This article outlines the initiatives of the International Ocean Institute‘s Pacific Islands Operational Centre (IOIPI) and the Marine Studies Programme (MSP) to assist women and youth in coastal communities to generate alternative sources of livelihood in the Pacific Islands. The potential of women and youth to contribute to the upgradation of community conditions have been specifically recognized in these efforts. The activities supported include organization of gender workshops in the Coral Coast area of Fiji and in Upolu, Samoa; supporting a women’s souvenir shop in Rennell and Bellona, Solomon Islands and a mat-buying venture in Vanuaso, Gau, Fiji.