The members of the Vunisei Women’s Club of Toga, Rewa, were yesterday proud to be part of the Rewa Craft Show for the first time.

Club president Arieta Seru, 73, said their women’s club was formed in January this year after two sewing machines were donated by the Ministry of Women.

“We have since revived the women’s club and we are showing our craft for the first time at the show today (yesterday),” said Ms Seru.

She said they were surprised at how the villagers were flocking to them now to buy craft for functions like weddings and they didn’t have to come to town.

“It has helped us earn an income and help us support our family and we hope to be chosen for the Women’s Expo,” she said.

The club with 20 members was able to showcase pillow cases, bed sheets, men’s sulu, shirts and doormats during the Rewa Craft Show at Syria Park in Nausori.

The chief guest and Minister for Women, Children, and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa, said the event could only get better as the women of Rewa were provided a platform to showcase their talents and skills.

Ms Vuniwaqa said the craft shows were more than just a tool for the economic empowerment of women.

“They also act as a means of reviving and strengthening traditional knowledge as most of the Fijian handicrafts we would in the market today to find their genesis in tradition,” she said.

The Rewa Craft Show is the final craft show for the year as there were similar craft shows in 12 other provinces.

From the craft show, 25 groups will be selected from a total of 50 women’s groups from the province of Rewa.

The groups selected will represent the province at the 2017 National Women’s Expo scheduled for June.

Representatives from the Fiji Arts Council were responsible for assessing the women’s craft to select the 25.

“We look for quality of the handicrafts, raw materials used, the designs and mixture of colors are some of the criteria,” said Fiji Arts Council Craft Development Officer, Niqa Tuvuki.

Women from the province were decked out in colourful attire at the event.

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

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