Building a Better Future
The Fijian culture is known for many things: kava ceremonies, bula spirit, and love for children, just to name a few. In fact, one might argue that no one has greater love for children than the Fijians do.
So when the team at Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort saw that their local school district was in need back in 2014, they got creative with resources. And they discovered something interesting: that their guests wanted to help, too.
It wasn’t long before the Community Tourism initiative was born. The project started off by taking on the building of a large Bure (or traditional hall) at Conua School in the Sigatoka Valley. When it was completed, the building had the capacity to accommodate over 100 people for both school and village meetings - which was a vital community need.
The beauty of this project is that resort guests help construct and support the undertaking. This Community Tourism project enables guests to volunteer their time over one or two days during their holiday to assist the resort's engineering team with all aspects of the construction phase from basic labor work to more skilled trades.
When guests participate in the project, not only do they have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Fiji community but they also have the opportunity to interact with the local school children, share a bowl of kava with the local villages and finish off the day with a visit to one of Fiji’s most prestigious cultural sites, Tavuni Hill Fort.
Since that initial project, Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort's Community Tourism initiative has completed several large projects for the local community, including building a brand new kindergarten for the local Conua District School, and a new library. The team is currently working on the construction of two new classrooms at the Conua Primary School. While manual labor on a construction site under the blazing sun might not be what most guests have in mind when they dream of their Fijian paradise holiday, that’s exactly what some of our guests have been volunteering for.
We admire our team and our guest's passion for giving back to our local community. And we invite you to experience it for yourself. Follow along on the project's Facebook page or check availability at Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort now.