Within weeks of embarking on a reforestation project in collaboration with the Government, Nayarabale villagers in the heart of Cakaudrove have started to witness the initiative bear fruit through the ground-breaking ceremony for a much-needed teacher’s quarters at their school.
Domonisavu District School which has 60 students, and four teachers quarters have encountered a number of cyclones over the years, leading to the destruction of one of the teachers quarters recently.
The reforestation project titled “Noqu Kalou, Noqu Wacawaca Reforestation and Investment” is the brainchild of the Reverend Ilitomasi Nute and Nayarabale villagers, where the landowners had dedicated 350 acres of their Mataqali land for reforestation.
The agreement signed between the project Committee and the Government through the Ministry of Forestry was done last month and within two weeks and four days of seedling planting and land clearing, they received $10,000, which has gone towards the construction of a teacher’s quarters.
The Minister for Forestry Kalaveti Ravu applauded the villagers for their forward-thinking in deciding to plant trees on barren land, which would offer both financial and environmental benefits.
Reverend Nute, who is also the Project Chairman, says being located in the interior and with much-needed development in the community, they had decided that a reforestation project was the best move for the village.
He says their top priority was to upgrade the school, as education was vital for communal growth.
Meanwhile, over 16 million trees have been planted around the country towards the Government's commitment to plant 30 million trees in 15 years.
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