SEA MERCY - AVEA ISLAND GARDEN
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| The younger generation at work |
Loma Loma, Vanua Balavu (Fiji)
June 24, 2016
(Photos and Videos by Tessa Irvin, S/Y REWA, Sea Mercy Volunteer)
Perhaps it is because they only have ONE day a week to work in their community garden for ONE hour only, perhaps it is just their nature, but the women of Avea Island pour their hearts, energies, and pure joy into their garden.
Avea is a very small, low island north east of Vanua Balavu, and Winston hit it hard. The school and community center are gone, a good chunk of the beach has been washed away, and the soil in the village is salty and sandy, not very fit for gardening.
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| Deep in the valley... irrigated plots |
But away from the village, there is a fertile land at the bottom of the hills, where fresh water flows abundantly and the alluvial soil is very rich. The problem is getting there! It’s either a 30-minute walk, wading along the shore at low tide (unreacheable at high tide) or a very wet long-boat ride, racing the tide.
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| Transplanting Chinese cabbage: too small... JP instructed in bigger tanspland ("Petite salade, gros chou!") |
While JP and DOMINO were delivering water into the village’s cistern, the Sea Mercy volunteer women hopped into the long boat and were in for a surprising ride! As if to squelch their discomfort, the women were singing their hearts out, a pot and machete their marching drum!
Once our driver Tomasi dropped us all on the beach, thoroughly soaked, we single-filed through the struggling coconut grove, through the beetle-infested sweet potato beds, only to arrive at the Garden of Eden.
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| Rich, thick, wet soil |
WOW! A large field of deep-dark soil, divided into irrigated rectangular family plots, lay before us.
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| Sea Mercy Volunteer Willie (S/V Dream Catcher) gives it a go! |
Nana Sarah, the women’s leader, explained. “These are family plots. Some families exploit their gardens, but not all. We have not started a community garden yet, but that’s what we are here for today. Let’s get started!” In no time, the women had tilled beds and were planting seeds, helped by our volunteers.
Our ride back, downwind, prompted the women to more singing and dancing, making circles around DOMINO to try to get JP’s attention!
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| Nana Sarah brings home Chinese cabbage and coconut |
JP and I returned the next day with a small party of women. It’s a long walk at low tide, under the glaring sun, bare foot on the cutting reef, but they walk on, carrying shovels and forks, while JP and I brought our pesticide sprays (and forgot our camera.) It took only an hour to inspect the sweet potatoes and spray for white flies and potato beetle, to walk through the beans and taro plants to remove the caterpillars, to teach the women how to prevent bug infestation and seed carrots, start a composting pile. Exhausted, Nana Sarah accepted to wear my hat (now HER hat) and returned to the village with a smile.
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| Teaching the next generation |
Avea now has a community garden, of which we are glad. But in Avea, I think it was us, the volunteers, who were the winners, having gained so much joy and happiness from this fun-loving and hard working women!
Until next village…
dominomarie