How Does Coral Catch Work?
We provide a nine-week coral restoration scholarship program to Indonesian women who have the dream to work in conservation.
Our scholarship candidates live and work together on a small island called Gili Air. They are the first completely local female coral restoration team in Indonesia. We call them Coral Catch Superwomen. Three days a week they go out to grow and plant corals to restore dying reefs and bring life back to the ocean. Furthermore, they monitor our restoration site and collect a lot of data to assess the health of the environment.
Back on land, our Coral Catch Superwomen follow masterclasses from pioneering female marine biologists, entrepreneurs, eco-warriors, and dive professionals to further improve their knowledge and skills. And it doesn’t stop there.
Our Coral Catch Superwomen are called Superwomen for a reason; they are multitalented and hard workers. From bending the steel to create new reef structures to welding them together, from making plugs for our coral farm, to loading the boat with tanks and equipment. From encouraging the community to join their weekly beach clean ups to teaching the local children about the gift of conservation. Because they believe that with the right knowledge and tools, this next generation will have a great impact on the future, making better choices regarding diverse lifestyle habits in order to maintain their paradise.
There’s no denying that a strong, professional network can help your career. That’s why we surround our scholarship candidates with a network of amazing ambassadors from around the world that encourage and empower them in charting their own path in protecting our oceans.
What Does The Program Look Like?
How Do We Encourage & Empower Indonesian Women To Pursue A Career In Marine Conservation?
To help our Coral Catch Superwomen to have a career in marine conservation they all receive:
- A temporary spot in our research team to gain more working experience. Out of each group, we will offer one candidate to work another 3 – 6 months with our research team on Gili Air to gain even more knowledge and experience.
- PADI Scientific Diver Course Certification.
- Reef Check certification.
- Proof of 54 scientific dives using the following methods: Shark Identification, Baited Remoted Underwater Video’s and Survey Dives, Turtle Identification, Dive Against Debris, Fish & Benthic Survey dives, Arial and Underwater Time-lapse, Coral Restoration, Coral Watch, Coral Health Index, Reef Check.
- Coral ID Book and Indicator Species Book.
- Minimum nine masterclasses on conservation, project planning, entrepreneurship, mental health, social media and community engagement.
- Professional CV in English and Bahasa Indonesia + professional profile picture.
- An equipment book that will make it easier to set up their own coral restoration project or assist another organization with (setting up) their coral restoration project. Our equipment book includes:
– Drawings of all the steel structures we use for our restoration project and coral nurseries.
– Drawings of how to make a quadrat for using the Coral Health Index Method
– Drawings of how to create a measurement stick for survey dives
– A detailed description of how to make all structures and tools
– An overview of the costs of all structures and tools
- Letter of recommendation and a certificate.
- Introduction to the worldwide network of Gili Shark Conservation.
Even after our Coral Catch Superwomen finish their scholarship, we keep providing a mentor role and help where we can to make their dream come true.
How Do We Reduce The Gender Inequality In The Marine Conservation Field?
The ocean research and conservation fields have historically been dominated by men, with gender inequality that continues to this day.
In 1872, the HMS Challenger set out to sample the world’s ocean and it is recognized as the first modern oceanographic expedition. It had 243 people on board—none of whom were women.
In fact, no women were allowed on research vessels in the U.S. until the 1960s! Within ten years, superwoman Sylvia Earle led the first all-female aquanaut team in an experiment where they lived in an underwater habitat for two weeks.
We believe that empowering women and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerating sustainable development. This is how Coral Catch contributes to closing the gender gap in the conservation field.
We Offer Scholarships To Indonesian Women
So far more than 200 women applied for our scholarship program. We are overwhelmed by the number of applications we’ve received, and it’s incredibly inspiring to see that there are so many women in Indonesia that have the passion and the drive to protect the ocean. We want to empower these women to realize their dream and help them to find a job in conservation.
We Share Our Knowledge + Experience With Others
The number of conservation organizations in Indonesia has rapidly increased in recent years. With a focus on female empowerment in conservation, Coral Catch gains valuable cultural insights which we share in other areas of conservation throughout the country. Furthermore, it increases the amount of female participation and ownership.
We Provide Role Models
It is important to have the right inspiration to discover who you are, and who you would like to become. Our Coral Catch Superwomen are role models for the next generation of female conservationists. By actively promoting their work through digital marketing and social media we show Indonesian women that it’s possible to work in the conservation field and that you can combine work with being a mother. Knowing that there is someone out there who made their dreams come true no matter what they faced hopefully inspires other women to do the same.
How Can You Support Our Coral Catch Superwomen
We have a vision for the world we want tomorrow—and we’re going to do everything in our power to make it a reality today. Would you like to be involved in our mission and show your support to our Coral Catch Superwomen? Click here.
