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rediscovery and revival 
of itaukei knowledge & practices

overview:

A Gender Empowerment Mother Earth “Ridge to Reef” Agro-Ecological Stewardship Revival Project
(Featuring the “i Lololo” and “Fufulu” Concepts)

This innovative project aims to revive, document, and pass down two invaluable indigenous concepts that embody traditional ecological knowledge and sustainable living:

The “i Lololo” Concept

Rooted in the traditional wisdom of preserving resources for the future, the “i Lololo” concept promotes the creation of agro-ecological sanctuaries, akin to a savings bank for “rainy days.” It involves dedicating sacred or special landscapes as Green Pharmacy Plots or Gardens of Abundance (“Garden of Eden”). These spaces serve as:

  • Customary Refrigerators: Underground storage for excess harvests and plant cuttings or seeds for the next planting season.

  • Sanctuaries of Resilience: Places of abundance and environmental balance that ensure food security and sustainable agricultural practices.

The “Fufulu” Concept

“Fufulu” represents the lost art of creating traditional ceremonial, aromatic, and therapeutic oils. Using virgin coconut oil blended with native Fijian plants such as leba, qori, maba, and misimisi, this craft embodies a spiritual and cultural heritage. The process, guided by indigenous craftsmanship and environmental stewardship, relies solely on natural resources, including the Sun and Moon’s rotational cycles.

Once a widely practiced skill, this art is now preserved by only a few matriarchs, particularly grandmothers in the Maritime Island of Lakeba. This sacred knowledge reflects indigenous values of environmental harmony and holistic well-being.

Revival and Preservation

The Arramat Project seeks to:

  1. Revive this lost art form.

  2. Document it, ensuring Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from knowledge holders.

  3. Teach younger women and mothers to carry forward this intergenerational legacy.

By reconnecting communities to these traditional practices, the project strengthens the principles of “Vakabula Vanua”—the indigenous environmental stewardship ethos—while promoting community well-being, prosperity, and intergenerational equity.

This initiative offers a profound gift of wisdom and sustainability, bridging the gap between surviving matriarchs and younger generations, ensuring that the knowledge, spirituality, and resilience embedded in these practices continue to benefit Fiji’s communities for generations to come.

Project Sites

This project is currently being delivered to the following localities:

  1. Promary Site - Navavai and Nayawe Communities - Highland Communities

  2. Secondary Site - Lakeba Island Communities and Namuka Island Community - Maritime Communities

Rediscovering the "Ilololo"

Rediscovering and Reviving the traditional art of keeping an agro-ecological Sanctuary  Bank or Savings Bank always “ for the rainy days”. Devotion of a sacred or special landscape as your Green Pharmacy Plot or your “ iVakaraki” or your  Garden of Abundance (“ Garden of Eden”). Also its your “ Customary Refrigerator” (digging a hole) where you store your excess harvests & also keep/conserve your plant cuttings or seed materials for the next planting season.

cuttings of new plants to be planted
where our small seedlings and plantings begin from. Our very own organic greenhouse.
essential tools to enable the community to practice what they have been enlightened and guided on to
another view of our greenhouse
local forested regions within the surronding regions of Navavai communities
GTM Technical Advisor - Mr. Sele Tagivuni with local villager on horseback
replanting previously empty regions
Mr. Sele Tagivuni taking part in the replanting program
replanting and repopulating previously empty regions
maintaining fruit trees and planting additional plants is a priority of this project
Mr. Sele Tagivuni and local kids engaged in the replanting program
replanting and repopulating previously empty regions
upper reaches of the Wainibuka river.
replanting and repopulating previously empty regions
forest regions surrounding the Navavai Community
Mountain regions above the village

Rediscovery & Revival of “I taukei” (Indigenous) Fijian Traditional Craftmanship Knowledge & Skillset of Agro-Ecological Stewardship (‘i lololo’ Ridge to Reef Concept) Revival Project

Rediscovering the "fufulu"

Rediscovering the indigenous craftmanship gift art of making traditional scented ceremonial/aromatic/therapeutic  oils from virgin coconut oil mixed with scented Fijian indigenous plants - “ leba, qori, maba, misimisi” pajiole plants parts (roots, stems, barks, leaves, flowers). It’s a LOST ART PROCESS. It’s a spiritual endowed skill set that is produced in simple routine traditional methods, using all local indigenous resources that includes the Sun & Moon rotation/elevations timeline.

Rediscovery & Revival of “I taukei” (Indigenous) Fijian Traditional Craftmanship Knowledge & Skillset of Traditional Pure Ceremonial Essence Oil and Aromatic/Therapeutic Purification Oil Processing Techniques Revival Project

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