Community Empowerment

Resilient Communities

Nature based Solutions (NbS)

Climate resilience

Food preservation

Disaster Risk Reduction

Gender & Social Inclusion

Empowered communities

Resilient Communities

Nature based Solutions (NbS)

Climate resilience

Food preservation

Disaster Risk Reduction

Gender & Social Inclusion

Empowered communities

Tunabuna calls for collaborative effort to enhance food security

The ever-increasing frequency and strength of natural disasters, the impacts of climate change, and inefficient agricultural production are among many other challenges that have exacerbated the struggles faced by vulnerable communities in accessing basic nutrition. This has been highlighted by Assistant Minister for Agriculture Tomasi Tunabuna while speaking during the Pacific Food Week workshop. Tunabuna […]

Gardening & Food preservation

Residents of Kilikali Settlement plant seedlings during a workshop as part of the project by Live & Learn on Wednesday. IVE & Learn Fiji is a non-government organisation that has a strong history of implementing water, sanitation and hygiene projects in our communities. But they have gone a step further to help two settlements in […]

Food security emphasized for informal settlements

Food security has taken center stage in the efforts of the non-governmental organization Live and Learn, particularly in informal settlements across Fiji. Under the Atoll Food Futures program, Live and Learn has extended its support to five informal settlements, with the most recent addition being the Bilo Settlement located in Lami, just outside Suva. Project […]

Prevalence of anaemia prompts intervention in communities

The prevalence of anaemia among children and women in Vanua Levu has prompted Live and Learn’s Drought Recovery and Climate Resilience Project to intervene in 29 communities in the Northern Division. According to the recent National Nutrition Survey, 63.1 percent of children under five years and 40 percent of expectant mothers suffer from anaemia in […]

Fiji’s first Indigenous-owned carbon credit project

Villagers undertake climate-smart agriculture training

Over 50 families of Suweni in Cakaudrove received climate-smart agriculture training from Live and Learn Fiji, through their Drought Recovery and Climate Resilience Project. This is one of the 29 villages selected for the project. Project Manager, Kolosa Matebalavu says the initiative aims to improve food security for people in communities vulnerable to climate change […]

Project to assist vulnerable communities

A Drought Recovery and Climate Resilient Project has been launched to build more adaptive and resilient communities in Fiji, particularly in the Northern Division. The United States has committed close to $1million for this project, which will be implemented in collaboration with Live and Learn Fiji. The project will help address the interlinked challenges of […]

Cabinet approves team

Cabinet has approved the formation of a National Emergency Response Team. National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) director Vasiti Soko confirmed this while delivering her closing remarks at a five-day emergency operation centre training at the Fiji Teachers Union Hall on Friday. “This is nothing new in the disaster space globally,” she said. “Solomon Islands is […]

Conserving forests: ‘High integrity carbon projects are important’

In a bid to assist landowners and communities, representatives of Plan Vivo, an internationally recognised Standard for the Voluntary Carbon Market(VCM), visited Fiji last week. The Scotland-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) certifies forest carbon projects that are led by local communities and are proud to certify several forest conservation projects within the Pacific Islands. Plan Vivo […]

Let’s ‘be the change’ on World Water Day and beyond

Savusavu, Fiji, 22 March 2023 – Today, children from 10 schools in the Northern Division in Fiji were among the first in the world to celebrate World Water Day by taking part in an oratory and drama contest organized by the Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport and UNICEF. The contest has provided a platform for […]

Tunabuna calls for collaborative effort to enhance food security

Posted on January 17, 2024October 22, 2025 by Paradise

This has been highlighted by Assistant Minister for Agriculture Tomasi Tunabuna while speaking during the Pacific Food Week workshop.

Tunabuna says food loss and waste remain challenges in the design of sustainable food systems.

He adds that the Pacific Food Week workshop will enable participants to improve their technical understanding of key food systems concepts that underpin various approaches to food security and development.

The workshop is organized by the Live and Learn Fiji Environmental Education—Resilient Food Systems and the Climate Resilient Islands Program and is attended by participants from Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji.

