In a bid to reduce waste in the village of Naselai, Tailevu the women’s group of the village has decided to focus on reducing, reusing and recycling as means to utilise waste from the village.
The Naselai, Tailevu women group – one of the many women groups who took part in the central and eastern women’s expo in Suva – opted to show and sell their recycled and reused artifacts to advocate for a cleaner Fiji.
Litia Butuivalu, a representative from the village women group, said they noted the unpresented amount of waste coming from the village so they decided to take some action to reduce the waste.
“I see there are unnecessary waste around the village and thought that Fiji should be a clean place, but the reality is Fiji is not,” she said.
“So, I remembered the 3R’s that we learnt in school so I suggested to the group that we find ways to transform the waste into something useful.” She added “making the most out of waste” has become the unofficial slogan of the group’s environmental work.
Mrs Butuvalu said the women’s group have also started holding art classes with children in the village teaching them how reuse waste and making it into a source of income.
“Some of the designs we use are traditional that we integrate with the recycled products so its important that we teach and pass on the knowledge to our children.”
She added that the women’s group from her village hopes that other women follow through and start utilising waste and transform it into artwork.
