Women-led group links mangrove restoration and livelihoods in North Sulawesi
The story at a glance
The women-led group Rhizopora works on mangrove restoration in Sarawet, North Sulawesi. Mongabay reports that community leader Wisye Sahambangung helped establish it in 2022; the group collects propagules and seedlings, supports planting and monitors coastal areas. CARE Indonesia also describes Rhizopora’s conservation and livelihood activities.13
The group’s activities include selling seedlings and mud crabs, alongside a savings-and-loans scheme. Mongabay reports a 2026 planting effort involving 30,000 mangroves, while CARE Indonesia separately reported planting by five women-led groups in 2025. The accounts document activities, but do not establish longer-term ecological or income results.12
The story in brief
What you need to know
- Mongabay reports that Rhizopora was established in 2022 with Wisye Sahambangung’s help. Its work includes collecting propagules and seedlings, supporting restoration and monitoring coastal areas.1
- Mongabay says Rhizopora helped plant 30,000 mangroves during an eight-month restoration project in 2026, working with CARE Indonesia and Yayasan Bumi Tangguh. The report does not include independent monitoring of seedling survival.1
- CARE Indonesia reported that five women-led groups in three North Minahasa villages planted 7,340 seedlings in August 2025, towards a programme target of 50,000. It said members would maintain and monitor the seedlings.2
- CARE Indonesia’s profile describes Rhizopora members developing a group enterprise and savings-and-loans scheme, with support that included a boat and crab-catching equipment. Mongabay reports that members sell seedlings and mud crabs.13
- Reports of more fish and improved catches come from the group leader and fishers interviewed by Mongabay. The available reporting does not present independent ecological or fisheries measurements to test those accounts.1
Conservation context
Why this matters
Rhizopora’s example brings mangrove restoration and local livelihood activities together in a women-led group. The reports show how its members participate in both, while the limited outcome evidence means the scale and durability of any ecological or economic gains remain unclear.13
The developing story
What happens next
CARE Indonesia said members would maintain and monitor the seedlings planted in 2025. The available accounts do not set out a monitoring timetable or report results on survival, so those outcomes remain unresolved in the reporting.2
Established evidence
What we know
- Mongabay and CARE Indonesia both describe Rhizopora as a women-led group in Sarawet that links mangrove work with livelihood activities.13
- The planting figures in the accounts refer to different reported efforts: Mongabay’s 30,000 mangroves in an eight-month 2026 project, and CARE Indonesia’s 7,340 seedlings planted by five groups in August 2025.12
- The reporting describes livelihood activities including seedling and mud-crab sales and a savings-and-loans scheme; CARE’s profile also notes material support for the group.13
Open questions
What we don't know
- The Mongabay account does not provide independent monitoring data showing what proportion of the 30,000 reported seedlings survived, or the methods and period used to assess survival.1
- The reporting does not establish whether claims of increased fish abundance and improved catches are supported by fisheries data or comparison with a baseline.1
- The available accounts give examples and participant testimony, but do not show how sustained or widely distributed the group’s income gains are over time.13
Source coverage
