In the underexplored mountainous regions of Rakiraki in Western Viti Levu, a coffee revival is slowly taking shape.
It’s a region that has been touted as Fiji’s “premier specialty coffee growing region” by experts from Ona Coffee Fiji (OCF), the company that is spearheading this revival.
OCF, based in Wairuku in Rakiraki, is the Fiji office of Australia’s renowned specialty coffee outlet Ona Coffee, the latter founded and headed by 2015 World Barista champion Sasa Sestic, who has also been actively involved in the expansion of their coffee business in Fiji.
“The Fijian highlands have the terroir to produce exceptional, unique coffees that can compete on the world stage,” Mr Sestic, a global expert in the specialty coffee trade, said.
“The expansion is the important first step in a long-term plan to build a reputable specialty coffee industry across the Viti Levu highlands and Fiji, bringing global recognition and equitable returns to the communities.”
In October, OCF launched a watershed initiative – its partnership with the Ra Provincial Council and the Management Board of Ra High School for the establishment of a specialty coffee trial farm at the school.
Set to transform agricultural education and economic opportunity in that region of Viti Levu, the project was a “significant step” in Ona Coffee Fiji’s intentions to build a fully integrated, sustainable industry from the ground up.
The project also commemorated the designation of Ra as Fiji’s Coffee Province by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In mid-November, OCF pushed further upwards into the Ra province and undertook a consultation visit marked by a traditional sevusevu ceremony at both Nadala and Nadrau Villages in the Nadarivatu highlands in a bid to further unlock what it believes is the region’s unique coffee growing potential.
“This is a welcome development that respects our ‘vanua’ and our protocols, as witnessed by the sevusevu,” iTaukei Affairs Board representative Pauliasi Matawalu said, while highlighting the alignment with community and cultural values.
“It is a model where our people can generate income from existing, often under-utilised land, particularly through wild forest coffee, without large-scale clearing, which is a balance we strive for.”
For OCF, the expansion into the highlands is viewed as a foundational move by its leadership, in which community support is an important first step forward.
“Our journey is about trust, training and transparent partnership,” OCF chief executive officer Maheer Prasad said from Canberra.
“Venturing into Nadarivatu and Nadrau, and indeed into the Ba and Nadroga/Navosa provinces is about scaling up opportunity, resilience and shared success.”
In Nadrau, the Tui Nadrau formally accepted the delegation’s sevusevu on behalf of his people while the Tikina Savatu was represented through its Mata Ni Tikina Vinivini Daulali at Nadala Village.
“We welcome this opportunity to develop our own highlands heritage,” Mr Daulali said.
“Our forests have provided for generations; this initiative can help us cultivate that gift for generations to come in a sustainable way.”
According to Mr Prasad, OCF sees the cool, high-altitude ecosystems of Nadarivatu and Nadrau as critical expansion areas.
The vision, he added, is twofold: to sustainably source the area’s unique wild forest organic coffee and to initiate a new planting program that empowers local communities.
“One of the outcomes is an initial agreement to launch a Specialty Coffee Training Program at Nadarivatu High School set to commence in early 2026,” Mr Prasad said. “The first phase program at Nadrau is to explore wild forest coffee and use it as the field training for planted specialty coffee as the second phase.”
Principal of Nadarivatu High School Apisalome Vunisa welcomed the initiative as “an incredible opportunity for our students to learn industry leading globally relevant skills through Ona Coffee in agriculture, science, and business.”
“We are proud to be among the pioneers in this field for Fiji,” Mr Vunisa said.
There is little doubt that the coffee already growing wild in the Fijian highlands is proof that Fiji can support coffee agronomy and, if properly exploited, re-establish Fiji’s coffee industry, if there ever was one.
In fact, the OCF leadership sees the Fijian hinterlands as a potential powerhouse for specialty coffee, which it represents, meaning there is potential not just for a coffee revival but for coffee at the premium end of the quality scale.
Specialty coffee, which sets itself apart as “coffee of the highest quality” as assessed by coffee experts or the Q-Graders, easily rubs shoulders with unique craftsmanship, superiority in taste, quality and traceability, where it connects consumers to farmers and unique growing regions. Definitely a niche product for a high-end market.
For OCF, the visit to Nadala and Nadrau marks its official foray into the Ba and Nadroga/Navosa provinces, “positioning the cool, misty highlands as the next frontier that started in the late 1800s as part of Fiji’s colonial heritage into a modern-day specialty coffee story.”
“The Fijian highlands with their unique climate and heritage as the ‘Cold Climate Capital’, is the heartland for a truly distinctive Fijian specialty coffee,” Ona Coffee Fiji representative Dr Mohit Prasad said.
“Historically, the Nadarivatu and Nadrau elevations have grown a range of crops no longer planted in Fiji such as apples, grapes, cotton and temperature climate vegetables during the colonial era.
“Bringing planted forest coffee back to the highlands is a revival of one of these luxury heritage crops from Fiji’s past.”
