Scroll.in show ‘Eco India’ wins international prize for video on women oyster farmers in Maharashtra
In 2013, the women in Wadatar in Sindhudurg district, aided by the United Nations Development Programme, innovated the way oysters are farmed.
The “Eco India” sustainability magazine show produced by the video team of Scroll.in in collaboration with Germany’s public international broadcaster Deutsche Welle has won the second prize in a video competition organised by non-profit organisation Women in Seafood.
The show won the prize for its video on how, in 2013, women in the village of Wadatar in Mahatashtra’s Sindhudurg district, aided by the United Nations Development Programme, started building bamboo structures in a creek behind the village to implement an innovative way of farming oysters. The women, who have formed a self-help group, set up ropes with empty oyster shells on bamboo frames. Oyter larvae attach themselves to the empty shells and are harvested over time. This oyster farming method has also been replicated in other places across the west coast.
A video from Spain won the top honour while a video from Peru, titled The aquaculture women of Lake Arapa, took home the third prize.
“This year the videos of very high standards pay a wonderful tribute to women working in the seafood sector, their commitment, their resilience and their love to their work,” said WSI President Marie Christine Monfort. “All actors of these videos, directors and real characters, should be warmly congratulated.”
British journalist Nicki Holmyard, who was part of the jury, said the standard of all the films that won an award and received special mentions was high.
“They demonstrated the many ways in which women are active throughout the seafood industry,” she added. “There were happy tales and sad tales, tales of bravery and perseverance, and tales of the struggle against circumstance. A couple of films even brought a tear to my eye. All the women should be congratulated on their outstanding efforts; they left me in awe.”
Women in Seafood was set up to highlight gender imbalance in the seafood industry, women’s contributions, and promote greater gender diversity and inclusiveness.