Women in Fiji are often employed in the informal economy, which means low and inconsistent pay, with underemployment for them running as high as 74 percent, according to The Asia Foundation. So the women being trained by Ravea are eager to learn a more lucrative trade.Gathered in Vatulele’s bright, turquoise-coloured community hall, Ravea is teaching women how to haul in the lines, clean the oysters, and make predator nets from heavy-duty plastic to protect the oysters from triggerfish and pufferfish. She offers quarterly training sessions, welcoming both women and men to learn the oyster meat trade.Around 25 women in the village have received training in oyster farming this year. On this day in mid-July, half a dozen women aged 24 to 59 and dressed in florals and polka dots are crouched over rolls of predator nets.Unaisi Seruwaia, 49, is one of the trainees. She previously served as secretary of Vatulele Yaubula, the village’s community oyster collective, so she understands the industry’s potential.“It’s not easy to live in a [Fijian] village — it’s difficult to make money,” she says, noting that the average income in her village is just 150 to 200 Fijian dollars ($66-88) a week.“We sell vegetables, like dalo [taro] and yaqona [kava], or we look f …
