Tipping the scales of equality in the Philippines

"Before, these women were just waiting at home. Now, we are more educated. We are empowered to be more independent," says Ruperta Gagarin, a businesswoman from the Philippines.

She and her colleagues on the island of Eastern Sumar now make a good living processing and selling dried fish. But until a few years ago, she and the other women in the village used to have to rely on their husbands for an income.

The FISHCORAL project, funded by IFAD and the Government of the Philippines, has trained Ruperta and other women in how to add value to their operations. It also gave them equipment, such as solar dryers and kitchen supplies, to improve the quality and quantity of their final product.