Navala; Setting The Scene

I've been mulling over how on Earth to post about my time in Navala for the last couple of days, but have finally come to a conclusion. One of my goals whilst working in Navala was to avoid portraying it's people as being opposite or polar to what I am. I sought to engage within the community as though a local, and even though I knew it would not be possible to do so perfectly, I do feel that I achieved this in some way or form. You can decide for yourselves.

First thing is first. Contextualisation. It would be unfair to launch into portraits of the people I met without really explaining where they come from and a few of the things I learnt while I was there. So here goes.

Navala is situated in the Western Hills of Viti Levu, Fiji's 'main' island. Locals told me people have been living in the area for thousands of years. It is the largest of four villages in the area, home to around 800 people. 

This photo is taking looking westwards towards the village.

Navala is surrounded by hills. The following photos are taken in the same spot as the above photos, looking north.

The area is very lush, with a river running nearby. I climbed up four waterfalls whilst taking photos along the river (this being the fourth and final waterfall). Fiji really only has two seasons, summer in the middle of the year (well, really it's their winter) and their rainy season at the latter and beginning half of each year. The river floods and breaks the bank some years. Photos of the river will be up later!

Navala is a Catholic village. Locals said that missionaries came through in the 19th century and told them of Catholicism. There is still a small part of town where you can see what's left of where they used to worship and pray to the 'old Gods'.

Bulou, the woman I stayed with, read from her bible every morning and night. 

The local church, the school and the teachers' compounds are the only buildings in the village that aren't traditional Fijian bures. 

Pictures similar to these were in every bure I visited.

The walk from where I stayed to Navala (1km away)

Bures are built in rows. There is town expansion occurring southwards of the village, with more bures being built for residents.

There is minimal electricity in the village; most people use flashlights and kerosene lamps at night, though a few have solar panels they lie outside for the day and bring in at night. While we'd likely call how they live "making do", from what I saw there's no real evidence of people struggling within their home life, as the phrase implies. 

Kitchens are separate buildings to bedrooms/living spaces, and are always located at the rear of the building (determined by the orientation of the house to the main streets). 

Kerosene is usually used to fuel the fire that is cooked on.  

Division of labour is obvious in Navala. 

The woman on the right remarked that being in the kitchen too long can hurt your eyes and cause them to water due to the smoke. 

People are incredibly helpful in Navala. One man was building this bure alone when a group arrived back from collecting supplies for another bure being built, so they all stopped to help him. 

Palagis evidently aren't seen all that often, and the kids were curious about me.

Rugby is the sport of Fiji, and Navala is no exception. Below is the rugby pitch as seen from the school classrooms. "If you're going to build a village, you have to make sure there's room for a rugby field to keep the people happy". Netball was played after school each day by the girls, also.