This is Fair Trade in action!

5 min
Mar 31
Four women in matching uniforms and hairnets pose proudly in front of a 'Katsuo Marendeing' food stall.
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At Fish Tales, we have been choosing Fair Trade skipjack tuna for years, and this choice is a conscious one. It not only ensures a fair price for the fishermen but also provides them with a premium that goes directly back to the community. This is also the case in Bitung, Indonesia, where the fishermen's wives now run their own food stall!

And that's special, because in most fishing families, it's very normal for men to go out to sea and women to run things at home, but Reni, Laura, Novi & Seli changed that this year. They rolled up their sleeves and started the Mama Mama group -a business run by the wives of fishermen: A way for these women to earn extra income, support their families, and build something of their own.

And yes, that's partly thanks to our Fair Trade tuna cans!

Let's take a step back, how exactly does that work?

You've probably spotted the Fair Trade logo on our tuna cans, but what does this logo actually mean? Fair Trade goes much further than just a label. It ensures that all fishermen in Bitung who catch tuna for us receive a fair price for their catch. On top of this price, every can of Fair Trade generates a premium – a fixed amount that goes directly back to the community, who then decide where the money is most needed. Previously, this premium has been used for basic necessities such as bags of rice, school books for children, or bins in the community. This time, it went a lot further.

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Five smiling women holding plates of freshly prepared food in front of a house.

Women of the Mama Mama group at work

From premium to practice

With the Fair Trade premium as seed capital, Reni, Laura, Novi, and Seli got to work. For months, the women stood in the kitchen testing and perfecting recipes for their food stall. And what better to use than the skipjack tuna their husbands catch themselves?

Mama Laura laughs when she recalls:

“Sometimes it was quite difficult, because some recipes completely failed. They were so tough they'd send you running straight to the dentist!”

But giving up wasn't an option. After a lot of experimenting, tasting, and adjusting, they finally had a menu they are proud of.

Golden fried dumplings, one cut open revealing a savory, reddish-orange filling.
Woman cooking dumplings in a pan with tongs, plate of raw dumplings nearby.

Tuna snack 'Katsuo Marendeng'

Our impact manager Irene even made the tuna snack – Katsuo Marendeng – here at the office for the team to taste. And WOW! A spicy tuna mixture folded in tapioca flour dough, briefly deep-fried and super delicious. Crispy on the outside, soft and full of flavor on the inside. Needless to say, everyone was an instant fan.

Since January 31, the Katsuo Marendeng food stall has been open, and every day the fishermen's wives earn their own income to support their families.

Four women in matching uniforms and hairnets pose proudly in front of a 'Katsuo Marendeing' food stall.
Illuminated round sign for "KATSUO MARENDENG" with a person carrying a large tuna.

So, as you can see, Fair Trade is not just a logo, but something you can feel, smell, and taste – freshly sold in bags of 5 pieces, from their own food stall in Bitung, 5 days a week. How cool is that?