PCFML Secures Outrigger Impact Support for Resilient Seaweed Cooperative Platform in the Western Province, Solomon Islands

Positive Change for Marine Life (PCFML) is proud to announce that we have been selected as one of Outrigger Impact’s funded initiatives through the Outrigger Technical Assistance Facility (OTAF).

This support marks an important step forward for our work in the Solomon Islands, where PCFML and our partners are developing a resilient seaweed cooperative platform that connects coastal livelihoods, reef resilience, climate adaptation and long-term economic opportunity.

Seaweed farming is already active in parts of the Western Province, including around Gizo, Rarumana, Saeragi and nearby communities. However, existing farming remains fragmented and under-supported, with many farmers facing challenges around access to materials, drying infrastructure, quality control, buyer relationships and fair pricing.

Through this initiative, PCFML is working to strengthen the foundations needed for seaweed farming to become a more reliable, community-led livelihood pathway. The model will support improved production quality, cooperative coordination, traceability, market readiness and pathways to scale, while ensuring that local communities remain central to decision-making and delivery. This work has become even more urgent following Tropical Cyclone Maila, which caused major damage across the Western Province and highlighted the vulnerability of coastal communities, food systems and emerging seaweed livelihoods to extreme weather.

OTAF support will help advance the technical assistance and investment-readiness components of this work. This includes strengthening quality assurance systems, improving traceability, developing financial and market models, and preparing the platform for future growth through Ocean Livelihoods, PCFML’s emerging platform for scalable, community-led coastal production systems.

The goal is not only to support seaweed farming as an income source, but to build a stronger system around it. By improving quality, transparency and market access, the program aims to help communities move beyond low-margin, fragmented production toward a more coordinated and resilient coastal enterprise model.

In the Solomon Islands, where coastal communities face growing pressure from climate change, declining fisheries and limited livelihood options, seaweed farming has significant potential. When designed carefully, it can support income diversification, reduce pressure on reef fisheries, and contribute to broader reef and climate resilience.

This work will build on PCFML’s existing presence in the Western Province and our long-standing partnerships with communities, provincial stakeholders, national agencies and technical partners. It will also create a stronger foundation for co-funding and future investment to support on-ground implementation and scale.

We are deeply grateful to Outrigger Impact, through its Outrigger Technical Assistance Facility (OTAF), for its confidence and support, and we look forward to working closely with the team as this next phase gets underway.

With initial funding now secured, PCFML is actively seeking co-funding partners to support the implementation phase of this work in the Solomon Islands, particularly those focused on ocean livelihoods, nature-based solutions, reef resilience and community-led coastal production.

This is an important milestone, and we are excited to move forward with communities and partners to build a seaweed platform that is locally grounded, commercially credible and designed for long-term impact.