FOR women in rural Navosa, the daily village life often revolves around household responsibilities and yaqona farming.
But a two-day training program at the Nasau Youth Training Centre has offered a glimpse of another possibility, turning creativity and practical skills into income.
The tie-dye and soap-making training brought young people together to learn skills they could use to support themselves and their families.
For Raijeli Naceva of Nausori Highlands in the district of Namataku, Navosa, the experience opened her mind to possibilities she had not previously considered.
You know life in the village, most of us women do household work and our income is from yaqona farming,” she said.
Naceva said being part of the training has shown her that tie-dye and soap making could become more than activities learnt during a program.
“Being part of the tie-dye and soap making training that was held at Nasau has really opened my mind to the possibility of going into a tie-dye business or soap making to support my family,” she said.
Learning a practical skill
The training was part of activities leading up to the Navosa Youth and Sports Festival 2026, held from August 13 to 14 at Vatureba Grounds, Navosa.
The program gave young people an opportunity to learn practical skills while exploring their creativity and considering how those skills could be developed into small income-generating opportunities.
For Naceva, the training also challenged her expectations about how difficult the skills would be to learn.
“I didn’t know that it would be so easy to make soap or to dye materials,” she said.
The experience allowed her to acquire a new skill and receive certification for what she had learnt.
The program, according to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, was designed to help young people develop practical skills they could use to produce and market their own tie-dye products.
It also encouraged participants to explore entrepreneurship and creativity while building skills that could contribute to sustainable livelihoods.
For young people in rural communities, the training provided an opportunity to strengthen their capacity for greater self-reliance and economic participation within their communities.
From training to opportunity
Youth and Sports Minister Jese Saukuru said he had the privilege of handing over 42 certificates to young people from Navosa who completed the two-day tie-dye and soap-making training.
For him, the certificates represented more than the completion of a training program.
“These are more than just certificates, they represent new skills, new confidence, hopefully new opportunities for our young people to earn an income and become more self-reliant,” Saukuru said.
The certificates marked the completion of two days of practical learning but for the participants, the knowledge gained could continue beyond the training centre.
Opening new horizons
For Amelia Namoumou of Vunaqoru, the training offered a new perspective on what could be achieved through learning a practical skill.
She said the experience had widened her horizon and shown her what she could achieve with a little training.
Namoumou was grateful to the Ministry of Youth and Sports for giving her the opportunity to participate, particularly because the skills she learnt could help her generate an income in the future.
Her experience reflected one of the key aims of the training, to give young people practical knowledge that could open possibilities beyond what they already know.
Skills that can be carried forward
The training was not simply about learning how to make soap or create tie-dye products.
For participants such as Naceva and Namoumou, it was an introduction to skills that could potentially become part of their future livelihoods.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports said activities such as the training were aimed at supporting and empowering young people with skills that could help them build confidence, become more self-reliant and create opportunities for themselves and their communities.
The emphasis was on practical learning, creativity and the possibility of turning skills into small income-generating opportunities.
Participants listen to their trainer during their soap-making session. Picture: MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS
The tie-dye and
soap-making training
empowers young people
to learn skills to support themselves. Picture: SUPPLIED by Ministry
The two-day training program at the Nasau Youth Training Centre has offered a glimpse of another possibility, turning creativity and practical skills into income. Picture: MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS
Adding colour to creativity. Picture: SUPPLIED By Ministry
The participants at their booth during the Navosa Youth Festival this week. Picture: ANA MADIGIBULI
