20 SPC • Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin #29 Gender and coastal livelihoods: The case of shell money production and trade in Langalanga, Solomon Islands Kate Barclay, 1 Sarah Lawless, 2 Nicholas McClean, 1 Simon Foale, 3 Reuben Sulu 4 Research objectives In a recently published article by us (Barclay et al. 2018), we considered gender in the context of broader social trends around livelihoods using a case study of shell money production and trade in Solomon Islands. We pooled data from several research projects conducted by the authors between 2010 and 2017 to explore the shell money value chain in Langalanga Lagoon in Malaita Province. Our methods included qualitative interviews (n = 12, eight women, two men, two family groups), focus group discussions with women (n = 5) and men (n = 9) and quantitative questionnaires with 316 households. We complemented this research material with a literature review of published papers providing historical and anthropological accounts of gender norms and roles associated with livelihoods. Results Shell money as a livelihood source Historically, shell money has been central to Langalangan economies and identity, trading activities and part of what has distinguished the Langalanga as a people. Shell money pieces were an important part of the Melanesian ‘big man’ culture of feasting, trading and warfare. Shell money continues to be used to pay a bride price, offered as compensation in disputes, and traded in exchange for cash, goods or services (Cooper 1971; Faradatolo 2008; Fidali- Hickie and Whippy-Morris 2005; Goto 1996; Robbins and Akin 1999). In recent decades, a market has emerged for shell jewellery (Fig. 1), including necklaces, bracelets, anklets and earrings made of shell money beads, other shell types, and glass beads. Shell money remains one of the most important sources of income in Langalanga (Sulu et al. 2015). Gender and changes in the distribution of labour We find that gender roles – in terms of the type of work done by women and men – have influenced the shell money value chain over time, and in turn are influenced by shifts in the shell money value chain (Fig. 2). Women have become more actively involved in trading shell money in recent years. In the pre-colonial period, blood feuding by men was a central feature of cultures around the Langalanga area, so in trading situations where groups from different communities came together violence could easily have erupted. In order to avoid this, trading was usually conducted by women who were escorted by male relatives for security reasons (Guo 2001; Ross 2017). After colonialisation, the risk of blood feuding violence was less prevalent and shell money trading came to be considered men’s work. This was particularly the case where trading involved travel of more than one day, in part due to ideas that it was inappropriate for women to travel away from their families (Keesing 1985; Maranda 2001). However, over the past few decades, women have become active in trading again. According to interviewees, this shift has been prompted, in part, by men spending proceeds from the Background Rural livelihoods in many parts of the Pacific Islands region are tied to coastal marine resources. In this context, growing threats to the sustainability of these resources and limited economic opportunities have led to an increasing number of development interventions seeking to deliver locally appropriate solutions for sustainable livelihoods. Often, the primary goal of such interventions is to improve ecological outcomes, but given the tight connection with people’s livelihoods, such goals must also be coupled with local people’s own development aspirations, and gender is an integral component of these considerations. Gender shapes people’s access to and control over resources (i.e. physical and social), and how benefits from productive activities are distributed (Cohen et al. 2016; Hillenbrand et al. 2015; Kawarazuka et al. 2016). Effectively working with local people requires resource management and community development initiatives to be sensitive to the influence of gender on livelihoods. 1 University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Email: Kate.Barclay@uts.edu.au 2 ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia. Email: sarah.lawless@my.jcu.edu.au 3 James Cook University, Townsville, Australia 4 WorldFish, Honiara, Solomon Islands