Noa’s Tropical Paradise: Tawake Village, Cakaudrove

Tawake Village, Cakaudrove: Noa’s Tropical Paradise

Most mornings when Noa Tamaitauni Dawaibalavu wakes up from his village of Tawake in Cakaudrove Province he looks out at the rising sun and is filled with deep pride that warms his heart. He tries not to sound sentimental but he feels passionately that his tropical village paradise gives meaning to his existence and his devotion to his Christian faith.

The beauty of Tawake village was articulated by Ricky Kresslein a US Peace Corp Volunteer who describes it in his blog as being “located on the northernmost tip of Vanua Levu, The sea (around it) is a range of colors from green to blue, and one can watch the fish and coral (in its pristine condition). On the other side of Tawake are the islands of Rabi and Taveuni. The rocky cliffs surrounding the village are covered in coconut palms, mangroves, and sapphire water. My bure sits about three paces from the sand. I fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the waves breaking on the shore each day. I can sit and have my coffee and watch the sunrise, listen to the ocean, and glimpse the clouds move over the distant islands.”

Noa’s greatest nightmare is that his beautiful village might succumb to the adverse effects of climate change and be covered by the sea. He shudders at the thought of relocation. There are no visible signs yet that this will ever happen. However Noa knows that prevention is better than cure. He has seen the effects of climate change on another village in Cakaudrove where seawater has come on land and killed off the food gardens so that even the old breadfruit trees look like stunted zombies with fruits looking dark and sickly like the harvest after a nuclear holocaust.

As Noa walks on the white sandy beach, he whips out his mobile phone and posts his pictures on Facebook. One heartfelt post reads, “Here you'll find the place I love the most in the world. This is the place where I grew too slim from dreaming. My village, rising from the plains, shaded with trees is like a piggy bank filled with my fond memories. Come to my village and you’ll understand why anyone would want to live here forever. Whether it’s dawn, mid-day or night time, it’s all the same, except for the changes in the way the breeze blows. The air changes the color of things but life whirs by as quiet as a murmur...the pure murmuring of life.”

One of his 504 Facebook friends makes a humorously sarcastic comment, “My! we are quite sentimental this morning. Are you walking alone? Lol.” Noa refusing to spoil this exquisite moment replies, “’ I wake up at dawn with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen (emojis added) and I realise that opportunities will knock on my door every morning. But if you keep sleeping they will simply pass you by. Good morning!" The friend who texted him realises that he has to get out of bed (where he has been texting) and get ready to face the world too!. 

I met Noa earlier this year at a Canada Funded Civic Leadership Workshop at the Coral Coast and he was usually on the beach early in the morning walking or running. He liked it that I also came from the North and when he found out that my village was near Nabalebale he couldn’t resist saying, “Dr V you look so law abiding!.” I reasoned that not everyone had supported Speight in 2000!

Youth leader Miliana Iga describes Noa as being a dedicated youth worker active in the Fiji Red Cross Labasa and at the USP Labasa Campus Students body where he is also active in the rugby club. ”For a young guy, he has been able to balance studies, his passion for youth work and advocacy.”

Noa welcomes the 10 cents levy on plastic bags and the removal of import duty of 32 per cent on vinyl sheet piling used for the construction of seawalls to support communities that are vulnerable to rising sea levels and flooding.

However he feels that more can be done especially by young people to drastically reduce pollution.

“We youths can do more by our positive action to make our environment clean and we can use social media to spread the word on having a clean environment that is next to Godliness.”Traditional Fijian bure where I live.