In 1999, the women of Baraulu and Bulelavata villages in Roviana Lagoon, Solomon Islands, created a community-based marine protected area to sustain marine resources valuable for nutrition and income-generation. This has resulted in sustaining invertebrate biological resources and in promoting strong community support. The paper outlines the details of the project, its biological results, the processes involved ensuring community participation and lessons learnt. A high level of community involvement is achieved when positive scientific results generated by the monitoring protocol, are returned to the community. This educational process cross-fertilized indigenous and Western knowledge and increased women’s interest in the project and their direct participation in monitoring and enforcement. The project’s success has encouraged several nearby villages to launch conservation initiatives.