Forty-two years ago, Susana Yalikanacea was posted to Cicia Island in Lau.
Being a bright-eyed agriculture officer she got caught up in the excitement of her new posting and had no idea that cupid’s arrow would strike her early.
Within five years, Ms Yalikanacea fell in love with Epeli Draundalo, a villager of Tarukua and they got married and settled down.
Originally from Ono-i-Lau, the 65-year-old has called Cicia home since she first set foot there 42 year ago.
Today , she runs an organic-based business after retiring from the agriculture ministry a decade ago.
“I was posted to Cicia Island in 1981 … I got married in 1985 and have been on the island ever since.
“But after retiring in 2013, I decided to set up an organic business.”
Today, her husband sells magimagi or coconut sinnet while both prepare and sell virgin coconut and dilo oil.
The husband and wife team first started with a biofuel project but diversified into other products after their biofuel machine broke down.
“So we changed to virgin coconut oil production and coconut-added products.”
Ms Yalikanacea spent many years conducting community training.
She travelled around the country, teaching women and youths, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Before her retirement, she worked on an agriculture project for two years.
“The ministry had set up a whole nut processing unit on Taveuni, so I went there to operate it for about two years.
“I also went to the Solomon Islands and Philippines to do training on virgin coconut oil.”
After retirement she did her own training for local women on Cicia.
“At one point, we built a bure, for accommodation. The idea was to help revive our traditional skills and knowledge.
“Because if you go out now you would hardly see a Fijian bure standing.”
Ms Yalikanacea is currently working on producing dilo oil products and village children are often engaged to help her collect the round coastal nuts.
“I’m just trying to promote and encourage people to utilise their abundant local resources. I was the one who initiated the organic program on the island.
“And it led to Cicia becoming the first certified organic island in the Pacific in 2013.
“Before that, when I was still working with the Ministry of Agriculture, we banned the use of chemicals and other fertilisers in 2006.
“We wrote a letter to the ministry telling them we had declared Cicia an organic island by banning chemical fertilisers and then seven years later, Cicia was certified organic.”
Ms Yalikanacea’s initiative was supported by organisations such as IFAD, the Ministry of Agriculture, SPC and POET Com.
“It was a long process and we are still trying to maintain the name organic island to keep up to the standard.”
Ms Yalikanacea is also the president of the organic association on Cicia and champions making use of local resources.
“If you look around we have dilo trees. To us Fijians that is rubbish, but it is the most priced nut oil.
“We are selling it at $300 a litre, and virgin oil is $30 a litre.”
Ms Yalikanacea has a Facebook page called Organic Selavo where she posts activities that she does on the island.
“I’m still trying to convince women and we need the support.
“I want to pass on my knowledge to the younger ladies in the village and around Fiji.”
