Let’s Go Local: Tapa- Making Curiosity On Vatulele: SME

Let's Go Local | SUNBIZ

Let’s Go Local: Tapa- Making Curiosity On Vatulele: SME

With just $50 in her pocket, Kelera Tagivakatini set out to double her returns.

by sosiveta korobiau

17 Feb 2023 03:00

Let’s Go Local: Tapa- Making Curiosity On Vatulele: SME

A beachfront Stretch at Vatulele. Inset: Yalo Re Carts and Creation owner, Kelera Tagivakatini, says in business, one has to start somewhere, however small.

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With just $50 in her pocket, Kelera Tagivakatini set out to double her returns.

The owner of Yalo Re Carts and Creation, hails from a humble background, where she watched as her parents carried out their responsibilities, without complaint.

“They told us to have a good heart even if your surroundings say otherwise.” Ms Tagivakatini said.

In 2020, she launched a home-based handicraft business at Cuningham, Suva.

The business, established when Fiji’s economy was at battling the worst economic impact of COVID-19, is now making ends meet for her family.

In the Vanua Levu dialect, yalo re means a good and caring heart.

Ms Tagivakatini hails from Navave vuya Bua, where yalo re is considered a spirit of good natured joyfulness.

Where in Fiji would you take friends to?

Veidrala, Nakorotubu in Ra, for its untouched beauty.

What is one place in Fiji on your bucket list?

Vatulele, to see how they make tapa.

The bark cloth, with its intricate processes, are held sacred in the iTaukei culture, for its traditional embodiment.