari unavyoathiri maisha ya watu kwa njia mbalimbali. Iliandaliwa kama njia ya kurudisha matokeo ya utafiti kwa jamii na kufungua nafasi ya majadiliano na uelewa