Solevus unique beach market
Fiji Times, Fiji
Everyday at first tide, the women of Solevu in Malolo will gather on the beach.
Dressed in their colourful jabas, it will leave any first timer wondering as to what the occasion was.
This is what they call market time, when the women come out and sell their handicraft to the tourists.
Their timing is almost always perfect because as soon as they have set their makeshift stalls up, boatloads of tourists arrive on the shore.
It is thus no surprise that Solevu is dubbed the market by the tourism industry in the Mamanuca Group.
It is where tourists from nearby resorts like Musket Cove, Plantation, Funky Fish, Navini, Malolo Resort, Wadigi and Walu Beach flock to buy their souvenirs.
These souvenirs are no different from the ones we can get here at the mainland’s handicraft markets.
Turaga ni Koro Jone Kadivuka said the women buy the artifacts from Nadi and sell it to tourists at a higher price.
He said a vendor’s average daily earnings would be about $100.
For 67-year-old Imeri Nagale, she has been a vendor for the past 20 years.
This has helped her to be independent, she said.
She said on a good day, she could earn as much as $200.
Kasanita Bevu, 59, a retired cashier, said she raked in more money as a vendor than as a resort worker.
Widow Mere Vuaniuci said the money she earned helped her support her to care for her four children, adding that they earned more than most of the resort workers.