Merenina Seruisavou sold two mats for $140 and used her earnings to establish a food stall at the Sawani containment border. When we met her, the 41-year-old was two weeks into running her food outlet.

Ms Seruisavou dived into the food trade because it was a welcome distraction from the norms of village life where her routine involved helping her husband on their farm and doing domestic chores.

“My husband lost his job with a construction company when the second wave of COVID-19 hit Fiji,” she said.

“We used to receive the FNPF unemployment assistance and this was enough to provide for us over the past five months.

“But because we have four children, I began thinking of things to do to meet our basic needs, so a food stall looked like the best option. I did not have enough cash to start off with but I had two mats and an aunt agreed to buy them for $70 each. With that $140, I was able to start this business.”

Ms Seruisavou said she was able to earn $70 a day from her food stall and that was enough to meet her family’s needs.

“At the end of the business day, I buy the stuff I need to do my baking because I wake up at 12am to do my baking and leave home at 4.30am to be at the border.”