Traditional Contemporary Arts & Crafts Income-Generating Program

Our Traditional Contemporary Arts & Crafts Income-Generating Program has four goals for rural remote indigenous women in Fiji. First, women are given opportunities to develop leadership skills. Second, geographically isolated women crafters earn much-needed income at village-gate. Third, we help develop regional and international markets for these good, and last (but not least), the program helps preserve and promote traditional arts and crafts skills with remote  indigenous women in Fiji, Kioa Island and Rotuma.

The value of empowering women and girls is one of the most important lessons learned over the last few decades, both by academic researchers and donor organizations. Empowerment means providing women and girls with education, skill building that promotes the practice and preservation of traditional knowledge, and income-earning opportunities beyond those available at home and in traditional patrilocal cultures.

It’s an unfortunate reality that disaster relief efforts often overlook the specific concerns of women and girls. But when women are empowered and feel free to speak up, affected communities can have more of a role in their own recovery. 

We focus on building women's economic resilience to help shift harmful gender norms, including gender-based violence, and help ensure women's inclusion as decision-makers and leaders within their families, villages, and districts.