The Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Premila Kumar, officially launched the Pottery cooking house project for the villages of Nakabuta, Lawai and Nayawa in Sigatoka on Tuesday 7 December 2021.
Tuli Tuli or Voca is the style of pottery making which is unique to the three villages.
During her address at the launch, Minister Kumar said that she is pleased to see first-hand how the women of these villages make this pottery and continue to pass this cultural practice to the younger generation.
“The Fijian Government through Fiji’s National Development Plan seeks the protection and promotion of unique Fijian cultural heritage for sustainable development. Cultural heritage provides individuals and communities with an identity that is unique to them,” Minister Kumar said.
“Pottery is one such art that needs to be protected and promoted. Our local culture and arts play a significant role in the tourism industry in the form of performances and traditional arts and crafts made by local artisans.”
The Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts provides grants to the different cultural agencies such as Fiji Arts Council, National Trust of Fiji, Fiji Museum and the Five Multi-Cultural Centres to promote, preserve and safeguard the heritage and arts in Fiji.
The Government has been providing various levels of support to promote and protect cultural industries at the national level, such as the introduction of the Fijian Made certification logo to enable consumersto easily recognise Fijian produced products or services.
Minister Kumar said, “this campaign was initiated by the Fijian Government to create a Fijian brand to promote locally made, locally sewn, locally designed products”.
Additionally, the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts is promoting culture, heritage and arts through inclusion in the school curriculum.
The Social Science curriculum covers aspects of culture, heritage, and arts for years 9-10 and is also taught in the vernacular classes.
“As we revise our curriculum we will ensure that we include creative and cultural industries because we know that creative and cultural industries drive self-employment and create strong networks within the communities,” said the Minister.
“Continuity of culture, heritage and arts knowledge and skills in our communities is essential. Therefore, it is vital that the elders in the community encourage our young generations to participate in these traditional practices to help pass on the art of pottery making.”
“In this way, our traditional knowledge in culture, arts and heritage will remain alive in generations to come. At present, there is a real need to preserve our customs and traditions for our future generations which will be lost if we are not proactively preserving these. It is each and everyone’s responsibility that it remains intact at all times.”
Minister Kumar also acknowledged the support of the United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and the Fiji Arts Council (FAC), in the construction of these three pottery making houses.
“Proper and well-structured cooking houses with health and safety requirements will help these artisans to earn a living and to continue with their craft. I am told that apart from proper infrastructure and boiling equipment, artisans were trained on quality packaging, labelling and marketing,” said Minister Kumar.
“I am happy to note that the Fiji Arts Council is already working on helping the Lawai, Nakabuta, and Nayawa Pottery communities and Lomawai Salt Makers to be able to have their own unique branding using their Traditional Motifs, Trademark, together with the ‘Made in Fiji’ Logo for quality assurance,” she added.
Minister Kumar also spoke on the reopening of Fiji’s international borders, saying that in terms of creative industries, she was confident that the pottery communities in Sigatoka would benefit as they would be able to sell their crafts.
“Tourists coming to our shore want to see our culture, heritage, arts, dance and music. Our artists are already busy performing cultural items and Christmas carols in hotels.”
“Your villages are centrally located within some well-known hotels in the Coral Coast area. Pottery making is the important tourism-based product used to attract tourists; it is an integral part of the tourism industry.”
The Minister thanked everyone for working together in unity in the spirit of “Solesolevaki” and wished everyone the very best.