PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 4:18 PM by Tevita

No easy road to success
Monday, March 23, 2009

From : Fiji Times

ALONG the Savusavu highway Jugun Kishore's house cuts a demanding presence on a hillside with smoke constantly billowing from a huge copra dryer right beside it.

Late at night when the world is in slumber, Jugun can be found stoking his copra dryer with firewood.

"I just mix myself a basin (yaqona) to keep me awake and sometimes I have friends over for company," he said.

It's a cutthroat business when almost every second family along the highway depends on it.

Consistency and hard work are the key Jugun believes one needs to keep ahead in the game.

Every one of the villagers surrounding Belego Estate area where Jugun lives knows him by name - from the young to the old.

It's no wonder then that he's had a strong rapport and business relationship with them on a daily basis.

"I drive around buying green coconuts from 10 villages on a daily basis and over the seven years I've lived here, I have also come to know them all by name, their families, who's this one's father, who's the chief of this village and that," he said

"They sell me copra and I supply Copra Millers."

But 'Keni', as he is sometimes called, never grew up a copra farmer.

His life began on a rice farm, hundreds of miles away at Tabia in the Natewa Bay area.

Life as the son of a small scale rice farmer at Tabia in the1960s was difficult with less value placed on education than knowing the intricacies of rice farming from a pretty early age.

"I can remember by the time I was four years old, I was required on the farm," he said.

"When I was in Class One, I would help my father on the farm before I went to school.

"Sometimes I would be still helping my father when I would see other children walk by to school about two kilometres away."

"Then after I was done, I would quickly have my shower and run after the other children and most times they would be already in classes.

"My younger brother was the brains of the family, so they wanted him in school while I only went up to Class Eight and then worked on the farm to help pay for his education."

That responsibility didn't make him bitter, instead it taught him about hard work and to want something better for his children.

Seven years ago he sold off the farm at Tabia and moved to Belego because he wanted his children to achieve the highest level of education and afford a comfortable life, far from the back-breaking labor of farming.

Today his estate is spread over 16 acres of freehold land at Belego, he has a shop running, a yaqona farm booming. He is a leading copra entrepreneur and his children are tertiary qualified.

He shared parts of his story in Fijian and his mastery of the language was amazing.

"Ka bibi meda cakacaka vakaukauwa ena veivanua kece ga ni cakacaka eda veiqaravi kina," he said which roughly translates as 'hard work is important regardless of the kind of work'.

Although not very old in the copra business, something else this 49 year old man had to share was the importance of maintaining enduring relationships with his suppliers who are mostly villagers.

"I've lived my life with mostly indigenous Fijians and I know that 'ka bibi' ga na veilomani'," he said.

"Always maintaining good relations not only means I get a good supply of copra but I also have fewer problems on my hands."

"And it all takes hard work, working hard on my copra business, working hard on the farm, working hard putting my children through school and working hard at being good to others.

"Hard work is wealth," he said.



	A blog maintained by Tevita Kete, PGR Officer Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji Islands
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DIVA-GIS	Monday, March 23, 2009 Posted 4:18 PM by Tevita No easy road to success Monday, March 23, 2009 From : Fiji Times ALONG the Savusavu highway Jugun Kishore's house cuts a demanding presence on a hillside with smoke constantly billowing from a huge copra dryer right beside it. Late at night when the world is in slumber, Jugun can be found stoking his copra dryer with firewood. "I just mix myself a basin (yaqona) to keep me awake and sometimes I have friends over for company," he said. It's a cutthroat business when almost every second family along the highway depends on it. Consistency and hard work are the key Jugun believes one needs to keep ahead in the game. Every one of the villagers surrounding Belego Estate area where Jugun lives knows him by name - from the young to the old. It's no wonder then that he's had a strong rapport and business relationship with them on a daily basis. "I drive around buying green coconuts from 10 villages on a daily basis and over the seven years I've lived here, I have also come to know them all by name, their families, who's this one's father, who's the chief of this village and that," he said "They sell me copra and I supply Copra Millers." But 'Keni', as he is sometimes called, never grew up a copra farmer. His life began on a rice farm, hundreds of miles away at Tabia in the Natewa Bay area. Life as the son of a small scale rice farmer at Tabia in the1960s was difficult with less value placed on education than knowing the intricacies of rice farming from a pretty early age. "I can remember by the time I was four years old, I was required on the farm," he said. "When I was in Class One, I would help my father on the farm before I went to school. "Sometimes I would be still helping my father when I would see other children walk by to school about two kilometres away." "Then after I was done, I would quickly have my shower and run after the other children and most times they would be already in classes. "My younger brother was the brains of the family, so they wanted him in school while I only went up to Class Eight and then worked on the farm to help pay for his education." That responsibility didn't make him bitter, instead it taught him about hard work and to want something better for his children. Seven years ago he sold off the farm at Tabia and moved to Belego because he wanted his children to achieve the highest level of education and afford a comfortable life, far from the back-breaking labor of farming. Today his estate is spread over 16 acres of freehold land at Belego, he has a shop running, a yaqona farm booming. He is a leading copra entrepreneur and his children are tertiary qualified. He shared parts of his story in Fijian and his mastery of the language was amazing. "Ka bibi meda cakacaka vakaukauwa ena veivanua kece ga ni cakacaka eda veiqaravi kina," he said which roughly translates as 'hard work is important regardless of the kind of work'. Although not very old in the copra business, something else this 49 year old man had to share was the importance of maintaining enduring relationships with his suppliers who are mostly villagers. "I've lived my life with mostly indigenous Fijians and I know that 'ka bibi' ga na veilomani'," he said. "Always maintaining good relations not only means I get a good supply of copra but I also have fewer problems on my hands." "And it all takes hard work, working hard on my copra business, working hard on the farm, working hard putting my children through school and working hard at being good to others. "Hard work is wealth," he said. * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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