In Sakoca, off Khalsa Road in Nasinu, Cama Sukanaivalu of Kalabu Village, is quietly reshaping what it means to be a local landowner and developer. Through his company, he is leading a land subdivision project that reflects not only a personal ambition but a generational vision to use land as a tool for progress and poverty alleviation.
Cama’s land subdivision journey was started by his late father in 2006, when he registered “The Loni Company” under the Registrar of Companies. A year later, a development lease was issued, and by 2009, the Town and Country Planning Department had approved his subdivision scheme. That year, following the passing of his father, Cama assumed leadership of the project, continuing his late father’s belief that land can be a foundation for self-reliance.
Between 2009 and 2015, he navigated the long and often complex process of land development. Despite this progress, financing remained a major challenge. Without a formal land title, many financial institutions were unable to provide funding.
Cama’s turning point came when his cousin Setareki Bilivanua (also pursuing land subdivision), invited him to attend the iTaukei Resource Owners Forum 2025. The event reintroduced him to new financing opportunities under Merchant Finance’s Vanua Finance service. Encouraged by this, Cama waited until his project was nearing completion before applying for financing. His loan was approved in September 2025, marking a huge win in a journey nearly two decades in the making.
Funding from Vanua Finance helped Cama clear pending works and begin the process of obtaining proper land titles, an obstacle that had long stood in the way of his development goals. With this financial support, he is now close to completing his land subdivision project that will produce 24 lots (23 Residential, and 1 Commercial) which is anticipated to redefine his future and stand as proof of what hard work can achieve in Suva and Nasinu’s high value land market.
Cama’s vision is clear, to alleviate poverty through the reasonable use of land resources. It is a vision he inherited from his father and one he has worked tirelessly to fulfil. He believes that landowners gain greater value when they develop their own land as opposed to selling prematurely to investors who later profit from the same resources. Such work will not only benefit his family but also inspire other iTaukei landowners to take similar steps toward development.
“E na gauna oqo, o au liu taka tiko (developer) na vaka torocake taki ni noqu qele me sub-divide taki, ka au saga sara me au cakava vaka vinaka. Na noqu sasaga qo me au vaka dei taka vei au, ka me au vakaraitaka vei noqu mataqali, noqu matavuvale, kei ira na vei koro e na yasai Viti, ni keda e rawa ni da sasaga ka vakanamata e so na cakacaka ni vei torocake taki vaka oqo, ka da rawa talega me da liu taka”, Cama stated passionately.
English translation – “I am currently the developer for my own land subdivision project and so I would like to do this really well. This project is an opportunity for me to prove myself and to show my Mataqali, my family and the other villages in Fiji, that we are capable of pursuing such developments, we are capable of leading such work”.
Beyond business, Cama’s mission is deeply personal. He wants to change the mindset of landowners across Fiji, to prove that they, too, can lead and complete developments on their own land with the right kind of collaboration. His motivation comes from a place of love for his people and a determination to end the cycle of missed opportunities.
Though he described himself as “a simple man,” Cama’s perseverance and firsthand experience in land subdivision have equipped him with years of knowledge within this kind of work. His project in Sakoca stands as a testament of purpose and the belief that real change begins when landowners take the lead in developing their own future.
