Villagers of Dravuni in the Tikina of Ono in Kadavu once thought they could rely on the marine life in the sea and agriculture farming as a source of income but the drastic change in weather patterns has forced them to seek alternatives.
Dravuni Village Development Officer Mr Iliesa Bula said villagers have turned their focus on tourism, hospitality and the sustainable management of their resources.
Mr Bula made these comments amidst the visit of the two Ministers – Hon. Osea Naiqamu, Minister for Forestry and Hon. Semi Koroilavesau, Minister for Fisheries to Dravuni this morning.
The former police officer commended the two government Ministers for visiting the village.
“We thought that we would continue earning our living from the sea and land but due to climate change the marine life in particular that used to survive here in abundance at one stage are no longer evident now,” Mr Bula said.
Mr Bula said that with 200 villagers occupying 46 homes in the village, they are also no longer reliant like before on yaqona farming and have decided to plant trees.
“All the men in the village over 18 years of age started their tree planting program last month whereby each of them planted five trees a day. It is because of this we have shifted our focus to tourism and hospitality as a source of livelihood as well as ensuring that we are looking after our environment.”
Mr Bula added majority of the villagers worked at the local Kokomo Resort and also assisted the French film crew who are in Buliya Base Camp shooting the French Survivor Series.
The two Ministers are on a three-day tour of Kadavu visiting Dravuni and Naqara village today, Nukuvou, Tiliva, Nakoronawa, Nakaunasele and Vunisei village on Thursday and Tawava Village on Friday before they head back to Suva on Friday evening.
Minister Naiqamu is in Kadavu to encourage the villagers to engage in the 4 Million Trees in 4 Years Initiative which was launched by His Excellency the President Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konusi Konrote on January 7 this year at the State House.
The Ministry of Forestry has so far planted 262,000 trees with communities and stakeholders since the initiative was launched.
Minister Koroilavesau on the other hand is encouraging villagers to adhere to the seasonal ban on the two fish species, Kawakawa and Donu, which began on June 1st and will end on September 30th.