Lutu

(entry taken from my travel journal - March 9, 2012)


Today we are in Lutu Village – a dalo plantation cooperative, which is the only one of its kind in Fiji. It is the second day of our three-day field trip, as part of our Geography course. I am currently lying down on the veranda of my host family’s home, relaxing after an action-packed day.

We left Suva yesterday at 9 am. On our way to Lutu we stopped at three separate farms – one that raises chickens and pigs, and two others that grow ginger and dalo (the fijian term for the root crop commonly known as ‘taro’). Upon arriving in Lutu, we completed the sevusevu (an official Fijian ceremony for greeting visitors and thanking hosts) and met our host parents shortly after. Ang and I stayed with an amazing Fijian couple named Apolosi and Taina. They’re both in their sixties and have lived in Lutu essentially their whole lives. Alongside participating in the dalo plantation, Apolosi and Taina have coconut, lemon and banana trees, a pumpkin patch, and grow several other agricultural goods. Despite their age, they’re both incredibly hardworking and resilient people.

Our first night here went very well, as I experienced a completely different kind of sleep. There was a torrential downpour throughout the entire night, which I loved because I love storms! Then, starting at around 5:00 am dozens of roosters began crowing us awake... I found it pretty neat, having never been awaken that way before.

After waking up to a lovely breakfast of pumpkin curry and roti, Ang and I met up with the rest of our classmates who’d decided to participate in the planting of dalo. We began a long trek to the plantation – walked through mud, took a little rowing boat across a river, and walked through even more mud. After we finally arrived at the site of the dalo farms, we began planting dalo suckers. It was very interesting to do farm work barefoot, in 35º weather, wearing a sulu and t-shirt – I tried to keep mine on the entire time, out of respect for Fijian village customs. This opportunity allowed us to see one of the initial steps of Lutu’s dalo export process. It was amazing to see firsthand the amount of effort that is put into the plantation everyday.

Upon heading back to the village compound, we planned to walk to a nearby waterfall. After a pretty strenuous barefoot walk through bushes, mud, and cow/pig dung, we finally made it to the beautiful waterfall. It was lovely and worth the walk!

Since we’ve been back from the waterfall, we’ve had lunch (where we had the pleasure of drinking Taina’s amazing homemade lemonade) and have been relaxing on the veranda. Ang and I are both pretty pooped from the day’s activities! What inspired me to write this entry was something that Apolosi, Ang and I were just discussing: that one of the best things about village life is that there is absolutely zero noise pollution – no highways, fans/aircon or music. Just the sound of birds, bugs and laughter <3