The Fiji Islands are transforming from polyculture to commercially oriented monoculture farming systems (McGregor 2020). The issue of food security has emerged as a major concern, exacerbated by vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed high dependence on imported processed food, which has resulted in problems like hidden hunger and non-communicable diseases. The pandemic has also changed people's perception of the economic significance of white-collar jobs and tourism. It has eroded the dependency of the nation on these major industries as people became unemployed instantaneously. As a consequence, Fijians have begun to look inwardly, and their cultural network and family system stand firm during this crisis (McGregor 2005). Indigenous Fijians are inheritors and practitioners of a unique culture and ways of relating to each other and their environment (Diao et al. 2006). They have retained social, cultural, economic, and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the other societies in which they live (Sisifa et al. 2016). Traditional knowledge and practices of crop farming, their veiwekani (kinship), collective community work, and cultural capital known as solesolevaki (Seruvakula 2000; Vunibola and Scheyvens 2019) have proved to make significant contributions towards sustaining livelihoods. Many cultures continue to depend on traditional practices for their survival and wellbeing (FAO 2011). For instance, the majority of rural and maritime communities in Fiji rely on subsistence agriculture for survival, and the same also applies to other Pacific nations (Veitayaki 2010). Traditional Environmental Knowledge and their socio-cultural safety net system have ensured food security and wellbeing during the pandemic. When COVID-19 started in February 2020, it was predicted that the economy would decline by 10%, in late March, and the Reserve Bank of Fiji announced a 4.5% decline. But in early July, only 3 months after releasing its optimistic outlook, the Reserve Bank raised its forecast by close to six times its original prediction. It now expects the economy to decline by 21.7% (NARUBE 2020). Fiji has never experienced this magnitude of economic decline in its history. Such a reduction will have a dramatic impact on peoples' life. It reaffirms that Fijians should brace for the worse and, more importantly, chart a clear roadmap to limit the effects of the crisis within communities (Unity Fiji 2020). The purpose of this paper is to highlight realistic stories and events from Indigenous communities in Fiji. These stories describe peoples' experiences and activities that maintain wellbeing and livelihood during this pandemic. Relationship with the communities has been ongoing during field research in 2018; researchers have remained in contact with respondents throughout COVID-19. Offered here are four scenarios that sketch two main ways in which Indigenous Fijians have responded to the pandemic. First is the inclusion of food security programs in community work structures, and second is the role of veiwekani (kinship) and social safety net as a support mechanism. The four localities include a family in Nadi town, Bucalevu village in the Nakorotubu district, Ra, Saroni village, and Kirici farm in Dogotuki district in Macuata. Ni da mai tiko na tauni me vakai I Nadi ka kilai tu ni tauni ni saravanua na I sau ni bula esa rui sau levu. Na yavu ni vuvale vei keitou vaka matavuvale sa qai keitou vakayagataka mei sasabai kina tamata yadudua ena gauna ni dredre oqo. Keirau sa vakananutaka me sa keirau tekivutaka na neirau bisinisi ena veivuke nei taciqu mai vavalagi ena kena tekivu taki na bisinisi ni volitaki kakana oqo. Na veivukei oqo keirau saqai cakava me keirau veivoli mai nakoro ena nodrai tei mai vei ira na matavuvale nei watiqu ena dua sala oqo mera vukei tale kina vaka i lavo. Residing in tourist towns like Nadi is always expensive. A strong connection with my family and other relations will still support us. We use this family network to help each other. We then decided to begin with a business and to purchase agricultural commodities from my husband's village on a wholesale basis, and sell them at the local market. Through the matavuvale (family) network, we were able to start our business with the solisoli (money donation) as capital from family members abroad. This network in our families has enabled us to pay our bills and feed our families. Most importantly, we were able to help farmers at my husband's village purchasing their crops and assorted vegetables during harvest season (Elina, April 2020). Bucalevu village is located in the district of Nakorotubu in Ra province. The structure of local farming work used to be a combination of vula vaka-viti (Indigenous Fijian lunar calendar), which is based on planting and fishing seasons, and of the agriculture work programs scheduled on a monthly basis. A restructuring of the work programs (Table 1) involving the design and planning for every household in Bucalevu occurred