Youths of Vuya village in Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island, recently opened a bakery business aiming to boost income generation for youth in the area.
With around 100 active members, including some who graduated from Tutu Rural Training Centre, the bakery, located along the main road in Bua, serves around 10 villages and over 1000 residents who would otherwise have to travel 10-20 km to Nabouwalu, the nearest commercial centre, to buy bread.
The business was opened early this week by Assistant Minister for iTaukei Affairs, Culture, Heritage Arts Isikeli Tuiwailevu, marking the latest initiative the youths have undertaken following their RSL Carrier Business and Yaqona Farming ventures. Tuiwailevu commended the youth group for their dedication and hard work, underscoring the importance of wisdom and continuous improvement to meet customer needs and enhance business resilience and sustainability.
The bakery project received support from the iTaukei Trust Fund Board (TTFB) under its MOU with the Tutu Rural Training Center (TRTC) to provide post-training income-generating initiatives for its graduates. The building was constructed in partnership with the CATD Nadave New Dawn Cooperative and the Vuya community, while Baking Industry Training (B.I.T) Fiji provided equipment and technical training support.
The bakery, the first project on the land dedicated to the Vuya Economic Hub, has sparked interest in other business opportunities. It has been registered with the Ministry of Cooperatives and will closely collaborate with TTFB for monitoring, mentoring, and capacity building over the next three years.
Starting with 5 bags of 25 kg flour, the bakery has processed nearly 200 bags of flour for bread over the last two months. Profits from the bakery will be used to fund development initiatives of the Vuya Youth Farmers Group in the future.
