“WHEN people ask me what manure I am using, I just tell them my manure is prayer,” said Tevita Dusilele.
Relaying his experiences from when he was a boy and now as a retiree, Dusilele explained he grew up at the village of Natokalau on the island of Matuku in the Lau Group.
He left his island home when it was time for him to move to secondary school — Lelean Memorial School.
After a stint as what used to be known as a prison warden, now a corrections officer, Dusilele moved with his wife to Nadroga.
While working at several well-known Coral Coast hotels, Dusilele said he picked up some cooking skills.
With the flowing and ebbing of the tides of life, Dusilele after several years, was back in the Capital City. His cooking skills saw him land jobs at the then Travelodge (now Holiday Inn) and the Courtesy Inn, present Tanoa Plaza Hotel.
Despite having worked at hotels where he saw people from overseas on a daily basis, Dusilele was still very much a village boy in the sense that he still had the yearning to be a farmer. So he never really stopped utilising a plot of land which was close to where he initially stayed, Drekeiwaila, when he had moved to Viti Levu.
“It’s been close to 22 years that I have been using this plot of land,” he said.
The plot he was referring to is a three and a half acre piece of land very close to his Tuilovoni Rd home at Davuilevu Housing Estate.
It’s on this piece of land Dusilele, in addition to his sweat and toil, daily adds generous servings of prayer.
“When I tell people I use only prayers for my manure, I’m not only referring to the fruits of what I plant, however big the dalo, cassava and yams may be.
“All the years I have been planting here, I have just recently been granted a lease, never once have I been targeted by thieves.”
His helper, Waisea Rabonu, once told him to plant a shrub iTaukei farmers believe can ward of evil from a garden or farm. Dusilele was adamant he had all he needed, and through prayer, would be given his portion of daily bread or dalo by his heavenly father.
Despite having lived all his life on Viti Levu, and even had a working stint abroad, Dusilele still practises some early childhood observations.
“My father, unlike my mother, was not a churchgoer. He was one who we could call a person who lived his faith instead of just going through the motions of a believer,” said Dusilele, who has held positions with the Davuilevu circuit of the Methodist Church.
“Every Saturday, my brothers and I would go with our father to the farm.
“When we returned we knew what we had to do. What was brought back whether it be dalo or yams would also be divided among us, the family, and all the widows in the village. This was done without fail every Saturday and in addition to root crops there would also include stalks of sugarcane, bananas, plantain.
“He was also one who observed traditional protocols such as the sevu (presenting of first fruits) to the vanua and the church. That is something I also observe even though I now am here at Davuilevu Housing.”
Dusilele takes his first fruits to the landowners at Drekeiwaila, to the church and also to his traditional leaders and elders in Suva.
By observing protocol and tradition in addition to being a practising Christian, the Matuku native believes he has the recipe to reap millions from his farm.
And that’s just not because of his hard work. Since God created his most prized creation from the soil, Genesis 2: 7, Dusilele takes it to mean that life can be coaxed from the soil because God has breathed life into it.
For him, the soil and all that springs from it are alive because of that divine breath.
“If people saw me go to my plantation in the morning, some of them might think I am a bit mad. That’s because after dropping wife at work, I walk over and say good morning to my crops. After all, they too are living things with the same breath of life God gave you and me.” Already, Dusilele is reaping financial rewards from his farm. Depending on how much is sold, it can be hundreds of dollars in a day and thousands in a week.
The father of three, his eldest serves in the British Army, his second son is a pilot in Papua New Guinea while their sister works in Nadi, is very much focused on making his millions. It’s not solely about making money but more to show that farming is a very viable way to make a living.
With the everlasting support of his wife, Torika, that is exactly what Tevita is doing.
While holding up his lease he said: “With this, I can now apply to the Fiji Development Bank and other places which provide capital. But it’s not this alone.
“Every day, after working in my plantation, I come back and record what I have done. If we just did some weeding, I write that. If we did some digging, then that’s what goes into the book, also what is planted and how many, all that is recorded on a daily basis.
“Six days a week, that’s what I do so that I don’t go with my lease and just words to those who can give me capital to earn more from the land. That is how I will get my millions,” he said with a laugh.
When he is complimented on all that is he has done so far, his reply was: “Where I am from, Lau, we are known for three words all beginning with the letter F — fika, faiwa and faito.
“No matter the situation we may be in, we will get by.”
So if you need a bundle or two of dalo, give Tevita a call on 8672586. Just give him ample notice.
