The findings are particularly important as many coastal communities continue to face unstable incomes due to seasonal weather patterns, fluctuating fish catches, and limited employment opportunities. While fishing remains the primary occupation for many families in Soryar Village, household financial stability increasingly depends on the productive work of women, who have developed diverse local economic activities rooted in Biak culture.
Unlike many previous studies that focus on women's empowerment programs in western Indonesia, this research highlights how traditional Biak cultural values have long provided women with substantial economic autonomy. Rather than relying primarily on external development initiatives, women in Soryar have organically integrated productive work into everyday family life, making them essential contributors to community resilience.
Local Culture Supports Women's Economic Leadership
Soryar Village is located in East Biak District, where most households depend on fishing, subsistence farming, and small-scale trading. According to the researchers, Biak women traditionally hold significant responsibility for managing household finances, children's education, and daily economic decisions while simultaneously maintaining domestic duties. This cultural structure differs from stricter patriarchal systems found in some other regions of Indonesia.
Women commonly market fresh seafood at Bosnik Market, sell agricultural products, manage family gardens, process fishery products, and produce handicrafts made from seashells. These activities not only generate additional income but also reduce household expenses by supplying food directly from family gardens.
How the Research Was Conducted
The researchers used a descriptive qualitative case study carried out over five months in Soryar Village. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observations, and document analysis involving married Papuan women, village officials, and family members directly engaged in supporting household livelihoods.
Instead of relying on statistical surveys, the research examined everyday experiences to understand how women balance family responsibilities with economic activities and how local cultural practices influence those roles.
Key Findings
The study identifies several important contributions made by Biak women to household economic resilience:
- Women actively sell fresh fish, prepared food, household goods, and agricultural products in local markets.
- Many manage subsistence gardens that provide food security while creating additional income opportunities.
- Some operate home-based businesses, produce handicrafts from seashells, or work in tourism-related services.
- Women routinely perform both domestic responsibilities and income-generating work, creating a significant dual workload.
- In several households, women's earnings have become the primary source of family income because fishing income remains unpredictable.
The research also found increasing flexibility in household labor division. While women continue to shoulder most domestic responsibilities, some husbands assist with household work when their wives are engaged in economic activities outside the home.
Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, and Risks
The researchers identified several internal strengths among women in Soryar Village. Traditional craftsmanship, particularly the production of shell-based jewelry, ceremonial ornaments, and cultural attire, represents valuable economic potential that could support creative industries and cultural tourism. Village leaders also recognized women's creativity and entrepreneurial abilities as important community assets.
However, significant structural barriers continue to limit business growth. The most frequently reported challenges include:
- Limited access to business capital.
- Insufficient follow-up support after government training programs.
- Weak marketing infrastructure.
- The absence of active women's economic organizations.
- Age and health limitations affecting some participants.
The village's growing tourism potential presents new business opportunities, particularly for selling local food, seafood, and handicrafts to visitors. Nevertheless, unpredictable weather remains the greatest external threat because it simultaneously reduces fish catches and tourist arrivals, causing household incomes to fluctuate.
Practical Implications for Rural Development
According to the research team, strengthening women's economic capacity requires more than occasional training programs. Sustainable empowerment should include access to microfinance, continuous business mentoring, stronger women's organizations, and closer collaboration between village governments, local churches, and relevant public institutions.
The researchers argue that integrating gender-responsive planning into village development would allow women to become active drivers of local economic development rather than simply beneficiaries of government assistance. Such an approach could improve household welfare while supporting long-term rural development throughout Papua.
As Beatus Tambaip and colleagues from Universitas Cenderawasih and STISIP Yaleka Maro Merauke conclude, the economic resilience of Soryar Village depends heavily on women's ability to diversify household livelihoods by combining fisheries, agriculture, trade, and local craftsmanship. Their findings demonstrate that Biak women's contributions extend well beyond traditional domestic responsibilities and have become fundamental to community sustainability.
Author Profile
Beatus Tambaip is a researcher in the Public Administration Study Program, Universitas Cenderawasih, Indonesia. He co-authored this study with Yosephina Ohoiwutun and M. Zaenul Muttaqin from Universitas Cenderawasih, alongside Rosina J.M. Kebubun, Ivone A. Nathan, Yuan Williamson Tamberan, Yustinus Merin, and Dewi Dyan Lampita from the Public Administration Study Program, STISIP Yaleka Maro Merauke. Their academic work focuses on public administration, community empowerment, gender studies, local governance, and household economic development in coastal communities.
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