Wayalailai: Fiji’s self-sustainable Eco-Island

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

FIJI | Wednesday, 26 June 2013 | Views [572] | View Larger Image

Eco-sustainability is the new in-thing with travellers abroad and this is what makes Wayalailai attractive. Unlike other surrounding luxurious island resorts; Wayalailai is the true blend of paradise and the Fijian experience. Modern day travellers are becoming more interested in staying in resorts that offer comfort, but also offer environmentally friendly accommodation. They are looking for those raw experiences that diverge of the beaten path. At Wayalailai Eco-Haven Resort you can relax on a secluded beach in a hammock surrounded by calmness and clarity. Yet, at the same time you are helping the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. The ways in which the resort promotes eco-friendliness is by controlling energy usages by allowing guests only 1 hour a day to use electricity and have access to the internet. They also farm, fish, grow, and slaughter all their own food – and then cook it in a traditional Fijian Lovo; which can cater for big groups. All water is collected in rain-tanks and all trash is recycled on the island. The islanders also organise all eco-friendly activities for vacationers such as snorkelling, hiking, village visits and kayaking. Furthermore the eco-resort supports the Wayalailaian community by creating an income for building schools and houses; buying books; and gas for boats to travel to and from the mainland.

The east side of the island doesn’t compare to the semi-luxurious eco-resort on the west side of the island. On the east side of the island Wayalailain’s manage their survival through traditional ways of life. These activities include: fishing, gardening, making curios and Fijian clothes for tourists. There are numerous houses made out of wood and corrugated iron and plenty of traditional Fijian Lovo’s. (Fijian Lovo’s are holes in the ground used for cooking food with banana leaves and coals.) Villagers also produce Kava, which is one of the highest selling tourist commodities in the Fiji Islands. (Kava is the root of a pepper plant that is ground into fine powder and then drunk.)
While walking through the village we are intersected by a group of vibrant school children, waving and cheering “Bula, Bula”. Barry the Chief’s son tells us on Wayalailai Island, education is of the utmost importance. “Here children cannot go to the mainland to attend good schools, so we must educate them ourselves. The future of Wayalailai is through the education of our children.”

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Wayalailai Island is the true definition of paradise, a place of utter beauty encapsulated in an abundance of fauna and flora. The Wayalailan’s have been inhabitants of this island since their African ancestors came ashore, and they wish to uphold their heritage by promoting eco-sustainability.
For the traveller who wants to experience the raw elements of Fijian island life, you can find this at Wayalailai Eco-Haven Resort. You can sit under the stars passing a kava coconut around the ceremonial circle, whilst the Chief tells stories of their ancestral history. You can climb to the top of the island mountain and breathe in the air of all of the Yasawa Islands, or scuba dive with the sharks that are believed to be friends. You can lie peacefully in a hammock and listen to the beauty of silence, or sit on the deck helping the locals prepare the Fijian Lovo.
At the end of your day, you can blow on a didgeridoo (an Australian musical instrument) while the sun splashes orange hues across the sky, and realize that you are a very small piece of a bigger ecological puzzle.
“Vinaka vaka levu, Wayalailai. Vinaka vaka levu.”

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Wayalailai: Fiji’s self-sustainable Eco-Island

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

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