Topic

"OISCA Graduates Serve for Community-Building in Fiji"

OISCA conducts training courses in Fiji in cooperation with the Fijian Ministry of Youth, employment Opportunities and Sports. Young trainee candidates are recruited from all over the country. In recent years, more Fijian OISCA graduates have taken leading roles in guiding young trainees in the courses. This trend represents self-reliant, self-generating human resource development for community-driven sustainable development.

Those who completed the OISCA training and serve the Center teach young fellow Fijians how to grow traditional vegetables and crops without using expensive chemicals, pesticides or insecticides. They are learning how to make compost using domestic animal droppings, coconut and sugarcane by-products and effective microorganisms. The trainees learn how to best utilize a small plot of land by rotating and changing the types of crops, in order to avoid diseases and poor growth due to repeat cultivation. The best systems of crop rotation are devised and shared among the trainees. The trainees are also trained in pig and poultry farming, talapia (a type of fish) culture, and apiculture.

Photography:M.Yokota

Through these practical and experiential training opportunities, the young people who are enrolled at the Center acquire skills and knowledge useful for farm practice in their respective home villages. But knowledge about techniques is not the only thing they gain from the Center; they also receive encouragement to squarely face problems and challenges, so that they can build the capacity to sort out any issues that may arise in day to day life.

In traditional societies such as those in Fiji, a culture of mutual respect and assistance in the community is maintained through a traditional lifestyle. Young people, however, need to face challenges that emerge out of a changing environment. While they hope to keep beautiful traditional community systems alive, they also need to be prepared to secure sustainable development. OISCA training in Fiji aims to nurture courage, confidence, and a sense of responsibility, as well as the practical ability of trainees to look after their own communities in the present and future.


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