(Mongabay) Balintang, PHILIPPINES — “Seaweeds are important to me because they give me joy when we plant them,” says Melinda Gimotea, as she crouches down among the pile of seaweed seedlings under her stilt house on the southwestern coast of the Philippines’ Palawan province. Facing the teal blue sea on a fine July morning, the 55-year-old ties the olive-green plant cuttings to ropes with floaters, each spanning 25 meters (82 feet).

In her village, Balintang, seaweed farming builds a sense of community and strengthens family ties, as it gives opportunities for community members to connect with each other, Gimotea says: “It’s a time when we get a chance to bond with my neighbors, with my family.”