Jewellery pearl shell project to help Fiji women earn living

Transcript

A project to train rural women in Fiji to make jewellery from 'Mother of Pearl' shells aims to not only help women earn a living, but also ensure tourists can buy genuine Fiji made items.

Research has found that most of what is being sold to tourists in Fiji is imported from Asia, but is falsely being sold as made in Fiji.

Leilani Momoisea reports.

Dr. Anand Chand, an associate professor in the school of management at Fiji's University of the South Pacific, has been studying the pearl industry for four years. The joint USP, James Cook and Adelaide University study found that while pearls were making a lot of money, their shells were not being utilised. Dr. Chand says the researchers wanted to ensure that grass-roots people, particularly women in rural villages, were able to benefit from the pearl shells by creating jewellery items they could sell.

ANAND CHAND: The strategy of this research was first, to train women to make the shells themselves, so it's import substitution, so we don't have to rely on buying jewllery from overseas. So saving money within Fiji. And secondly, so that women themselves can benefit rather than retailers who are actually selling this imported stuff.

The Ba Women's Forum have chosen ten women and two men to be part of the small pilot project, with money from a previous research project used to buy machinery to transform the shells into earrings and pendants. The president of the Ba Womens Forum, Dr. Maria Doton, says the main goal is to teach women a skill, so they can use it to make money themselves, and to eventually pass the skill on to other women.  

MARIA DOTON: In that way we can create employment and of course we can generate income for these women. Our dream is to have something that is genuinely made in Fiji because even if you go to the shops it's written 'Made In Fiji' but honestly deep inside we know that they are not. So this time we can be assured that it will be genuinely made by our women in Fiji.

Dr Anand Chand says all tourists interviewed by researchers said they want to buy genuine Fiji made items.

ANAND CHAND: They don't want to buy anything that is coming from China or Indonesia, because they want to take these gifts back to their families so they can show that they were in Fiji, this is genuine stuff, and secondly they get this kind of humanitarian aspect that by buying the jewellery for $5, they're actually helping Fijian, particularly women, in rural settings to benefit out of this project.

The women from the Ba Womens Forum are being trained by Parasram Nair, a craftsman with 50 years experience. He teaches them how to cut, grind and polish the shells and says it's very important that his skills and knowledge are passed on to the next generation. Mr Nair says if the skills are in the country, they should be made us of, and encourages the women to continue with what they learn.

PARASRAM NAIR: With this handicraft, I have brought my children up, so you can do the same. And I've got my house and everything with this handicraft. You can aim and you can teach, you can have a good life. All my children have graduated from USP university's because I have a good knowledge of my handicraft and I brought them all the way. 

The jewellery products made by the Ba Womens Forum will carry the 'Fiji Made' labels, so tourists can be assured it is genuinely local made. It's hoped the pilot project can be expanded to other parts of Fiji in the next few years.