Two hours drive from Suva, along a steep and windy gravel road, with the Namosi river in view, you will find a beauty project designed to empower women. Editor Trudi Brewer discovers a paper making business unique to Fiji.
Editor Trudi Brewer turning her hand at paper making at Wainimakutu Village, in Fiji.
Wainimakutu Village is not a travel destination that springs to mind when you holiday in Fiji, but it should be. A few hours drive along what I would call a treacherous road, (you need travel in an SUV) awaits a picturesque village that sits on the banks of the bubbling Namosi River. The lifeblood of this village, the river, is instrumental in the Pure Fiji paper making project. Run by women, for women, it was the brainchild of Pure Fiji mother and daughter, duo, Gaetane and Andree Austin. If the saying goes 'it takes a village to raise a child’, then this women's paper making project proves that in spades.
What began 25-years-ago, the Austins have assisted hundreds of families to thrive in this remote village. Created to support women, there is now a 20 strong team (15 women and five men), that work on rotation week-on-and-week off, to produce 10,000 sheets of handmade paper each week. Pure Fiji pays $1.50 per sheet, which supports the entire village, and their families. It helps to fund a school, a generator, a shop, and two flush toilets, (which I benefited from on our visit). It's a responsibility that is shared. The women set their working hours around caring for the children, the men assist with the hefty work, and gathering the wood, while driving the truck over the bumpy road once a week to Pure Fiji HQ in Suva to deliver the paper. It’s here that the handmade paper wraps the heavenly scented soaps, which are exported to luxury beauty clinics and spas across the globe. Gaetane Austin is revered in Wainimakutu Village and for good reason, she has spent decades giving back to the people of Fiji, who live on an island with a rich bounty of ingredients she needs to make the Pure Fiji ranges. It was Gaetane who enlisted the help of Prue Townsend, a Wellington-based botanist, and papermaker, to teach the women the traditional skill of papermaking - and now I guess you could say the rest is history. Today, this art is being passed from generation to generation, with the children of the village wandering freely into the papermaking factory learning through osmosis.
Our trip to Wainimakutu Village with Pure Fiji founder, Gaetane and Austin, to meet the team from the women's paper making project. The crystal clear Namosi river essential to this project runs through the village.
The papermaking process
What felt like an eternity travelling over a bumpy, gravel road, (thankfully expert driver, Gaetane Austin, was behind the wheel, and has driven this road many times), our visit was greeted by the entire village. Dressed in traditional Sulu in a range of vibrant tropical colours, the papermakers had already been hard at work all morning. The process is labour intensive and begins with the scrapping the Fijian Drala wood to create the pulp for the paper. Once made into a fibrous pulp, the wood is bleached and washed. Next, it's soaked with hibiscus leaf sap this helps to make the watery, pulp viscus, which ensures the fresh flowers and fern leaves, added at the last stage, float rather than sink, which gives an even distribution of flowers and leaves in the paper plate trays.
The dipping and filling of paper plate frames, is not that easy, but the final result is handmade paper that wraps the heavenly scented Pure Fiji soaps, which are exported to luxury beauty clinics and spas across the globe.
The next step is the dipping and filling of paper plate frames, which I can tell you first hand, is not that easy - three attempts later and I felt I could get the hang of it. However, it’s all about swirling the plate to get the right consistency of pulp, with fresh greenery and tropical blooms, onto the plate tray. This takes some careful dipping and swirling, filled from the bath with the water from the Namosi river, just outside the factory. Once filled, the paper is then flipped from the plate tray, and dried on tin over an open A-frame fire. At 30 degrees (that was the temperature the day we visited the village) in 80 per cent relentless humidity, it’s hot work. Each sheet dries within minutes, and while this is the fastest stage of the process, it’s not the easiest. Each, sheet must be brushed flat, while it dries, using wide flat paint brush, to remove any wrinkles, during the drying process, which takes around a minute. This means standing by that roasting fire most of the day, brushing sheet after sheet. At least five people handle each leaf of this paper, which you could call a labour of love, but each sheet made represents financial independence for the people of this village. What are tiring, hot and steamy conditions, the sound of giggling and chatter (maybe it was at my paper making skills), is what the people of Wainimakutu Village call a buoyant and profitable business.
The papermaking process at Wainimakutu Village. My attempts at dipping the paper plate trays, and the open fires that dry the paper before it travels over that gravel road by truck to the Pure Fiji HQ in Suva.
Where to stay when you visit in Suva
Fit for a princess, that would be the 'Suss-Ex Meghan Markle and her handsome Prince, Harry, these royals join a long list of celebrities who have wined and dined at the Grand Pacific Hotel. A property rich in history, sitting proudly on Victoria Parade it’s a few feet from Fiji's government buildings, and the hotel of choice for dignitaries who visit on a regular basis. There is no doubt, this106-year-old grand dame has seen some parties (there’s a wall of famous guests photos opposite the arrivals desk that’s worth checking out).
Lovingly rebuilt back in 2014 it’s considered the 'it' place to stay in Fiji's capital, and for good reason, each and every staff member is primed with that air of discretion and charm. From the doormen to service staff to the beauty experts at Bliss Spa, which is a must-visit on your trip. In one of the six treatment rooms you can enjoy a Pure Fiji signature facial or traditional Fijian body massage, indulge for hours - or have a quick maintenance service such as we did, with the Mani and Pedi. If your feeling active, you can have a well-equipped workout at the hotel gym before you calorie-load at one of the six restaurants on the property.
The balcony off the Royal suite where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stood when the visited the Grand Pacific Hotel in 2018. The Pure Fiji foot treatment at Bliss Spa, and the pool overlooking Suva harbour.
To say the food is outstanding at the Grand Pacific Hotel is an understatement. From the fresh pressed celery juice (our style director Louise Hilsz starts each morning off with this vege juice) to the bespoke feta cheese, mushroom and tomato omelette (my choice from the buffet breakfast), to the hard-to-decide choices on offer from the fine-dining menu at the Prince Albert Restaurant - the food here is exquisite. It’s a blend of local Fijian produce complementented by French-inspired cuisine, delivered with a South Pacific flair. Enjoy a leisurely lunch at Levuka restaurant (order the classic kokoda it's delicious), or if you want coffee and a pastry on the run, the GPH on-site bakery-café situated on the front veranda overlooking Albert Park, is filled with delectable treats, don't leave without trying a lemon tart. If you're there on a Sunday, make sure to book the Grand High Tea, it’s famous in Suva. The plated tower of sweet and savoury treats could feed a small army. Delivered to your table while you look out over the harbour, it’s served with a glass of bubbles, ideal for any celebration. Finally, end your stay poolside, watching the sun go down with a chilled rose in hand, at the Na Toba pool bar. It's here you will catch the traditional fire lighting ceremony every evening.
The stunning Heritage room, and the delicious local Fijian produce, delivered with a South Pacific flair. Don’t miss the fire lighting ceremony every evening at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva, Fiji.
Room rates vary at the hotel, from the Grand Pacific Park room, $370 to the Heritage room, $880, to the Royal Suite, $1700 per night. For more information, visit Grand Pacific Hotel. The hotel is on Victoria Parade 584 - 628, Suva, Fiji. The BeautyEQ team stayed with thanks at The Grand Pacific, flying Fiji Airways.