In the early 1970s, just as Fiji’s banana export industry was well on its way to imminent sunset, a group of young men in Gusuisavu Village in Naitasiri decided to venture into banana farming.
Located at the tail-end of the Waidina River that flows from the hinterland of Namosi, through the Naitasiri highlands down to its lowlands before emptying itself into the Rewa River, Gusuisavu village was quite a distance from Nausori town.
In the context of accessibility at the time, its relative isolation meant scaling the rugged mountainous terrain to make it to Nausori and back was an arduous undertaking.
So much so that one day, the men in the village decided to get together and start a banana business.
“That was how it all started,” village elder, 72-year-old Ilaisa Tuidana recalled, as he recounted to the Fiji Times the humble beginnings of Lovia Cooperative Store, the little village shop that his elders founded with money they earned from their banana business.
Fifty years later, the Cooperative has become the backbone of the village community.
The villagers celebrated the 50th anniversary of their Cooperative last week, which has now grown to include the shop, a bakery, a fleet of vehicles and equity investments – combined assets worth over $1million.
Banana enterprise
“At the time, money had started to become a part of life in the village so our elders would sometimes take surplus from their gardens to
Nausori to sell.
Those were the days of pounds and shillings.
If you earned the equivalent of $3 now, that was something.
Earn $5 and you’re rich,” said Mr Tuidana.
“One day, 28 young men decided to start the banana business and earn a little bit more money so they got together, each man was tasked to bring 100 banana saplings and through our normal iTaukei system of solesolevaki (working in unison to achieve a goal), they began their plantation,” he recalled.
“Bananas would be packed in boxes, sent to the Agriculture Department in Suva to be checked, fumigated then exported to New Zealand. So they started off with 10 boxes of bananas a week. By the time it was running well, they were sending 100 boxes a week.”
It’s the respect and reverence that the younger generation maintained for what their elders went on to establish with the money they saved from their banana business that has ensured the survival of Lovia Cooperative Store for the last 50 years.
“I was asked to help look after the shop since I had dropped out of school and was staying home. I was 19 or 20 years old at the time. So when they met, our elders decided to adopt the cooperative model for their business because it suited them. You know how we tend to move together as iTaukei. No one is doing anything for himself. We all have to move together. So this was why the cooperative model appealed to our elders. They were not very well educated but they were hard working and took their responsibility seriously with honesty and dedication.”
The shop
What began as a crude structure made out of bamboo reeds as walls and eight pieces of roofing iron is now a modest concrete shop near the
public road that runs right through the village, serving not just Gusuisavu but other nearby villages, communities and passing motorists.
Its 28 founding fathers contributed three pounds each for a share in the business, a starting capital of 84 pounds that they used to buy the shop’s first groceries.
Today, Lovia Cooperative has more than 100 members in the individual households.
At the end of each financial year, bonus would be paid out and shared among the members.
“In a year, if things go well, bonus can be around $20,000 to $30,000. It would be shared among the members depending on how much they buy from the shop,” said Mr Tuidana.
“Each member, usually the head of the family, has a number. When he or members of his household come to buy, the details are entered into the store ledger. So whatever is spent at the shop by a member is recorded – the groceries bought, amount spent, etc.
“By rule, no credit is allowed but as we live in a village, that’s almost impossible. In my time, I would give credit but discretely and based on trust, because we all understand hardships since we all go through it. It’s only when they pay up that their details are then entered into the ledger,” Mr Tuidana added.
Milestones
Along the way, small but significant steps forward were achieved and celebrated, such as replacing the walls with corrugated iron and the bare earth floor with cement, the purchase of the first vehicle, the first bread freshly baked from its very own bakery.
“There was a time when we were challenged by the lack of transportation,” Mr Tuidana recalled.
“We were always relying on our Indian neighbours to take us to hospital whenever someone is injured or when one of our pregnant women goes into labour.
“So in the middle of the night if something happens and we run to them seeking their help in transport and if they say they can’t go, because maybe there’s not enough fuel or something like that, then that’s it. We have no other option. So, the elders held another meeting to discuss this issue and it was decided that the next project would be the purchase of a vehicle. And this was how our first vehicle came about. Now, we have six – two twin cabs and four carriers that are now used for emergencies and to transport our children to and from school.”
Built brick by brick, Lovia Cooperative is a legacy built upon the honest hard work, dedication and communal effort of its founders.
Its main contributions to the village include: funding electrification of all homes in the village in 1992, funded the village church pews, bought a brand new engine for the vehicle of the district church minister, allocates $200 in death benefit for any member that passes away, sponsored jerseys of school children of the Naqali District School in 2018, purchased a village television and Sky service subscription for
viewing of major rugby matches.
Model business
Lovia Cooperative is one of the few proofs available today that shatters the common perception of duri ga me davo (fated to fail), a reputation that has become synonymous with i-Taukei owned businesses for their tendency to have a short life span.
“It is true and there are those that expect us to fail every time we venture into business. We don’t think of it that way. For us, it’s more that we are honouring the advice of our elders about the shop that they founded,” said Mr Tuidana.
“They entrusted the shop to us and their plea was, whatever happens, always look after the shop and to keep in mind the hardships they faced before the shop was opened here.
“Our fathers and grandfathers walked two miles to the nearest shop or all the way to Nausori if they wanted something. For transportation during emergencies, they relied on others.
“So if there was one important advice they left behind, it’s to keep the shop going. And that’s the advice we’ve given to our young people who are running things today,” he said.
