Tribewanted: Vorovoro

If you’ve been to Fiji, you know how important woven mats are in everyday life. You sit on a mat when you eat, you sit on a mat to drink kava, you gather on a mat to socialize. When the day is hot, a mat provides you with a cool and comfy place to rest. Mats are given ceremonially between families and yavusa (tribes) as traditional ways to express appreciate, acceptance, congratulations, or condolence. They are given when there is a birth, and when there is a death. When someone dies, they are laid to rest wrapped in mats. In a Fijian household, mats are essential – no Fijian household is complete without a few.

As you many of you have been to the island already know, aside from employment that Tribewanted is able to offer to the Mali community, the only other employment available to most families is the hard and unpredictable life of fishing. There is no other tourism in this area – no other venues for women to sell their handicrafts to contribute to the family income.

Employment here at the project is great for those we can offer it to, but the bigger goal of Tribewanted is to provide a platform for the Mali community to create sustainable income for themselves. Recently, I have been working very hard with the ladies of Vorovoro and Mali Island to explore ways that they can supplement their family income through their weaving skills. One idea that has been successful is our weekly Friday village handicraft visits – after playing with the kids at school, we walk back to the villages with the children. There we visit and have tea with the ladies, while the tribe also has an opportunity to shop the handicrafts made in the village. All of the money goes directly to the artist.

And now it is time to put another exciting idea into action. Very soon, an opportunity to purchase a mat online will be made available here to the online tribe. Many of you know and love Francis – the legend, mama, and grandmother of Vorovoro. She and other ladies on Mali will provide mats for sale (custom designs available!) and I am training her daughter Mila to handle the administrative side of this small business. Expect to be able to order a mat made by these amazing women artists within the next week! All profits from this business venture will go directly into the Mali community.

While we are sorting out the details before that idea launches, I thought it would be an excellent time to share with the tribe all that goes into the making of a Fijian mat.

Making of a Fijian Mat (ibe)

1. Cut off the voivoi leaves from the plant. (Now this sounds simple, but let me tell you that the first time you get stuck a thorn from one of these leaves you will appreciate what a tough and dangerous job this can be!)

2. Using a knife, shave the thorns off the edges of the voivoi leaves.

3. Roll leaves together (about 10 to a bunch), then boil each bunch in huge pot for 30 minutes.

4. Unfold the leaves and dry them in the sun for one day.

5. Fold the leaves again and beat them with a big stick until they are smooth (the men usually help with this part).

6. After the voivoi is smooth, it is ready to cut into ½ – 1 inch strips.

7. Weaving begins! This art is passed down from mother to daughter. It takes about 200 voivoi leaves and 4 full days of weaving to make at 5 ft X 3 ft mat.

Stay tuned for more info on how to get your mat ordered!