Source: FBC News

Date: 17/01/2024

Gardening & Food preservation

Posted on November 3, 2023November 27, 2025 by Paradise

Residents of Kilikali Settlement plant seedlings during a workshop as part of the project by Live & Learn on Wednesday.

IVE & Learn Fiji is a non-government organisation that has a strong history of implementing water, sanitation and hygiene projects in our communities. But they have gone a step further to help two settlements in Fiji grow their own food even though they do not own land.

Humbled to be part of the World Food Day and National Agriculture Show at the Vodafone Arena last week, the organisation works in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways Fiji by supporting informal settlements in the country.

Demonstrating the purpose and the use of the raised garden bed at the Agriculture show, Live & Learn food security and livelihood coordinator Ponijese Korovulavula said with the support they receive from the Australian Government, they were able to pilot this project into informal settlements as most people living in these communities do not have land ownerships.

Mr Korovulavula said the project is called Atoll Food Futures program and its main concept is to help people living in informal settlements plant, store, grow and keep their plants. It is funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and implemented by Live & Learn.

The project works with community members across three countries (Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu) to improve the production of fresh, locally grown produce. It is designed to empower people to grow fresh healthy produce at home, through skill building, agriculture training and also by sharing indigenous knowledge surrounding home gardening and food preservation.

“We have encouraged communities to plant shallow rooted crops as it doesn’t consume a lot of water and nutrients.

This food cubes doesn’t come in land or farm sizes but people can use it as a source of food security.”

Mr Korovulavula said they are impressed by what most communities have done so far.

“Most people in the communities we’ve introduced the project to have developed an advanced way by planting seeds in the food cubes and later transferring it into other containers,” he said.

According to Mr Korovulavula, informal settlements are the ones that suffered the most from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and this project is something Live & Learn has brought about to help reduce this issue.

“We thank the Australian Government for funding and giving us the opportunity to reach out to these informal settlements, even though they have no land ownership, this concept is a way to help them in the future.”

Mr Korovulavula added for their food cubes concept they’ve supported settlements like Kilikali in Nadawa and Waikerekere outside Lami Town. Live & Learn is committed to work with vulnerable communities to improve food and nutrition security.

Source: Fiji Sun

Date: 03/11/2023

Food security emphasized for informal settlements

Posted on November 2, 2023December 23, 2025 by Paradise

Food security has taken center stage in the efforts of the non-governmental organization Live and Learn, particularly in informal settlements across Fiji.

Under the Atoll Food Futures program, Live and Learn has extended its support to five informal settlements, with the most recent addition being the Bilo Settlement located in Lami, just outside Suva.

Project Manager Ponijese Korovulavula points out that informal settlements are home to many vulnerable populations, and they face numerous challenges, including limited access to fresh and nutritious food and the impacts of climate change.

“We are training them on how to be smart in terms of planting and also for our training we have included how they raise seedlings because most of them for the training, they does not have access to it because they have been isolated.”

Korovulavula explains that the decision to focus on informal settlements comes from the understanding that these communities are often overlooked in vital community development initiatives. The goal is to bridge this gap and empower communities to achieve food security and address the challenges posed by climate change.

By collaborating closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Australian government-funded project under Live and Learn has provided essential training in seed raising, good agricultural practices, seed extraction, and seed saving.

These initiatives are designed to equip residents with the knowledge and tools needed to sustain their food sources.

Source: FBC News

Date: 02/11/2023

Prevalence of anaemia prompts intervention in communities

Posted on October 13, 2023October 22, 2025 by Paradise

According to the recent National Nutrition Survey, 63.1 percent of children under five years and 40 percent of expectant mothers suffer from anaemia in Fiji.

Project Manager, Kolosa Matebalavu says their intervention is tailor-made to address the issue of iron deficiency identified in communities.

Matebalavu says this is through the practice of climate-smart agriculture.

“It is actually equipping them with the knowledge around how they can make use of the traditional knowledge that they already have, passed on from generations, and the existing practices … but also adding in some of the new techniques and innovations on how they can help them address some of the climate impacts.”

Matebalavu says their aspiration is aligned with the Ministry of Health’s objective in improving nutrition and decreasing anaemia from 40 percent to 20 percent by 2030.

