Indigenous knowledge for social cohesion, ecological and community well-being, and climate resilience: reviving Indigenous salt crafting in Vusama, Fiji

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge systems play pivotal roles in the lives of Indigenous communities. This study utilises ethnographic methods of talanoa (Pacific method of informal dialogue), memory reconstruction with village elders, household surveys, focused group discussions, and participant observation to draw on the unique and unexplored traditional salt-crafting knowledge and cultural assets such as the māqa (the site holding historical and cultural significance for salt crafting), matoji (well), mahima (salt), dōgō (mangrove) used in the salt-crafting process by the Indigenous community of the Vusama Village, Nadroga-Navosa Province, Viti Levu, Fiji. The study endeavours to examine how such Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural assets can help increase social cohesion, empower women, youth, and children, and stimulate societal responsibility for ecological and community well-being, including the role they can play for informing interventions that can contribute towards environment sustainability and climate resilience for Indigenous communities such as Vusama.