The people of Navala Village in the Ba Highlands will for the first time be able to eat freshly baked bread.
In a joint project between The Beckenham Baptist Church (BBC) of Christchurch, New Zealand, commercial kitchen suppliers Moffat and Fiji Gas, a bakery and a small shop was built and equipped to service the 500 residents of the Village.
Navala Village is famous in Fiji for having over 200 traditional bures with thatched roofs. It has become a major tourist attraction with daily tours from Nadi.
Despite this, it has been without many modern conveniences including a bakery.
The Beckenham Baptist Church of Christchurch in New Zealand first became associated with the village in 2006.
In 2012 the BBC built a church community centre in Navala village.
Pastor Tony Blackie with the help of Christchurch Youth Groups and the local Rotary Club has raised over $25,000 for the project.
Moffat designed and built three bespoke ovens for the project and Fiji Gas have installed the ovens in the new bakery and shop and have also donated 4 x 50kg cylinders to the bakery.
Ravin Kumar, supervisor with Fiji Gas said, “It was a privilege to work with the BBC and Moffat on this project and spend time here. Everyone I’ve talked to is excited and looking forward to getting fresh bread for breakfast.”