He says they are also working with the Ministry of Agriculture, encouraging people to grow and eat nutritious food from their backyard or farm.

Live and Learn’s Drought Recovery and Climate Resilience Project is a three-year programme, funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

Source: FBC News

Fiji’s first Indigenous-owned carbon credit project

Posted on September 12, 2023December 23, 2025 by Paradise

LABASA, Fiji — No one finds their way to the village of Drawa by accident. To get there, you must first board a tiny plane to Labasa, the biggest town on Fiji’s Vanua Levu Island. Driving southwest past hectares of sugarcane plantations and forests riven with gashes of red earth, you’ll pass pickup trucks piled high and wide with tightly bound stacks of the starchy cane stems, and loggers tugging loads of freshly cut tree trunks to one of the island’s many sawmills.

When you turn off the highway onto an unassuming gravel side road in the center of the island, your four-wheel-drive vehicle will shudder and shake as the track deteriorates into humps and hollows of greasy orange mud. But the view more than makes up for it: you’ll ford perfectly clear rivers and climb precipitously through tracts of deep-green cloud forest, before eventually parking among a scattering of colorful timber houses at the bend of a river at the very end of the road.

Source: The Mongabay News

Date: 12/09/2023

Villagers undertake climate-smart agriculture training

Posted on September 11, 2023December 23, 2025 by Paradise

Over 50 families of Suweni in Cakaudrove received climate-smart agriculture training from Live and Learn Fiji, through their Drought Recovery and Climate Resilience Project.

This is one of the 29 villages selected for the project. Project Manager, Kolosa Matebalavu says the initiative aims to improve food security for people in communities vulnerable to climate change

“Also adding in some of the new techniques and innovations on how they can help they address some of the climate impacts – challenges affecting the growth and viability of their products … vegetables and crops.”

Matebalavu says it also revives traditional agriculture practices.

“After a disaster strikes, there is usually a lot of impacts on food security and we wait for government interventions. It is because we are no longer practicing the land banks … the lololo – those used to be the practices before.”

The United States Agency for International Development’s Pacific Fund has provided around $1 million for the Drought Recovery and Climate Resilient Project.

Source: FBC News

Date: 02/09/2023

Project to assist vulnerable communities

Posted on May 28, 2023October 22, 2025 by Paradise

A Drought Recovery and Climate Resilient Project has been launched to build more adaptive and resilient communities in Fiji, particularly in the Northern Division.

The United States has committed close to $1million for this project, which will be implemented in collaboration with Live and Learn Fiji. The project will help address the interlinked challenges of climate change, rural poverty, food insecurity, and land degradation.

Live and Learn Fiji Country Director, Doris Susau says their efforts are tailored address the current crisis faced by rural communities.

“This program will enhance the development of climate resilient communities through various activities such as climate smart agriculture training, food preservation training, community-based disaster risk reduction awareness and training, watershed management, and, through the project, we will help to connect our communities to markets.”

The U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Marie Damour, says this will also benefit vulnerable communities.

“They will introduce community-based disaster risk management approaches and promote all of the inclusivity that the Director of Living, Lauren Fiji, has mentioned, because we know from experience that it’s often the people who live with disabilities and the children who feel these effects most often.”

The Ambassador is calling on relevant stakeholders to ensure these efforts are integrated and fulfill the needs of the individual communities on an individual basis.

Source: FBC News

Cabinet approves team

Posted on May 7, 2023October 22, 2025 by Paradise

“This is nothing new in the disaster space globally,” she said. “Solomon Islands is the first country in the Pacific to form a National Emergency Response Team. It’s also looking at ensuring that when you are deployed, you are deployed understanding humanitarian principles. You understand the different classes that exist within you, understand the logistic plan, how to prepare well for response. All of these small things, we take for granted but they really do save lives.”

She said decision makers relied heavily on the information that came from the Emergency Operation Centres (EOCs) during disasters. “Everything is so important because as decision makers, we rely on the information that comes from you.

“So how you operate in emergency operation centers, how you work as a team, how you ensure that information is correct and verified, that comes from the district, to the divisional, to national.

