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FIJI / ORGANIC ISLAND
STORY: FIJI / ORGANIC ISLAND
TRT: 4.30
SOURCE: IFAD
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE ENGLISH / FIJIAN / NATS
DATELINE: RECENT, CICIA ISLAND, FIJI
1. Aerial shot, Cicia Island
2. Various shots, tropical beaches
3. Various shots, farmers walking through a field
4. Med shot, man and child opening coconuts
5. Various shots, farmers on a field
6. Pan left, island view
7. Various shots, man weaving basket
8. Various shots, farmers emptiyng bags full of coconuts
9. SOUNDBITE (Fijian) Epeli Dranidalo, Chairman, Cicia Island Council:
“I believe that this is the best way to create a path for our children to follow where they will find peace and prosperity.”
10. Various shots, farmers being trained
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Isikeli Karikaritu, Principal, Cicia High School:
“When they leave the school, they will take up their places in the village. I thought that for the sustainability of the thought of organic and for the future well-being for the people and their livelihood it was best to target these young students at an early age.”
12. Various shots, classroom
13. Various shots, students learning organic farming
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Milika Waqavuni, Student:
“We are very much involved in the agricultural activities especially since the organic declaration. It teaches us students to be more responsible of how we manage our resources. We take care of the environment and the soils and likewise the environment will provide for us what we need.”
15. Close up, coconut being opened
16. Various shots, women extracting coconut oil
17. Various shots, Organic Systems Extension Officer instructing women on the organic coconut oil trade
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Hazelman, POETCom, Organic Systems Extension Officer:
“Groups of farmers get together, discuss and certify themselves. This certification is done to a standard and in this case we are using the Pacific Organic Standard. The documentation, the paperwork, and all that is identical to a third party certification. The difference here is we are certifying ourselves.”
19. Various shots, bulletin board postings
20. Various shots, man inspecting coconut oil
21. Close up, notebook
22. Various shots, meeting
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Hazelman, POETCom, Organic Systems Extension Officer:
“On this island there is a change in attitude. It’s like a hope, a reawakening of hope.”
24. Various shots, meeting
25. Various shots, coconut trees being planted
Cicia island in Fiji is remote. Untouched by tourism and industry, the environment here is pristine - and its one thousand inhabitants intend to keep it this way. In 2006, the elders banned the use of chemicals and fertilizers and last year, they officially declared Cicia an organic island.
Because of this declaration, they've managed to rebuff Government plans to build a timber processing plant here. Although it would have created much-needed jobs, the elders believe that organics is the long-term economic solution.
SOUNDBITE (Fijian) Epeli Dranidalo, Chairman, Cicia Island Council:
“I believe that this is the best way to create a path for our children to follow where they will find peace and prosperity.”
And the children here have already started on this path. The principal of the island’s high school, Isikeli Karikaritu, always supported the idea of an organic island and he believes that young people are the key to sustaining it.
SOUNDBITE (English) Isikeli Karikaritu, Principal, Cicia High School:
“When they leave the school, they will take up their places in the village. I thought that for the sustainability of the thought of organic and for the future well-being for the people and their livelihood it was best to target these young students at an early age.”
The students here not only learn about organic farming in the classroom, they also take their knowledge outside, where they use organic methods to grow the food for their meals.
SOUNDBITE (English) Milika Waqavuni, Student:
“We are very much involved in the agricultural activities especially since the organic declaration. It teaches us students to be more responsible of how we manage our resources. We take care of the environment and the soils and likewise the environment will provide for us what we need.”
The environment may provide what they need, but will it earn them money? Virgin coconut oil is a staple cooking ingredient here that is now popular worldwide. After learning that buyers are prepared to pay a premium if it's produced organically, the women of the five villages of Cicia each formed a group to produce the oil for international sale.
But the women soon discovered it wasn’t enough to say Cicia is an organic island. International buyers also want organic certification. At a cost of more than 10 thousand US dollars a year, certification by a recognized external body is out of their reach. But a year ago, Stephen Hazelman from the Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community or POETCom – suggested another option.
SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Hazelman, POETCom, Organic Systems Extension Officer:
“Groups of farmers get together, discuss and certify themselves. This certification is done to a standard and in this case we are using the Pacific Organic Standard. The documentation, the paperwork, and all that is identical to a third party certification. The difference here is we are certifying ourselves.”
In order to certify themselves, all the farmers and producers on the island make a pledge to follow the stringent rules of organic production. They then keep an eye on each other. Compared to the annual visit of an external certifier, the monitoring is frequent. Every two weeks they inspect each other’s production records. They then meet monthly to decide if certification should be granted.
With support from the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, POETCom hopes to make this the main method of organic certification in the region. After working for less than a year on Cicia island, Stephen can already see a change here.
SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Hazelman, POETCom, Organic Systems Extension Officer:
“On this island there is a change in attitude. It’s like a hope, a reawakening of hope.”
And there's a lot of hope on the island this week. An exporter met with the women to see if they can supply her Korean clients and an international spa who sampled the oil, has placed their first order for more than 600 liters.
Meanwhile the school children here are planting more organic coconut trees, knowing that a bold decision by their elders will secure their future.
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