WOMEN | Stitching a living, serving a community

DAIANA Baravi has turned skills she once used simply to keep herself busy into a small village business that now keeps her in demand across Navosa.

From sewing dresses and shirts to decorating weddings, birthdays, church gatherings and funerals, the Baravi has built a reputation for her work while balancing family life and her responsibilities in the community.

Her work is driven by practical needs, but also by passion.

What began as sewing at home has grown into an income source, while decorating has become another service sought by people in nearby villages.

A business from home

Like many women in the village, Baravi begins her day with household chores.

Cooking, cleaning and laundry comes before she turns her attention to her sewing machine.

“When I am not busy with church activities and plans, I love to sew,” she said.

Baravi is from Korolevu Village in Navosa.

Her husband is from Draubuta and has maternal links to Vatubalavu, where the couple now lives.

She is a mother of four, two daughters and two sons and a grandmother of four.

Her two daughters are married.

Sewing has become part of her daily routine and a useful source of income for her family.

She sews dresses and shirts for $20 each.

“If I sew two or three dresses, I get $60, which helps my family a lot,” she said.

Her customers come not only from Vatubalavu but from surrounding communities, including Sawene, Nukuilau, Korolevu and Draiba.

She often receives work when tailors in other villages are already occupied with orders.

“When tailors from other villages are busy with orders, I fill in the gaps by providing my service to customers who can’t find a tailor on time,” she said.

Village and family functions can bring a rush of orders, keeping her busy as people prepare for important occasions.

For Baravi, sewing began simply as something to occupy her time at home. Over time, however it became something more.

“It has become a good source of income for me at home,” she said.

Creating something special

Sewing is not the only skill Baravi has developed into a business.

She is also an events decorator, a service that has made her known in the district and neighbouring communities.

Churches and villagers hire her to decorate venues for birthdays, church gatherings, funerals and weddings.

She has her own materials for the work and can spend an entire day perfecting a venue.

Her two sons help her with decorating, and they have also learned from watching and working alongside their mother.

“It’s a passion I have, and I apply it as a business initiative,” she said.

Each occasion calls for a different design, and Baravi takes time to think about her work before she arrives at a venue.

“I draw it out at home before I travel to the venue,” she said.

The preparation helps her use her time at the venue to focus on bringing the design to life.

When The Fiji Times team met up with her, she had just returned from decorating a wedding in Korolevu.

For her decorating work, she now charges about $150.

When she first started, she charged $50 for an event but transportation costs and the time required to decorate a venue led her to increase her fee.

She said the $150 charge remains cheaper than decorating services in urban areas.

Baravi is considering increasing her price to $200 this year because of the time and effort she puts into perfecting her work according to her clients’ wishes.

For church events however she does not charge, she does the work for free.

More than a business

While sewing and decorating provide income, Baravi’s involvement in the community extends well beyond her small business.

She has been looking after the Navosa Seventh-day Adventist Church Dorcas Society for almost four years.

Seven churches are part of Navosa and women from the province or district regularly come together for fellowship.

“I also enjoy bringing these women together to share the word of God,” she said.

At times, she invites women from the Fiji Mission or the Pacific Union Mission to speak to women in her province.

“They always love it,” she said.

Her fellowship is not limited to Seventh-day Adventist women.

She also reaches out to women from other denominations and encourages them to participate in women’s fellowship activities, including camps and weekend programs.

For Baravi, bringing women together is an important part of her work.

Her involvement with children is equally significant.

She guides the Vatubalavu Pathfinders, a program for children aged 10 to 15. More than 30 children from the village take part.

Every night, the children come together to learn crafts, study the Bible, practise knot tying and marching, cook and learn how to use a compass and understand directions.

“This teaches them life lessons that when their parents are not around, they can take care of themselves,” she said.

She has been working with the Pathfinders for three years and enjoys the time she spends with them.

Passing on faith

Baravi also helps organise Vacation Bible School, where children take part in Bible studies during the school holidays.

Children from different denominations are encouraged to attend.

“We want them to know how to pray and to hear the stories of Jesus from their teachers,” she said.

The program is also intended to help children develop a better understanding of the Bible.

Baravi said they had noticed that some children did not know how to pray well at a young age, which was why they encouraged them to participate.

The program gives them an opportunity to learn the basics of prayer and become better equipped spiritually.

She recently completed two weeks of training at Vatumali, under the theme “Come with Jesus”.

The program ran for nine nights, with the theme explored in different ways to strengthen participants’ knowledge of Jesus.

For Baravi, the work she does – whether behind a sewing machine, preparing an event venue or working with children is connected by a willingness to serve.

She loves mission work, particularly the opportunity to contribute to someone’s spiritual journey.

And while her sewing and decorating have given her a small business in the village, it is her work with the church that remains at the heart of her community life.