Water & Food in Fiji
The people of Fiji typically prepare foods that can be eaten with the hands. Mats laid out on the floor are used for sitting during meals. Dishes consist mostly of rice, root vegetables, coconut or fish. Fiji is also known for its old artesian aquifers, which provide water that is shipped in bottles around the world. Does this Spark an idea?
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Lovo Feast
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The Fijian "lovo" is an earth oven. Food is buried in the ground with hot coals so that the earth acts as an oven. It takes many hours to cook food in this manner. Lovo feasts are popular in Fiji. Usually, meats such as seafood or chicken are buried along with potatoes and bananas to cook in the earth. The food is wrapped in either foil or palm leaves to hold in the heat. Lovo feasts are held often at resorts in Fiji. They are also common during special occasions such as weddings or holidays.
Breadfruit
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Breadfruit has been gaining ground as a popular food in Fiji, where it was once only common as a food among the poor. The breadfruit tree grows fast and can reach around 80 feet in height. The fruit can be roasted, broiled or baked into a bread. It is commonly made into puddings, fried into chips or candied. Young fruits can be ground into a flour to make bread.
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Other Foods
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There are many types of foods common to Fiji that aren't as well known in other parts of the world. Dalo tastes very similar to artichokes, but is harvested as a root crop. Root crops are very common in Fiji. Cassava, another root crop, is also common. Seafood is typically dressed in a coconut cream sauce made with onions, lemon juice and chilies in a preparation called miti, while fish steeped in lemon or lime juice and mixed with coconut cream and spices is called kokoda. Palusami is made from taro leaves that are formed into a cup with coconut cream, meat and spices added to the center. The cup is then baked inside the leaves of banana.
Agriculture
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The major cash crops of Fiji are sugar and coconuts. There are more than 40,000 households that rely on coconut as a source of income. Ginger, bananas, breadfruit, lava, taro, and cassava are also grown in Fiji. Livestock such as pigs, cattle and poultry are most common. Cocoa, passion fruit, maize, potatoes and turmeric are common in areas with more rainfall, whereas rice is grown in dry areas. Seaweed and tuna are exported from the region to other parts of the world.
Water
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The artesian aquifer beneath the Yaqara Valley on the Island of Viti Levu is bottled and sold by FIJI Water to markets around the world. The water has been carbon-dated as having fallen from rain more than 450 years ago, and the FIJI water company touts the water as "untouched by man" on their company website. The bottling plant on the island of Fiji produces more than 1 million bottles of FIJI artesian water a day. Many environmental groups criticize bottled water for its possible environmental impact. An analysis published by Terrific Science, designed for educators, states that clean and reliable drinking water isn't available to half of the people in Fiji.
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