WOMEN of Muana in Toga, Rewa have a thing going in the floriculture business.They formed a working group in 1999 and started planting Anthurium on one and a half acres of land for a floriculture company in the Western Division.
From the humble beginning, the group today has 11 members and a large collection of flowers including ginger, crotton, palms among other Vasilli and 20 varieties of Anthurium.
The group's secretary, Loame Dugu, said the hard work, dedication and commitment of the members resulted in their success.
Loame said the women were proud of their achievement and made every effort to make their business profitable.
The women supply fresh flowers to the Suva branch of the Nadi-based South Seas Orchid, the company helping their business.
She Dugu said they cut flower every morning and sell them at prices ranging from $0.38 to $0.70 per flower depending on the size. Despite four groups supplying 200 flowers each to South Seas Orchid every two weeks, they still could not meet the demand.
She said they made sure the flowers were not damaged and kept fresh all the time. When flowers are cut it is kept in buckets of water and transferred to boxes with moist newsprint to keep them fresh.
Group president Liviana Gusu said she always felt at peace looking after her nursery.
"It is my hobby to plant flowers and it is also a beautiful and profitable business," Liviana said.
She urged women to venture into floriculture because Fiji's climate was suited for it. Acting Agriculture Officer (Rewa) Chandra Prakash said the Muana women's group were among the best suppliers of flowers to SSO.