Indonesia: Changing Tides: How Women Seaweed Farmers in Indonesia Are Adapting to Climate Change

Jul 9, 2026 | Trisha Albay
UN Women Asia and the Pacific
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Before sunrise, Fatmawati Palele is already by the sea.

Growing up in Sulamu, a coastal community in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, the ocean has always shaped her life. As a child, she accompanied her father, a small-scale fisher, as he set out to sea each day to earn a living. From him, she learned to read the tides, the winds and the changing moods of the ocean. Today, she makes her own living as a seaweed farmer.

Like many women in Sulamu, Fatmawati depends on seaweed farming to support her family. In this coastal community, seaweed is a vital source of income for women, who play a central role in cultivating, harvesting and processing it.

Seaweed farming depends on calm seas and stable weather. Now, changing wind patterns are making it harder to tend the seaweed. Stronger winds can loosen seaweed from the cultivation lines before it is ready to harvest, while sudden rains can interrupt the drying process, increasing the risk of losses.