before the pandemic. This restructuring has enabled resiliency during the crisis. COVID-19 restrictions in Fiji came into force 3 months after the implementation of this work program on reviving food security for all 42 households in Bucalevu village. The Turaga ni koro (village head man) stated: Ena rawati ga na bulasautu ena bula i vakavakarau kei na solesolevaki oqo nai yavu ni bula dina e Bucalevu. Wealthy of Land being in a village life can be attained by managing our time following a structured plan and, most importantly, through solesolevaki which our forefathers in Bucalevu village had been practising. Since the pandemic, the traditional social safety net in Bucalevu has permitted each household to access an abundance of food, which allows them to practice veivoli vaka itei (trade for agricultural products in exchange for root crops, fruits, and other vegetables). Families from Bucalevu village residing in urban areas also benefited from this practice. The program has promoted self-sufficiency and access to healthy food for Bucalevu villagers. Saroni is a village located in Vanua Levu, at about 100 km from the nearest urban centre, Labasa. As explain by Vunibola and Scheyvens (2019), the villagers invested in social capital (solesolevaki) through their locally-driven development project. The focus was on developing a commercial kava and taro farm for the local market to support the livelihood of the villagers. The work structure (Table 2) was established as part of action research with the villagers and lessons from other successful community development projects like the Nayarabale youth farm (Scheyvens et al. 2020; Vunibola and Scheyvens 2019). The work structure assisted in setting up routine activities for the villagers who usually work together using the resources they have. Sa eimami vaavinavina'a vaalevu ni I tuvatuva eimami mai muria e na vuu ni veivaatoroicaetai eimami sa raica tio na ena yaga. Sa tei na neimai iteitei levu ni vuvale levu me baleta na veivaatoicaetai vaailavo, sa totoa vaaoti viro g ana neimami iteitei yadudua vaavuvale. Io e dua na a eimami a raica, ni maka na magiti e dredre ni eimami karava na caacaavata. Na vuna eimami sa vaabibitaina sara ga me tio na loga ni magiti ni vuvale yadua ka tio na loga ni magiti ni oga. Eimami yawa mai tauni a bibi na magiti me tu ka vaalevu. We are thankful for our community development project, a dream come true. We have an extended family farm for our investments; we have our family farms as well. However, one of the reasons we can do that together was having enough food. We have access to enough food as well as a separate food-farm for socio-cultural gatherings. We are so far from the urban, and we will not have any problem if we have the food systems that support us (Apisalome Sorokotoga, January 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic detrimentally affected many families, the economy, and the daily lives of people; this community saw it as an opportunity. The leader of the women's group lessons stated that it taught them valuable lessons; they have enough food, they still run their farms when many businesses in Fiji were forced to close, and their children had non-formal education during the lockdown period. The children were involved in nursery preparation, cash crop germination, growing native trees, waterway restoration, and compost and poultry manure preparation. Au sa caava na digidigi iya ena vuudra na nodatou awa mai muri. Datou sa rui bula dredre e da sotava mai, me u ani kai sotava o ratou na luvedatou ei na nodatou awa. Sa dodonu me du aga vei datou me soli bula me lesu I naoro me lai karava na veivaatoroicaetai. Raised from a difficult life with very few opportunities, I have made this decision so that our future generation benefits. I do not want our children and future generations to face the same. To do that, someone needs to make the ultimate sacrifice to return to the village and manage the community project. Netani was the main driver of the community project in the village and also used his time to build a farm for his family—Kirici Farm. Two of his brothers collectively funded and managed the family farm and the Saroni community farm. The main activity focused on intercropping, agro-forestry mechanisms, and traditional agricultural techniques. