Empowerment of Naiseuseu women
THE Pacific Blue Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Cooperative and iTaukei Affairs board this week launched a project focusing on women’s economic empowerment at Naiseuseu Village on Beqa Island.
A resource centre and solar system was handed over to the Naiseuseu Women’s Cooperative Ltd, funded by donors of the Pacific Blue Foundation.
Pacific Blue Foundation project manager Tomasi Tikoibua said the women’s projects, which included other initiatives such as vegetable farming, aligned well with the NGO’s conservation efforts and values.
“Pacific Blue is specifically dedicated to the conservation of natural resources and it has been found that one of the driving factors behind the exploitation of natural resources has to do with money. So we are helping villagers in other income generation projects to lessen that dependence,” Mr Tikoibua said.
Former vice-president of the Naiseuseu Soqosoqo Vakamarama and founder of the project Ulita Sawana said the group was registered as a cooperative in April last year but after months of delay, the canteen project became operational in November.
“We thank the Pacific Blue Foundation for enabling a lot of things, especially the cooperative training that we undertook after we got registered. We also thank the government of Canada for providing seed funding for the establishment of our cooperative, and the Ministry of Cooperative for their assistance.”
Director of cooperatives Iosefo Koroidimuri, who was chief guest and officially switched on the solar powered lights at the canteen, said the cooperative model of doing business was better suited to the iTaukei community as it resonated with the “solesolevaki” concept already part of the i-Taukei culture.
Naiseuseu Soqosoqo Vakamarama Cooperative also operates a screen printing business and has 24 members.