Surrounded by vast sea water and unsettling waves, a small wooden boat struggles to stay above the water. The boat swings side by side while the fisherman maintains his balance as he scoops out seawater that entered the boat.

Every day, fishermen in Atimonan, Quezon dance with death to be able to catch the treasures of the sea. One of these Atimonan fishermen is Nelson Embile, 53, of Brgy. Angeles.

Nelson recalls how he started to become a fisherman due to the failure of his business five

years ago.

“Dati ako ay biyahero ng coco lumber, kaso nalugi po kami doon kaya ngayon nangingisda na lang po ako dito sa Atimonan. Noon po, hindi ko alam kung paano ko na bubuhayin ang pamilya ko”, he shared.

Since then, he relies to fishing for his family’s daily subsistence. However, he does not have his own fishing boat so he rides the “Malakaya”, a mother fishing vessel to catch fish.

“Hindi po regular at hindi fixed rin po ang kita, basta pag may mahuli, maswerte po kami dahil meron kaming isda na maibebenta”, he shared.

According to him, being a fisherman is a tough job and as a father of eight children, he really struggles to sustain the needs of his big family.

 

Building their future

“Nalaman po namin na may programa raw po na maari gumawa ng bangka kaya agad po kaming nagtanong at nagpalista dahil gusto po naming magkaroon ng sariling bangka”, he shared.

With desire and determination to have their own boats, Nelson and 49 other Atimonan fishermen participated on the skills training in fiberglass boat making through the Sustainable Livelihood Program in 2015.

Fiberglass boat unlike wooden boat, is stronger, light-weight and susceptible to rotting and leakage thus, it is more durable and easier to maintain.

In 2016, the participants received their fiberglass boats which they individually used for fishing.

The said participants were organized as Atimonan Sustainable Livelihood Program Association (SLPA) in which, Nelson become the treasurer.

“Hindi naman po ganoong kahirap ang paggawa ng bangka, kailangan lang po nakikinig at tinitignan nang maigi ang ginagawa po ng mga nagtuturo”, he shared.

True enough, the diligence and skillfulness of Nelson were recognized by their trainers. By the end of their training, he was recruited to be part of the training team.

 

Changing tides

From being a simple fisherman, Nelson is now one of the trainers on fiberglass boat making. He and six other SLP participants were tapped to conduct trainings to different municipalities within and outside Quezon Province.

“Una po akong nagturo sa Sariaya (Quezon), nakakapanibago po kasi nagtuturo ka na po sa ibang mga tao kung paano gumawa ng bangka at akalain mo po yun kaya ko po palang magturo sa iba”, he humbly shared.

However, due to the schedule of their trainings, he travels frequently to different unfamiliar places.

“Minsan nakaka-miss po ang aking pamilya kasi sa iba’t ibang lugar kami nadedestino pero ganun po talaga, kailangan pong magsakripisyo”, he humbly shared.

Every training, he is earning P 2,000.00. When there are no trainings, he still manages to catch fish using his own fiberglass boat.

“Ang trabaho ko ngayon medyo maalwan kesa po pag sumasama ako sa laot. Dito po medyo paturo-turo lang sa paggawa ng fiberglass boat medyo mas magaan ang trabaho kahit paano”, he said.

According to him, he is now more confident to communicate with other people. He also saw this as an opportunity to give back by helping other SLP participants like him.

“Tulad ko, marami po kaming (SLPA members) na mabigyan ng pagkakataon na matutunan at malaman ang paggawa ng fiberglass boat na maari naming gamitin sa aming kabuhayan” # WithReportsMDrece