Women in Fiji are often employed in the informal economy, which means low and inconsistent pay, with underemployment at 74 percent, according to The Asia Foundation. So the women trained by Ravya are eager to learn more profitable trades.
Gathered in Vatulele’s bright, turquoise-colored community hall, Ravea is teaching the women how to draw in lines, clean oysters and make hunting nets out of heavy-duty plastic to protect the oysters from triggerfish and pufferfish. She offers quarterly training sessions, welcoming both men and women to learn the oyster meat trade.
About 25 women of the village have received training in oyster farming this year. On this day in mid-July, half a dozen women, ages 24 to 59 and dressed in florals and polka dots, are draped over hunting nets.
49-year-old Unaisi Seruvaiah is one of the trainees. She previously worked as the secretary of the village community oyster collective Watulele Yabula, so she understands the potential of the industry.
“It’s not easy to live in a (Fijian) village – it’s hard to make money,” she says, adding that the average income in her village is just 150 to 200 Fijian dollars ($66-88) a week.
“We sell vegetables like dalo (taro) and yacona (kava) or earn income from fishing,” she says, adding that some women dry coconut meat, weave baskets or work in shops.
As the climate becomes more unpredictable, a climate-resilient source of income is more important than ever, Seruvaiah says.
Warnings of extreme weather events are raising fears of further depletion of fishing stocks. In March 2025, for example, a weather Study Tropical cyclones and extreme floods are predicted to increase in intensity in Fiji, further threatening coastal and marine livelihoods.
The country has just recovered from 2016’s Hurricane Winston. The 26-day storm was the strongest on record in the Southern Hemisphere, causing an estimated 1.99 billion Fijian dollars ($875m) in damage. The cyclone affected more than half of Fiji’s population, killing 44 people and causing extensive damage and destruction to villages and farmland, particularly on the north coast of the main island, but also on smaller islands.
“Hurricane Winston caused extensive damage to coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass beds – critical habitats that sustain subsistence and small-scale commercial fisheries,” says Rosie Batibasaga, WCS Fisheries Officer.
Coastal villages such as Watule were hit hard, she said: “They lost access to fish, lost boats and fishing equipment, and experienced a sharp decline in household income and food security.”
Vatulele resident Vive DiGiata, 59, put it simply: “Life was easy (before the cyclone),” she said. “Fish are getting smaller, and people are turning to canned fish to supplement their diet.”
Illegal fishing or poaching, often by foreign vessels, meanwhile, also depletes fish stocks in coastal waters and puts endangered species such as hawksbill turtles at greater risk.