“Those processes are very important to be followed because any delays between may cost a life,” she said.

The training program was organised by Live and Learn Fiji, a recipient of Australian Government funding through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership’s Disaster Ready 2.0 program.

It was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Rural Development and Maritime and National Disaster Management, as well as other government ministries.

Source: Fiji Times

Date: 07/05/2023

Conserving forests: ‘High integrity carbon projects are important’

Posted on March 23, 2023November 27, 2025 by Paradise

In a bid to assist landowners and communities, representatives of Plan Vivo, an internationally recognised Standard for the Voluntary Carbon Market(VCM), visited Fiji last week.

The Scotland-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) certifies forest carbon projects that are led by local communities and are proud to certify several forest conservation projects within the Pacific Islands.

Plan Vivo has been running since the mid-1990s and has the longest running Standard in the voluntary carbon market that is recognised for having an ethical and fair-trade approach to carbon projects where communities receive income to protect nature.

Plan Vivo is the only Standard which has a requirement on financial benefits being shared equitably among customary landowners and communities.

It also brings a holistic approach to the Voluntary Carbon Market, with the benefits not just being climate related, but also having a positive impact for both nature and people.

Plan Vivo’s CEO Keith Bohannon said the high integrity carbon projects are of critical importance on how they work.

”We are committed to projects that are led by communities as the custodians of their natural resources and that ensure land and carbon rights remain with Indigenous people and customary landowners,” Mr Bohannon said in a media statement.

“For us, this is not only the right approach, but also the most effective way to deliver a real and lasting impact. Plan Vivo certification provides an opportunity for local communities to protect their forests through sustainable carbon projects as an alternative to logging and landclearing.

“To date, Plan Vivo projects have delivered more than 7 million tonnes of planned CO2 emission reductions.”

Mr Bohannon said the impact of climate change and the importance of protecting and restoring forests and biodiversity has prompted an increased interest in carbon projects within the Pacific region.

“Through this regional visit, Plan Vivo hopes to strengthen understanding and trust in the Voluntary Carbon Market and advocate for community-centred approaches to carbon projects.”

In Fiji, Plan Vivo works closely with the Nakau Programme and Live & Learn Fiji, developing forest protection projects that are designed and implemented by mataqalis.

During their trip, Plan Vivo will be visiting the Drawa Rainforest Project in Vanua Levu, a 10-year long project certified by the Plan Vivo Standard and the result of a partnership formed with the custodians of the land – the Drawa Block Forest Community Cooperative, Live & Learn Fiji, and the Nakau Programme.

The award-winning project has successfully protected 4,120ha of forest and generated more than 100,000 tonnes of verified emissions reductions.

The sale of carbon credits is now a significant income source and has allowed the community to strengthen their resilience to climate change and grow alternative forest enterprises.

Meanwhile Senior REDD+ Project Officer Live and Learn Fiji Beato Dulunaqio said they were honored to welcome the Plan Vivo team to Drawa.

“The Drawa community have committed to conserving the forests for many years and building upon the additional benefits the project provides,” he said.

“It is good for the people of Drawa to meet the representatives from the Plan Vivo Foundation to share their stories and achievements.”

Following the success of the Drawa project, there is now opportunity to replicate other similar projects in Fiji with support from the Fijian Government.

In addititon to their Drawa visit, Plan Vivo will also be meeting with government officials, local NGOs and conservation organisations to share insights about their standard and how it ensures projects are truly community-owned and all the benefits are considered.

Fiji Drawa Cooperative members. Photo: Nakau

Date: 23/03/2023

Let’s ‘be the change’ on World Water Day and beyond

Posted on March 22, 2023October 22, 2025 by Paradise

Savusavu, Fiji, 22 March 2023 – Today, children from 10 schools in the Northern Division in Fiji were among the first in the world to celebrate World Water Day by taking part in an oratory and drama contest organized by the Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport and UNICEF.

The contest has provided a platform for the children to share their voice and advocate on the importance of accelerating change when it comes to saving their homes from water scarcity as well as water borne diseases – one of the leading causes of death for children under five across the Pacific.

