Many women artisans across Fiji are being forced to sell their handmade crafts at half price or hand them to relatives to recover cash, Minister for Women and Social Protection Sashi Kiran has warned, describing the situation as a desperate survival tactic driven by a lack of reliable markets.
Kiran made the remarks during a product development training session, telling participants that slow sales often leave artisans with few options. “Sometimes you take your products to the Flea market and sell them at half price because you urgently need money,” she said. “Sometimes the products do not sell at all and you end up giving them to relatives just to recover some cash.” Her comments put new focus on how market failures are eroding incomes and squeezing the livelihoods of women who depend on craft-making.
The minister stressed that the problem is not quality. “Some of your products are very good quality, your baskets and other handicrafts are really good,” Kiran said, noting that many items are produced with cultural and traditional significance in mind. Yet she warned that artisans are not receiving the true value of their work, as commercial outlets and tourist-oriented retail channels demand different styles and price points.
Kiran’s remarks come amid ongoing economic pressure in Fiji that has reduced the pool of buyers for locally made handicrafts. The country’s heavy reliance on tourism and duty-free shopping has meant that when visitor numbers fall or retail patterns shift, artisans are left exposed. That mismatch—traditional, culture-rich products versus tourist-targeted markets—was highlighted by the minister as a key barrier to sustainable sales.
The product development session led by the ministry is intended to help artisans refine products and, implicitly, to bridge the divide between traditional crafts and commercial demand. Kiran’s intervention signals a government awareness that training alone may not be enough: the deeper challenge is creating dependable market channels so producers can secure fair returns and avoid distress sales.
Advocates for women’s economic empowerment say addressing these gaps will require coordinated action across ministries, private sector buyers and tourism operators, alongside efforts to expand local and online markets. For now, Kiran’s public disclosure underscores the immediate hardship faced by many craft-makers — skilled producers who are seeing cultural labour converted into short-term cash at heavily discounted rates.
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