Pickle profits to help less privileged Fiji women

It's business as well as community work for this Sydney entrepreneur

BY ASHA CHAND

Fiji- bom Rooty Hillbased b L1sinesswoman

Anita Kumar has reached out to women from F i ji, who have been cooking up a st orm in Sydney with di e ir p ickles and chutneys

Kumar's Fijj Is land Supe rmarket o n 63 Roo ty Hill t orth Road has become di e supp ly chain fo r pickles mad e by Foundation for Rural Integrated E nterp rises a nd Development (FRIEND) , an organisation especially set up ro help women from disadvantaged backgrounds in F i ji. Operating from Tuv u, a v illage in Lauroka, the organisation also supplies locally available raw material to yo uth and people with special n eeds, so that diey can put d1eir skills to use by making aU o ccasion greeting cards.

"These women are purring dieit skills and talenrs to use and I am happy ro be in a position ro help them realise dieir pote ntial in a g lobal market," Kumar said.

"1 was born in Bulabula, Ba, where 1 grew up on p ickles and chutneys as die side cUsh adding a specia l flavour to die plain m eals of rice and dbal, or roti and curr y " Kumar migrated to r ew Zealand as a teenage r, gor married and lived diere fo r several years before moving ro her n ew home in Syd n ey. " Living here and enjoying die lmmry o f the western world wi d1 our adult children has h e lped me realise how lucky I an1," she stated. " I now wan e to help wo men who have a tough life in Fiji, because I value the h ard work diat goes into making d1ese chutneys and pickles".

The first ship m ent o f die pickles arrived at her supermarket recenrly, a nd Kumar r eitera ted chat she does nor plan to make any profit on these good s, simply to ensure t hat d1e women who make a nd package the products are the real recipients of any profit.

Recalling her childhood days in me village, K uma r sai d her mother Sus h ila Narayan who lives in Auckbnd, made tamarind chumeys a n d mango pickles for the clan of families who inhibited the to/a (group of village homes).

"The days of my mum going aro und ro Fi ji Indian homes in Auckla nd to make chutneys and p ickles fo r wedcUngs and odier celebrations will soo n b e out of vogue as diese items are availa b le in spice shops aro und Syd ney, a n d will soo n be shipped out to Aucklan d ," Kumar quipped S he was excited abouc die products gai ni ng internatio nal fame dirough global n etworking made possible di rough die ne,v media enviro nment, and hopes to one day begin seUing these products online.

The women wo r king for FRIE D use smart tech n ology, wid1 high - powered solar drying pa ne ls used ro dry the p ickl es before addi11g spices and preservatives. Thi s mediod has come a long way since her c hildhood as Ku mar recalls how she used to climb on the roof of t he ir home using a ladder, ro lay out d 1e diced m a ngoes for dryin g before her mum applied here ' magic' to make rl1e fruit into p ickles.

"I sell all the Fi ji lncUan spices diat are used for making pickles in m y store. However, I encourage my customers to notice and buy the read y- to-use pickles as there is an inte resting human story of survival behind the jars diat proudly adorn our s helves," Kumar said.

The recent Aoods in Fij i have damaged or destroyed many of die mango and oche r fruit trees. The wo men making d1e pickles will be affected direcrly; however diere is excitement and hope as diey p repa re to make do with what is available to them.

"They u se seasonal vege rab les and frui t, and a re willing to ,vait until particular crops have recovered from the onslaught of nature. I am deepl y moved by their leve l of tolerance as well as die excitement dus project has b rought into the lives of these women," Kumar scared.

So m e of the products include mango, lime a nd chi lli pickles; sweet mango, tamarind, chilli and kbatai (dried mango) chutney, and ja rn m ad e from guava, mango and marmalade. All tbe fruit and vegetab les are locall y grown in Fiji. FRIEND, a non -government o rganisatio n encourages t he use of natural resources and skills for sustainable livelihoods. The organisation says that tbe chutneys and pickles are made using recipe s which " have been passed down from genera tion ro gen eration. Each product has a taste muque to F i ji, ju st the way our mothers and g randrnod1ers used to make them."

Kumar also recen rl y o rganised a drive to collecr donations from

Fij i Indian and other communities in Sydney, to be sent to the Aood victim s in Fiji.

Her s hop was t he drop-off point for food, clothes and och er daily esse n tials which were collected o n behalf o f Humdard Incorporated, an organisation working towards helping die people of F iji improve their lives through ed u catio n and providing assis tan ce dming times of natural disaster

Kmnar said she sees h er shop as a busines s venture, as well as a refuge centre fo r co mmunity work

"

1 am able to reach out to communities in need through m y business an d 1 am g lad to be blessed widi d1is opportunity ro make a difference in people's lives," she said enthusiastically Food breaks a1I barrie r s and pickles, mad e b y these enterprising women, have become a duty free item at airports. T he colourful labels make the product stand tall among od1er odiers, as do d 1e han dicraft items incU vi duall y created by wome n and youth , u sing lo cal1y available resources such as pandanus and m ulberry.

"Many tou rists too seek our these chumeys in Sydn ey, now d1at word i s out about om supp ly ch ain," said Kuma r in conclusion.