As the sun rises over Dongkala Village on Buton Island, Gani Rudin walks to the shoreline and guides his small boat into Pasarwajo Bay. A quick ride brings him to his rompong, a traditional Indonesian floating fishing hutthat casts shade to attract fish below. He spends the morning fishing within PAAP Ngapatoowa, a community-led fisheries management area that grants exclusive usage to local community members.
In 2023, the community elected Gani as chairman of PAAP Ngapatoowa’s Fisheries Management Body, a role that he performs with great pride and responsibility. “It is known that in our region, the majority of the population are fishers. They depend on [the sea]. All life comes from the sea,” Gani says.
As chairman, Gani works alongside fishers, village governments, and local leaders to balance community livelihood needs with ocean sustainability. His work has become even more urgent as climate change and economic hardships intensify the challenges faced by Pasarwajo Bay’s fishing communities.
In recent years, fishing has become increasingly unpredictable. Stronger winds and shifting seasons mean fewer safe days at sea. When high winds and storms prevent fishers from fishing, a family’s income can vanish overnight. Once the weather clears, fishers rush to make up for the lost days of fishing — only to face another challenge. Without reliable access to ice and proper cold storage, up to 35% of their catch spoils before they can sell it at the market. This cycle increases pressure on fisheries while turning hard-earned labor into loss.
“A few years ago, we had to throw away our catch because there was no ice to keep it fresh,” Gani explains. “Many fishermen had to cancel trips just because there was no ice. For us, it’s simple. Having plenty of fish means nothing if we can’t preserve it.”
Reimagining a business model rooted in innovative financing
In Dongkala Village, the lack of dependable cold storage meant that a full day’s catch could quickly turn into a financial setback. Looking for a way to stabilize incomes and prevent overfishing, Gani and the fisheries management body found a promising partner in Rare.
For more than 20 years, Rare has worked across Southwest Sulawesi to help climate-vulnerable communities build economic resilience. With Rare’s training and support, Gani and the management body learned the fundamentals of business operations and financial management needed to pilot the district’s first ice-making business.
In February 2026, the ice business officially opened to the public. It’s already helping fishers reduce post-harvest losses. In just a few hours, the management body can produce enough ice to sell to local fishers at the affordable price of 4,000 Indonesian rupiah (approximately 24 cents in USD at the time of publication) per solid, forearm-length block.
Unlike ice made in household freezers, the machine, owned by the management body, produces high-density blocks that retain cold temperatures longer and melt more slowly. These features extend safe storage time and reduce post-harvest loss, leading to strengthened income stability for local fishers.
The ice-making business reinvests its profits to help the management body govern and conserve their coastal waters. “The management body uses proceeds from sales to run critical activities like fisheries surveillance and sustainable fisheries campaigning,” says Tarlan Subarno, Rare Program Implementation Manager in Indonesia. “Through the ice operation, community members can invest part of their revenue into sustaining and protecting the source of their money — the sea.”
Investing in resilience and community-led conservation
This ice machine business has created a new model for how community-led microenterprises and financial systems can empower frontline communities to withstand shocks and invest in the future.In the coming months, Rare will pilot the model at additional sites financed by its Small-Scale Fisheries Impact Bond, embedding conservation goals directly into business and financial structures to ensure that economic growth supports, rather than undermines, ocean health.
For Gani, his work is far from over, even as the ice machine business thrives. He remains dedicated to social outreach and continues meeting with community members, reminding them that protecting the sea is a shared responsibility. “Our goal is that fishers can stay alive, society can be peaceful, and the sea can also be awake,” he says.
Standing on the shore of Pasarwajo Bay, he imagines what his coastal waters may look like years from now. “In five to 10 years, or even 20 years to come, we will see the effect. The fish will increase. We’ll have bigger and better coral. And God willing, I can be proud in my old age that we were all PAAP pioneers and I was once the chairman here.”