FIJI Water and FIJI Water Foundation wish all of our friends and family a very happy and healthy Earth Day 2010.

At FIJI Water, we don't just talk about caring for the environment; we know that both the country in which we live and the quality of our product are dependant upon the conservation of Fiji's precious environment.

Some examples of how we're turning talk into action:

• 95% of waste at our factory is recycled, and we're working to reduce this number
• Packaging has been reduced by 20% since 2008
• FIJI Water Foundation has endowed the Sovi Basin Trust Fund, conserving 50,000 acres of Fiji's largest lowland rainforest in perpetuity
• 500 hectacres of native tree species have been replanted in partnership with Conservation International's Nakauvadra Forest Carbon Project 
• We support local initiatives such as Clean Up Fiji, Green Steps, WWF's Turtle Ball, and One Million Trees by 2011
• We provide incentives for recycling in communities and schools around our factory
• and that's just the beginning...

Here's to another year of working towards a cleaner, even more beautiful Fiji for our children.

As anyone who has visited the villages surrounding the FIJI Water factory can tell you, the experience is not soon to be forgotten. The communities in our vanua are warm and welcoming, the children smiling, beautiful, and mischeivious, and the villagers eager to host guests and show them what Fiji Island hospitality really means.

FIJI Water has worked with these communities over the years to improve their childrens' education, their water systems, and their village infrastructure. Yet in our villages, and in communities throughout Fiji, a pressing concern among government and humanitarian agencies alike is that of waste disposal and contamination of waterways. The Fiji Islands have limited waste management infrastructure, and while certified landfills exist, they are not accessible by most rural people. Untreated grey and black water, domestic animal waste, and rubbish are all making their way into the same mangrove swamps where people go fishing and crabbing, largely because of lack of understanding or awareness of the problem.

That's why we're proud to say that on April 15-16th, FIJI Water sponsored the first ever coastal waste management workshop in our vanua. Designed by environmental scientists from University of the South Pacific (USP), the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas (FLMMA) Network, and the US Peace Corps, the program was attended by 65 participants, including members of youth groups, women's groups, village leadership and numerous FIJI Water employees. The full two days of training included an introduction to the fundamentals of pollution and waste management, concrete examples of solutions in pilot communities around Fiji, and importantly, practical application of these newly acquired skills. In village groups, participants developed action plans and timelines for implementing improved waste management, tailored to their own community needs. FIJI Water's Vanua Relations Manager Apao Erone and Logistics Director Anare Ravulo opened and closed the workshops and were present throughout; Peace Corps Volunteers, Ministry of Health, and local government representatives also helped to deliver the message to the coastal villages of Togovere, Drauniivi, and Rabulu.

The funds which made this workshop possible were all provided from revenue returned via FIJI Water's recycling program- another great example of how we can recycle value back into our communities. Many thanks to those who participated and made this event happen. We look forward to helping our communities to follow through and put these new methods into practice.   

Improving access to quality education is, and always has been, at the heart of the FIJI Water Foundation's mission in Fiji. Sometimes this is a process of funding nationwide educational programming or pilot curricula through non-government organizations. More often than not, however, it is best acheived by working with individual schools at a grassroots level, to build local capacity, fill gaps, and help communities to meet their education development goals.

On April 10th, FIJI Water Foundation and Taviya District School celebrated such a collaboration at the official opening of the school's new library and office building. Established in 1941, Taviya District School is on the northern coast of Ovalau Island in the Lomaiviti Province and has about 85 students including a kindergarten. Since its establishment, however, the school has received little in the way of assistance. The school committee has struggled to attend to basic building maintenance and before this project, shelves and boxes of books were kept in a dark and narrow closet which could fit only a few students at a time. FIJI Water Foundation first became aware of the issue when Head teacher Kevueli Naimawi sent a hand-written letter requesting assistance in 2008. After learning of and subsequently following the foundation application procedure, the school committee was granted FJD $16,000 to construct a school library. The community donated all the labor and skill required to construct the building, and also fundraised $5,000 to cover additional expenses.

Now thanks to FIJI Water Foundation funding and the dedication of the school management, Taviya has a large, light-filled room with plenty of space for students to sit, read, and study. Mr.Naimawi said it is the school’s first major development project, and has greatly improved the morale of teachers and the school community. “Fiji Water Foundation’s donation has been a timely one, since the region will likely receive power within a year’s time. The new library will be suitable to house computers and a photocopier for the school,” said Mr. Naimawi. Indeed, we hope that this project will signal the beginning of more educational improvements to come for the community of Taviya.