Batiki

Batiki
Island
Batiki is located in Fiji
Batiki
Batiki
Location in Fiji
Coordinates: 17°47′S 179°09′E / 17.783°S 179.150°E / -17.783; 179.150
CountryFijiFiji
Island groupLomaiviti Islands
DivisionEastern Division
ProvinceLomaiviti
DistrictBatiki
Area
 • Total12 km2 (5 sq mi)
Highest elevation
[1]
186 m (610 ft)
Population
 • Total300
 • Density25/km2 (65/sq mi)

Batiki (Fijian pronunciation: [ᵐbaˈtʃiki], also known as Mbatiki in English)[1] is an island of Fiji belonging to the Lomaiviti Archipelago.[2] The island is of volcanic origin,[3] with a land area of about 12 square kilometers.[2] To the north-east is Wakaya Island, to the east is Nairai, and to the south-east is Gau.

Batiki's population of approximately 300 Fijians lives in coastal villages.[4] The economic activity of the island consists of farming and fishing.

There are four villages on the island: Manuku, Mua, Naigani, and Yavu.[4] Mua village is home to the residence of the chief,[2] island pastor, the health clinic center, a single flat-primary school building with a boarding facility and playground.[citation needed]

Geography

[edit]

Batiki has a large interior lagoon of brackish water flanked by mud flats. A broad barrier reef surrounds Batiki with a channel in Nakasava on the north side of the island. A small portion of the coastal area is covered by mangroves, mainly in Wainiketei Bay.

— Watisoni Lalavanua, Ilisoni Tuinasavusavu and Peni Seru, The status of the sea cucumber fishery in Batiki District, Lomaiviti, Fiji (2014)[2]

The presence of nests of the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle has been recorded on the island.[5]

History

[edit]

The island was devastated by Cyclone Winston in 2016, with Naigani village being affected the most.[4][6] The high chief of Batiki since January 2012, Torau Ni Bau Ratu Inoke Tuidelaibatiki Virivirilau, died on 4 February 2017.[7]

Demographics

[edit]

Batiki had a population of 324 people as of the 1966 census,[8] and 483 as of the 2007 census.[9]

Economy

[edit]

The main source of income is from copra, pandanus (Fijian: voivoi), small-scale farming, and fishing, with fish being sold to the markets in Suva.[10][2] There is a sea cucumber fishery, which mainly involves male youths.[2] By 1987 a commercial seaweed farm was established on Batiki.[11] As of 2009 there were 42 farms on Batiki, with a total area of 13 hectares.[12]

Another important source of income for the locals is the Bula Batiki coconut oil firm, whose products are made from the island's bountiful coconut palms.[10][13][14] This business was started in 2015 by a British man named Callum Drummond, known as Kelevi by the islanders, when he won a grant from Cardiff University for the project.[15] The two other co-founders are Ellis Williams and Tim McKee.[10] In 2020 a coconut oil processing plant designed by CAUKIN Studio was built at Yavu village.[16][17]

Infrastructure

[edit]

There is a primary school on the island,[10] Manuku District School, with 71 students as of 2016[6] and 4 teachers.[2] There is also a nursing station at Mua village staffed by a registered nurse.[2][10][16][18] Critical cases are referred either to Qarani Health Centre or Levuka Hospital. The nursing station opening hours are from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm on a daily basis, but it is also on standby after hours in case of emergencies.[citation needed]

The island has no airport or roads, so most transport is by local cargo vessels, small fibreglass boats, or via a shipping franchise that services the Lomaiviti archipelago on a monthly basis.[2][10]

Notable people

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Pub. 126 Sailing Directions (Enroute) Pacific Islands (12 ed.). Springfield, Virginia: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 89. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lalavanua, Watisoni; Tuinasavusavu, Ilisoni; Seru, Peni (May 2014). "The status of the sea cucumber fishery in Batiki District, Lomaiviti, Fiji" (PDF). Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  3. ^ Bayliss-Smith, Tim (1988). Islands, Islanders and the World: The colonial and post-colonial experience of eastern Fiji. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521268776.
  4. ^ a b c "Batiki Island Rebuilding Projects". Sea Mercy. 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  5. ^ Fretey, Jacques; Triplet, Patrick (June 2021). Ramsar sites and marine turtles: an overview (PDF). Translated by Zarrouki, Hanane. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b Kumar, Ronald (24 February 2016). "Wiped Out". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  7. ^ Luvenitoga, Jone (7 February 2017). "Batiki High Chief Dies, Aged 74". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  8. ^ UNESCO/UNFPA (1977). Population, resources and development in the eastern islands of Fiji: information for decision-making (PDF). Canberra, Australia. p. 13.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ "Fiji: TC Winston - 21 Feb 2016" (PDF). Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Martin, Rachel (21 February 2017). "Coconut oil firm's Northern Ireland founder hopes to help islanders on other side of globe to prosper". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  11. ^ Richards, Andrew H. (1994). "Fiji Fisheries Resources Profiles" (PDF). Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. p. 216.
  12. ^ "Fiji National Agricultural Census 2009" (PDF). Suva, Fiji: Department of Agriculture. p. 42. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  13. ^ Kate, Talebula (16 February 2017). "In a nutshell". Fiji Times. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  14. ^ Madigibuli, Ana (26 August 2018). "Business on a remote island". Fiji Times. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  15. ^ Madigibuli, Ana (29 August 2018). "Home away from home". Fiji Times. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  16. ^ a b Sovasiga, Kelera (11 September 2020). "PM Opens Batiki's Virgin Coconut Oil Factory". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  17. ^ Barandy, Kat (18 May 2020). "Fiji island community works with CAUKIN studio to build coconut oil processing plant". Designboom | architecture & design magazine. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Health Facility Readiness and Service Availability (HFRSA) Assessment" (PDF). United Nations Population Fund. March 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2023.


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