Development Projects

WAITABU TRADITIONAL VILLAGE  TOUR

The 21st Century is an era of greatest achievements by man.  Production of atomic energy and nuclear warheads, faster means of transportation and communication. Only to come home to the boredom of being locked up in high rise condominium. These, in his search for free life, have brought more problems than a means to an end. It has created more divisions amongst our fellow human than harmony. More evil than good.

He now begins to cherish his existence in relation to Mother Nature. The authenticity of sleeping in a thatched roof style bungalow ,with fresh cool breeze from the Pacific Ocean, beach bonfire at night and native birds of paradise to sing you off to sleep or sweet tropical raindrops  on surrounding vegetation to lull you deep to fantasy land.   And awakened with the feeling of being refreshed, for another new sun shiny day awaits you for more adventures in tropical paradise.

This is why we offer you the Waitabu Village Tour. For you to see at first hand experience, the co-existence of village folks and his immediate environment in the land of the South Seas.

Experience the joy of communal way of living where no one is left behind. There is sharing and caring for one another. Where elders are looked after by everyone in the extended family and not displaced in foster homes.

Doors to our house are always open 24/7 to welcome home any passerby for a mere drink of water or rest.  You will honor the family by joining them for a meal at any time of day. See how the Family rises up to the occasion. To honor your presence. Come and socialize with a people that have great value for their culture who will treat you with great honor.

CULTURAL CENTRE

Taveuni has experience a drastic shift in its mode of development, so as  in other parts of Fiji that are involved  in this now booming tourism industry .While there are dangers associated with such mode of development, change is inevitable within our local communities. Our greatest challenging factor would be our committment to  put in place a sensible solution that will  cushion the impact  on both the local environment and cultural and social factors  within our indegenious communities without the exploitation of one or the other.

The Waitabu Cultural Centre is to be the first  highly regarded village initiative on Taveuni that intends to establish a secure foundation to uphold the fast diminishing values of local customs and traditions .

The centre  will be engaged in the practise of traditional arts and dances together with various forms of crafts.Utilizing local knowledge for the  values  of these arts in relation to customary values.The Cultural Centre will be fully engaged as a tourist attraction and most importantly, a local institution for learning for  our younger generation.

The Cultural Centre as is still in the planning process, aims to preserve  values of local tradition and re-affirms these values through activities the centre will be engaged in. Also to create a sense of ownership in our younger  generation and value their unique cultural identity.

HERBAL MEDICINE AND NATIVE PLANTS NURSERY

There is no doubt of the advancement in the field of Medical Science today. Discovery of modern drugs by Medical Scientists takes years of testing and analyzing.

But we the children of the ‘Islands in the Sun’ are blessed with clear blue oceans and lush vegetative growth that is cooled by the fresh breeze of the South Seas. The beautiful weather of the tropics. And with this kind of weather, the lush vegetation has offered a bountiful of herbal remedies for us and our ancestors before us for many, many generations.

The Herbarium and Native Plants Nursery is one of the projects undergoing its development stage together with the Waitabu Cultural Centre. Its main purpose is to allow our locals to use and appreciate free local remedies available at the vicinity of their village. It will also be used as learning environment for our younger generations   - ‘lest they forget’ the wealth of their ancestral local knowledge. Sharing this local knowledge with visitors will be of great value and will be one of our tourist attractions as well.

The Herbarium will be engaged in herbal remedy preparation, herbal scented oil massage and herbal steam bath with the display of native plants.

ENVIROMENTAL ECO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

Our program on Environmental Eco Education will be an on going developmental program. Its main aim is to equip all stakeholders in our villages together with community Chiefs and those in the Tourism Industry on the island of Taveuni with valuable knowledge on Sustainable developmental strategies. These strategies are developed by Taveuni Adventures (Fiji) Ltd in line with Government policies on Sustainable Development and will be useful for decision making processes by village chiefs and elders.

The major role that Taveuni Adventures (Fiji) Ltd would like to play in this program is that of an implementer and advisor to resource owners on wise resource management policies. To safeguard against foreign investor exploitation on their fragile resources from those that promise big dollar output versus compromising owners natural heritage. The program also wishes to empower our local women and children to be part of the decision making process for their lives will equally be affected by such policies.

Execessing resource personal with the Governments’ Department of Environment, NGOs such as the Live & Learn Environmental and Developmental Education, the Pacific branch of World Wildlife Fund for Nature Conservation – WWF, and the RAMZAR Committee for Wet Land Conservation, with other local Environmentalist agencies will be co-partners to our program.

This program will also focus on wise utilization of local resources in raising living standards together with the promotion of healthy living lifestyles for our village folks. The comparative value of that green coconut juice as against that can of Coca Cola are seven to none. That clear picture of home grown as the cheapest and high in nutrient value for the body is one outcome our program wishes to achieve.