A short film showcasing women from Macuata harvesting kuta reeds and weaving traditional mats was launched in Labasa this week, bringing a new spotlight to freshwater wetlands’ role in climate resilience, water security and women’s livelihoods. Titled “Women of Wetlands” and produced by Wetland Pasifika, the video follows indigenous women from Navakasobu, Wainidrua and the well-known floating island community of Wainidrua as they gather reeds, pass on weaving skills and explain how the swamps sustain households and culture.
Wetland ecologist Bindiya Rashni, who spoke at the Labasa screening, said the project was deliberately meant to shift public attention from Fiji’s much-discussed coastal “blue” economy to the inland “green” systems that also underpin resilience. “We usually focus on the blue economy. So this was an effort to bring people away from the blue to the green zone,” Rashni told the audience. “While mangroves become a carbon sink for the coastal system, freshwater swamps become carbon sinks for inland systems.”
Rashni emphasised that wetlands in Macuata and elsewhere are not only ecological assets but social ones: they contribute to water security, offer a buffer against climate impacts and support income-generating activities led largely by women. The film documents how harvesting kuta — a reed used for making finely woven mats — supplies both household needs and marketable products, and how the craft is a conduit for elders to transmit traditional knowledge to younger generations.
Organisers from Wetland Pasifika said the short film is intended to amplify the voices of Pacific women custodians of wetlands and to underline how these ecosystems feature in broader climate and development conversations. The video will be presented at the global Women Deliver Conference in Melbourne next month, providing an international platform for Macuata women to share local perspectives on ecosystem protection and livelihoods with policymakers, development practitioners and advocates.
The release of “Women of Wetlands” comes as Fiji steps up multiple initiatives around water and climate resilience. In recent months the government has rolled out an airborne electromagnetic survey in parts of Vanua Levu to better map groundwater resources, underscoring a growing focus on securing inland water supplies alongside coastal adaptation work. Producers and speakers at the Labasa launch framed the film as complementary to technical efforts: a people-centred narrative about why wetlands matter and who relies on them.
Community members at the screening praised the film for documenting everyday practices that are rarely visible beyond village or provincial boundaries. By putting footage of reed-gathering and weaving on an international stage, the producers hope to attract greater recognition — and potentially support — for projects that protect wetlands while sustaining women’s incomes and cultural practices.
Wetland Pasifika and Rashni said they hope the video will spark follow-up work: educational outreach in schools, stronger acknowledgement of inland wetlands in local planning, and funding for community-led conservation that keeps women at the centre. The Labasa launch marked the first local public showing; organisers now turn their attention to Melbourne, where they expect the film to open conversations about indigenous stewardship of inland wetlands across the Pacific.
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