From engineering to baking bread, Tausere serves Tubou with love

Every morning in Tubou Village, the air fills with the aroma of freshly baked bread.

For 70-year-old Nemani Tausere, this is more than a business — it is a service to his community that has continued for nearly three decades.

The retired civil engineer, who once helped build the Monasavu Dam, now applies the same precision and dedication to his oven.

His home-baked buns have become a staple for residents of Lakeba, often selling out shortly after they come out of the oven.

Plain and cheese buns baked by Nemani Tausere that he sells at his home in Tubou, Lakeba, Lau.

Photo: Laiseana Nasiga

Mr Tausere is looking to increase production of daily staples such as bread, rolls and simple pastries, including croissants and doughnuts, to meet growing demand in Lakeba, Lau.

The retired civil servant said the bakery business had been doing well.

“I chose this business because I love this business. I love serving my people of Lakeba,” he said. “I don’t concentrate so much on the money because I love my God, who gives me the strength and power to keep on working every day.”

It was always his dream to run a bread shop in Tubou Village with his wife.

Now in full operation, Mr Tausere hopes to expand further and produce more baked goods such as cream buns, pizzas and hot dogs.

He learnt to bake through observation and knowledge-sharing from fellow villagers in Tubou.

Mr Tausere sells plain buns at $4.80 a dozen and cheese buns at $7.20 a dozen.

“I bake up to 60 plain buns per tray and 50 cheese buns per tray,” he said. “We can produce up to two large trays a day — one for plain buns and one for cheese buns.

“If there is a special occasion in the village, I use up to two trays each for plain and cheese buns.”

In a day, Mr Tausere can earn up to $100, with most of the buns sold in the morning.

Mr Tausere has three children, two of whom live in Suva, while one lives in Lakeba.