“Water is an essential need to survive, and we all need to take responsibility. Since everything on earth is connected to water, we, ourselves, need to look after it,” said Ethan Rossi, 14, from St. Andrews Primary School who was also the winner of the primary level oratory contest. “I am grateful that a platform like this has been provided for children like myself to be able to lead, inspire, and empower others on the importance of water.”

Approximately 96 per cent of Fiji’s total population has access to improved drinking water. However, while access is good, there is still the need to ensure that services are available on demand, and free from contamination, especially during and after disasters.

“The theme ‘Accelerating Change’ is correct as this is very much the focus of the Government’s development programmes in all sectors including water,” said the Hon. Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr. Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu. “The theme also seeks to inspire people at different levels and sectors to learn more about water-related issues and to take action to make a difference.”

Students from primary and secondary levels took part, including Savusavu Secondary School, St. Bedes College, Navatu Secondary School, Seaqaqa Central College, Ahmadiyya Muslim College, Khemendra Sanatan Primary School, Nasavusavu Public School, Nasavusavu District School, St. Andrews Primary School, and Muanivatu District School.

The children advocated to key stakeholders, including the media, about how water affects everyone and equally, there is a need for everyone to take action. Families, communities, schools and even children can make a difference by changing the way they use, consume and manage water in their daily lives. This can be achieved as easily as through saving water by taking shorter showers and fixing leaking water pipes.

“While Fiji has made remarkable progress towards improving the lives of Fijians through improved services of water and sanitation, we still must not forget that a third of children in the Pacific do not have access to good sanitation, and one in ten do not have access to safe drinking water,” said UNICEF Pacific Representative, Jonathan Veitch.

“We thank the Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport, and other partners, in supporting UNICEF to provide a platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of children on this critically important topic.”

This event is supported by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management, Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, Heritage and Arts, Ministry for Lands and Mineral Resources, Water Authority of Fiji, Live and Learn and Habitat for Humanity Fiji.

The Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport also acknowledges the valuable support from various donor and key stakeholders for improvements of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Fiji including the Government of United Kingdom, Government of Australia, Government of New Zealand, Government of the Republic of Korea, Government of Japan and the European Union as well as United Nations agencies including WHO and UNESCO.

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UN 2023 Water Conference:

This week marks the first UN Water Conference in the last 46 years!

Taking place in New York from 22-24 March 2023, the conference comes at a pivotal moment in history, on the heels of a global pandemic that underscored the importance of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene access. The world is also in the throes of a rapidly worsening climate crisis, with water becoming scarcer in some areas due to drought, and dangerously destructive in others through floods and storms. No one stands to suffer more than children.

The Pacific has just recently again seen the result of this first-hand with the recent droughts in Kiribati and Tuvalu as well as the twin cyclones that hit Vanuatu. These are not new for the region, but the weather and rainfall patterns have become more erratic because of the climate crisis over the past few decades.

World leaders, relevant organizations and other participants will convene for the first time in 46 years to review progress toward ensuring access to water and sanitation for all. At the conference, UNICEF is calling for:

Rapid scale-up of investment in the sector, including from global climate financing.
Strengthening climate resilience in the WASH sector and communities.
Prioritizing the most vulnerable communities in WASH programmes and policies.
Increasing effective and accountable systems, coordination, and capacities to provide water and sanitation services.
Implementing the UN-Water SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework and investing in the key accelerators.

About the Fiji Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport:

The Ministry is responsible for policy formulation, planning, design, regulatory, coordination and implementation of programmes, projects and services relating to infrastructural works, utilities (water and electricity), transport (air, road, sea), meteorology and hydrology.

Similarly, responsible for policy and legislative oversight of the Fiji Roads Authority, the Water Authority of Fiji, the Land Transport Authority, the Maritime Authority of Fiji, and Energy Fiji Limited. The Ministry develops infrastructure that moves people, the economy, and the nation forward. It provides services for the protection of life and property with environmental integrity.

For more information, please contact:
Mr. Mohammed Nistar Khan, Department of Water and Sewerage, Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport, mohammed.khan@govnet.gov.fj

Zubnah Khan, UNICEF Pacific, Tel: +679 9988137, zukhan@unicef.org

Date: 22/03/2023