27-year-old chilli farmer from Vugalei, Nadarivatu has become the first person to benefit from a new digital “solesolevaki” movement after a simple three-minute video helped raise hundreds of dollars overnight for his farming project.
Apenisa Irinasau, who already has around 600 chilli plants, submitted a video explaining his plans to expand his farm to between 2,000 and 3,000 plants through the newly launched community-driven initiative started by content creator and influencer Eliki Dakuitoga.
Dakuitoga says within just 12 hours of launching the pilot project online, more than $665 was raised through public donations, with a target of $3,000.
He says the idea behind the initiative is simple.
If thousands of people contribute just $1 each, ordinary Fijians can collectively help fund grassroots projects without fully depending on government assistance.
Dakuitoga says the concept grew from the MyFiji Facebook platform, which originally started as a discussion space for laws and policies affecting Fiji before evolving into agriculture and project support groups.
He says the digital “solesolevaki” concept is inspired by the traditional Fijian practice where communities work together to help one another achieve a shared goal but modernised through social media and online fundraising.
Insert: Dakuitoga-focused on supporting people 13th May 26
He says rather than forcing farmers to handle paperwork, accounting, marketing and project management all at once, the initiative aims to build a support ecosystem around them.
Dakuitoga says accountants, marketers and small business operators can contribute their own skills while farmers focus on farming.
He says transparency and accountability are key parts of the initiative, with an accounting firm managing all donations and tracking receipts to ensure public trust.
Dakuitoga says a public dashboard and website are also being developed so donors can monitor contributions, purchases and project updates in real time.
He adds that while the first pilot project focuses on farming, future rounds could also support other grassroots ventures such as painting, carving and small businesses across Fiji.
