Roberto Ballon, also known as “Ka Dodoy”
Sep 3 2021
The 53-year-old Roberto Ballon, also known as “Ka Dodoy,” was born to Visayan parents who migrated to the village of Concepcion in Kabasalan town, Zamboanga Sibugay province in Mindanao, when he was in his teens.
Since he was young, Ka Dodoy knew the realities of diminishing fish harvests in once rich fishing grounds. He saw his father spend long hours at sea, like other village fishermen, and come home earning barely enough to buy rice for the family.
Poverty prevented Ka Dodoy from going to college. He knew he would have to “go back to the sea” when he started his own family. He had to take command of the situation he was in.
In 1986, he and 30 other fishermen started the Kapunungan sa Gamay nga Mangingisda sa Concepcion, or the Association of Small Fishermen of Concepcion.
Seeing how fishponds in their village destroyed mangrove forests and how these have been abandoned after the business collapsed, Ka Dodoy’s group decided to focus on reforestation.
With little help and meager returns, the association’s members dwindled to three. Ka Dodoy, the chairman, persisted until he attracted government support.
Read the full news in LiCAS.news.
