Abstract

This research evaluates the vulnerability of three rural communities in Saint Lucia. namely. Dennery. Micoud and Praslin. to anomalous pelagic sargassum influxes. This research has employed community-based participatory approaches to develop indicators of the three components of vulnerability. namely exposure. sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Using the Community-based Participatory Approach developed by ActionAid. a mixed methods approach was utilized for data collection. This included household surveys and census data (quantitative methods) and key informant interviews with high-level policy makers. focus group meetings with the fisherfolk from each community and community meetings (qualitative methods). A special focus of this research is “the Voice of the Invisible” which includes the poor. the disabled. women and minority groups like Rastafarians. who are often excluded from data collection processes. This research ensures that their “voices” are heard and their views captured through a participatory video where they explore issues. voice concerns or can simply be creative and tell their stories. This paper presents the preliminary analysis of the household surveys. key informant interviews and focus group meetings and community members telling their story through participatory videos.

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