Fifteen villagers from Cihideung Ilir in Bogor completed BIOTROP’s training on fishpond production held on 21-23 July 2016 at Cihideung Ilir Community Center. The training was the first in a series of capacity building activities that the Centre will implement for the said village as part of the SEAMEO STAR Village program.

The SEAMEO STAR Village Program is a collaborative endeavor among the six SEAMEO Centres in Indonesia which include SEAMEO Regional Centre for Food and Nutrition RECFON), Regional Open Learning Centre (SEAMOLEC), and three Regional Centres for Quality Improvement of Teachers and Education Personnel (QITEP) in Language, Science, and Mathematics. The Program generally aims to develop a community-based sustainable development model that could reinforce the SEAMEO Community Involvement Program especially in helping address the SEAMEO 7 Priorities and the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The training was in response to the villagers’ need to have alternative source of livelihood as identified during the needs assessment survey conducted by BIOTROP in December 2015. In particular, the Centre introduced to the participants a knock-down type of fishpond technology for catfish production during the training. The technology is cheap and easy to construct and maintain and catfish can be marketable within three months. A pond with the size of three sqm each is expected to provide an income of IDR 430,000 per harvest to the group.

As a requisite to start the catfish production project in the village under the SEAMEO STAR Village Program, training covered the following topics: 1) Catfish pond culture techniques; 2) Business analysis and marketing of catfish; and 3) Feeds and feed manufacturing. The participants also visited a local businessman that produces catfish fingerlings within the village.

During the training, the participants identified the locations where to put up the ponds and divided themselves into two groups to implement the project. Two ponds would be put up in the western part of the village to be managed by 2 groups while 3 groups would take care of three ponds that would be constructed in the northern part of the village. BIOTROP and Agathis, another partner-institution of the Centre for the Program, will provide the materials for the ponds as well as 1,500 catfish fingerlings per pond. On the other hand, the project members are expected to manage the ponds as a group business enterprise and document their experience for the next two years.

The fishpond production project is expected to be operational starting in August 2016.