ekimondo - The Directory of Responsible Destinations

Take a ride in a longboat a couple of hours up the Navua river to the village of Namuamua.

On arrival you will be welcomed to the village with a traditional Kava ceremony. You will be hosted in a traditional Bure (thatched long house) and the village will provide you with delicious Fijian food.

Your host Adre (pronounced Andre), who is also the village mayor, is able to organise many activities including a visit and swim at a beautiful waterfall nearby, visiting Taro and Cassava plantations, horse riding, Billi-Billi (bamboo raft) rides and bushwalking through the scenic mountain areas around the village. Or you can just hang out, eat and chat to the village people.

This is a fantastic opportunity to experience Fijian life and culture up close and meet a wonderful group of friendly, warm people.

(Please note- This is definitely not a resort! Facilities are clean and comfortable but basic- mattresses on the floor and cold water showers. The Bure is "village space" so there will be people from the village in and around it while you are staying.

Please respect the village way of life and dress modestly- long shorts, no bikini tops or singlets in the village. It is also tradtional to bring a gift of Kava root when first coming to the village)

Why is this spot equitable, solidary, cultural or responsible?

The Bure was built by the people of the village so they could take advantage of tourism opportunities in a way that they controlled and benefitted from. It creates employment opportunities for people from the village and the money goes back to the village.

Previously they have hosted tours organised from Resorts on the coast but were only paid a very small amount of money for this work- to the extent they almost only broke even or made a very small amopunt of money, even though they knew the tourists involved were paying large sums of money to the tour operators.

This ekistop has the following attributes :

cultural exchange, energy efficiency, community development, fair working conditions, local commerce, local products, social economy, participation of women, accessible