There's more to Viti Levu than meets the eye. Video: ATTA / Ulrika Larsson / Cédric Jean-Baptiste / Kristen Kellogg
In cyclone-struck villages across Fiji, a quiet tourism revival is unfolding, writes Varsha Anjali.
There was no way forward. The trunk was too big, too heavy, stretching from one end to another of the black-jade sea.
Or so I thought. Within seconds, our local guide jumped out of the kayak, swam underneath the trunk and by some magic lifted it away, clearing the path so we could paddle forward. It was another remnant of Cyclone Winston.
“The cyclone destroyed everything to the ground,” Jay Bau, owner of Natalei Eco Lodge in Nataleira, located about 85km north of Suva, later informed me. “After that, there was nobody [who] knew how to put it back up again.”
Of course, it wasn’t just this community affected when the cyclone struck in 2016. All four divisions of Fiji suffered major devastation. The Nataleira village spent two years trying to rebuild its houses, schools, and churches. Tourist spending is critical to the country’s economy, contributing around 40% to the GDP. But in Nataleira, with its primary guest lodging in disrepair, tourists visited (and spent) elsewhere.
So they approached Bau, a Natailera native running a dolphin-watching business that heads out to the nearby Moon Reef. The elders wanted him to “revive” the community-owned ecolodge, and he agreed. There was a lot of work before him.
Mangrove kayaking in Nataleira, Tailevu – an area that suffered major devastation from Cyclone Winston. Photo / Cedric Jean-Baptiste, Atta
“I started from scratch,” he said.
Four years on, Natalei Eco Lodge is not just operational but offers guests immersive and sustainable experiences, including mangrove kayaking on that black-jade sea, coral, mangrove and sea-grass planting, and dolphin watching. From UK-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Bau learned how to protect the resident spinner dolphins and continues to share conservation lessons with visitors. Guests also get pure organic food grown right in their garden. But not just because it’s trendy or desired by tourists. It’s important to them.
Bau explained it this way: “I think it’s a lot of money to go to the market in town and buy it and come back, and ... we don’t know the type of weedicide and types of manure they have put in. “We prefer to eat organic food ... it’s safe for us, for staff and also safe for the guests.”
Natalei Eco Lodge isn’t the only business where your holiday spending directly benefits the communities you visit, sustainably. It’s one of several tour operators that form Duavata, a small sustainability-focused collective. Another member is Bula Coffee, which sources its own locally grown coffee, has a cafe and offers consumers coffee tours on its farm. Founded by New Zealander Luke Fryett, who previously owned the Fatted Aphid cafe in Tauranga, the business began as a way to give back to villagers in the highlands.
“Things are pretty hard up there quite often, and they don’t have a lot of revenue income,” he said.
Having lived in Fiji for more than 15 years, he remains committed to ensuring people are prioritised above profit. “We do make sure that every dollar that you spend is having an impact right back at the grassroots level,” said Fryett. “Whether you’re buying a coffee or taking a tour.”
Bula Coffee offers visitors tours and coffee tastings on its organic farm in Sigatoka. Photo / Cedric Jean-Baptiste, Atta
Before Bula Coffee established its farm in Sigatoka, it would buy its hand-picked coffee cherries only from the villagers in the highlands, helping them “contribute to village life” and raise their kids without having to travel far from home to find work. While the farm offers additional commercial opportunities, it has not replaced the workers in the highlands who continue to handpick coffee cherries for the business.
Fryett explained the business model works on the “3Ps”: people, planet and profit. “All three of them have to grow together for us to consider being successful,” he told me.
“So as long as the people that we’re looking after earn a good income and we’re looking after the planet, we’re not destroying it and we’re making money, then we consider ourselves successful.
“Whereas if we’re just out there destroying all the bush and planting masses of coffee and making huge profits, but the people who are doing the hard work are not generating good income from it, then we don’t consider ourselves successful.”
Marita Manley, director of Talanoa Treks – another Duavata tour operator that offers visitors access to Fiji’s dramatic peaks, lush forests and rich cultures through its hikes – said Duavata believes the experiences it provides are “off the beaten track” – for a reason.
“We want to make it easier for guests to connect to communities and culture while they are here,” Manley said.
From crop to cup, Bula Coffee says all its practices are sustainable. Photo / Cedric Jean-Baptiste, Atta
Bau put Natalei’s pathway to success simply: “You just make your garden nicely and the butterfly will come. Right now we’re trying to make our garden nice and it’s a 100% guarantee that a butterfly [will] have a rest on a properly maintained, well-looked-after garden.”
Checklist
FIJI
GETTING THERE
For Natalei Eco Lodge: From Nadi or Nausori airports, take a car transfer (you can organise this directly with the lodge) and drive to Nataleira in Tailevu, located about 85km north of Suva.
For Bula Coffee farm: From Nadi or Nausori airports, take a car transfer and head to the Coral Coast near the Sigatoka Sand Dunes.
