Live simply and be content
WHILE many toil to have more in life, there are families who are content with what they have. Staying in remote areas is a big contributor to this way of life.
Tavaita Luvuluvuwaqa is content with her way of life. The Nukuloa, Lutu-Wainibuka villager faces challenges when traveling to Suva. With public transport only reaching Vunidawa, it costs money for the 64-yearold to travel to the city just to grab the essentials for her and her husband.
"We make the journey to Suva once or, at most, twice every month due to the high cost of travel. The expenses amount to more than 20 dollars per person for the trip to the city.
“If there are carriers to take us to Vunidawa, the costs escalate further," she says.
With the nearest store an hour away, she prefers to wait for her monthly trips to go shopping and only make a second or third trip if necessary.
“When my husband receives his social welfare money, that's the time we go and buy our groceries. “Additionally, we travel to Suva when our children send money, with our son overseas providing financial support when needed.
"The essentials we purchase are salt, sugar, and washing soap. We primarily sustain ourselves with the produce from our land, often having tavioka with tea for breakfast and rourou or bele for dinner.
“Rarely do we eat food made from flour; for the most part, we rely on what we grow in the garden.
"If we need to visit town apart from our monthly trips, we venture to nearby villages to sell the produce from our garden, such as dalo, rourou, bele, and ota,” she said.
This income usually covers our expenses for the trip to Suva and back, enabling us to purchase what we need."
Mrs Luvuluvuwaqa only lives with her husband as her son is overseas, and her grandchildren live in Lutu. Living with her husband, they've learned to manage what they buy to last them. "For just my husband and I, 4kg of provisions will last us a month or even two.
“However, if my grandchildren visit or we have other guests, our rations decreases quickly.
We have the option to buy from the shop in Lutu, an hour away, but we would rather wait until the end of the month when my husband's money arrives.
She encourages families to go back to the land, especially when the prices of food continues to increase.
"Be content and live simply," is her motto.