Indigenous Fijian entrepreneur in tune with Mother Earth - Maui Herbs

“If there's one thing you just can't beat, it's 100% organic, home planted and nurtured herbs, be it for cooking wonderful food, medicinal purposes, whatever. Here at MAUI HERBS, we do just that - provide our valued customers with truly fresh, ready to use Herbs.”

Elizabeth Cabealawa has always loved  gardening and cooking in her spare time. A few years ago, after conducting thorough research, she began to grow and dry her own herbs. Her children loved their meals, with the addition of dried herbs, so Elizabeth began to give jars of herbs, as gifts, to family and friends.

“As Fijians, we grew up not knowing about herbs so when I started gardening, I started by growing herbs. I noticed we don’t make dried herbs in Fiji. We are always importing dried herbs.” After receiving so much positive feedback from her friends, Elizabeth was inspired to sell her jars of herbs. “ This has been in the works for a while. I had this idea for a while. I wanted to share it with Fijians so we can add it to our food.” 

Her interest lead her to create her business, Maui Herbs, in Sigatoka (located in the province of Nadroga). ”I figured out things and I wanted to sell the jars. I got someone else to make the logo and sort out the different parts of the business.” Elizabeth sells Maui Herbs products at The Projects in Sigatoka and Wahleys Butchery in Suva. In the future, Elizabeth hopes to sell her products at local cafes and supermarkets.

 Through her business, she is able to help indigenous Fijian communities learn about the natural herbs that grow in their backyards. In  Fiji, many herbs, such as Cuban oregano, grow in the wild. However, most Fijians are not aware of these herbs which is why they do not use them in their homemade meals.

Although Fijians do not often use herbs and spices in our meals, most Fijians are usually very good at gardening and having small farms in our backyards. Elizabeth explained ,“during Covid 19, I planted crops and fruits such as soursop and lemon. We lived off mostly what I made during the Pandemic. There are so many fruits and vegetables that I grow. “ This resourcefulness has become a strength for Elizabeth’s business. She is now planning to release her next product line of herbs.

Maui Herbs is slowly changing the way we cook and eat with the addition of herbs that are indigenous to Fiji. ”I want to bring creativity to cooking. I add herbs to corn, tuna and spaghetti.” In Fiji, there is a misconception that indigenous Fijians are not capable of owning successful businesses. Elizabeth is determined to continue challenging that narrative. “My 2-year old and 8-year old daughters are happy to help with gardening and cooking.” Her 8-year old daughter is learning to be an entrepreneur and how to sell products at the local market.

Maui Herbs is an innovative addition to Fiji’s growing community of local SMEs. Usually, foreigners travel to Fiji to start businesses similar to Maui Herbs. With her business, Elizabeth is showing Fijians how we can use our lesser-known natural resources to make and sell high-quality products across our country. 

Elizabeth lives on the Coral Coast. However, you can place an order from anywhere in Fiji by messaging her on Facebook, Twitter, or IG. You can also email her: mauiherbsfiji@gmail.com.

Melanesian Women Today is proud to support local businesses owned by indigenous women across the Pacific region. Story by Talei CauCau

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