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred 7 months later, and upon discussions, the villagers were advised to minimize movement, and visitors were discouraged from entering the village. The families survived on the staple root crops, vegetables and fruits, which were planted during their monthly food security program, combined with proteins from reared and wild livestock, freshwater prawns, and shellfish. Three months into the pandemic, some movement was allowed; this was an opportunity for Kirici Farm to supply staples and vegetables to relatives in the urban areas who were either working or studying. Work structure is a vital mechanism of resilience in an Indigenous Fijian community. It is an approach to achieve holistic and inclusive wellbeing or bula sautu. The components of bula sautu are aligned with the relational wellbeing and ethic of care documented by Spiller et al. (2011): spiritual wellbeing, environmental wellbeing, socio-cultural, kinship wellbeing, and economic wellbeing. Bucalevu village and Saroni, in these case studies, have demonstrated the importance of work structure as a blueprint for bula sautu. It allows individuals to share their agronomical knowledge around a crop and their traditional skills and experiences. Work structure aligns them with the weekly activities, where these activities should be done, and what needs to be achieved. Food security is a major pillar in achieving holistic wellbeing for Indigenous Fijian communities. The case studies showed that the two villages had included a food security program in their work structure (Tables 1 and 2) and in their monthly work schedule. This program has enabled them to achieve food security and have access to healthy varieties of food. People collectively work together using the cultural capital solesolevaki as a vehicle for development within the work structure (Seruvakula 2000). From the stories, the socio-cultural safety net emerges as a primary supporting system for Indigenous Fijian communities and families, especially during and post COVID-19. For instance, the two communities (Saroni and Bucalevu) and the two families (Kirici farm and Elina initiative) presented, embody the socio-cultural network and support mechanisms that people hold in place. According to Vunibola and Scheyvens (2019), the safety net is the result of participation and actively connects people and institutions, which is so crucial for Indigenous Fijians, as evident, especially, in the significance of matavuvale (family), lotu (church), vanua (culture and traditions) and matanitu (government and formal institutions). People at the community level actively participate in socio-cultural activities associated with the aforementioned institutions. Still, in many times such actions (customary land, customary practices, culture and traditions) had been seen as barriers to hopeful development in the Pacific (Hughes 2004). Responding to challenges such as COVID-19, people in the case stories resort to networked support systems such as solesolevaki (working together for the common good) (Seruvakula 2000; Vunibola and Scheyvens 2019) to provide means of survival and wellbeing during the crisis. The pandemic shines the spotlight on the significance of long-held practices and knowledge today; it provides insights on the necessity of the socio-cultural safety net for communities when livelihood and wellbeing are on the line. The family is the primary safety net and will always be the first port of call during a crisis for everyone despite our differences as people. Matavuvale (family) in the Indigenous Fijian worldview means mata (eyes) for the vuvale (basic units), which is a network of kinship where veiwekani (relationships), veivakarokorokotaki (respect), and veilomani (compassion) define the boundary (Seruvakula 2000). For Kirici and Elina initiatives, the family members were the ‘eyes’ for relatives who lost their jobs and gained support in terms of finance, guidance, and moral support to establish forms of economic development on their land. Later, these ventures (based in rural areas of Fiji) supported other families dwelling in urban centres through a continuous supply of fresh food. The social safety net is the platform for nurturing leadership and innovations and for unlocking the potential of its members. Inclusiveness, Participation, and Benefits for communities in the Pacific should be a priority for every all Governments, Non-government organizations, and Researchers. Ilisoni Lasaqa Vuetinabouono Leweniqila holds a Masters in agriculture (Horticulture), a Postgraduate Diploma in Agriculture (Horticulture & Crop Sciences), and a Bachelor in Agriculture Sciences from the University of the South Pacific. He is close to submitting his PhD thesis in Horticulture and Ethnobotany Science at the Institute of Agriculture at Massey University in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Thesis title: Na mata ni civa au a vakawaletaka: an indigenous case study on the potential of kumala (Ipomoea batatas) to achieve Climate-Smart Agriculture in Ra, Fiji). Prior to his doctoral research, Ilisoni worked with indigenous Fijians in rural outer islands of Fiji through the World Wildlife Fund, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Fiji Development Bank. Improving rural livelihoods, achieving food insecurity, and developing climate-smart agriculture remain central to his research. In New Zealand, Ilisoni engages regularly in Maori development activities, especially through the national Maori Horticultural collective Tahuri Whenua (see www.tahuriwhenua.org) which organizes traditional marae and training initiatives across the country. Suliasi Davelevu Vunibola is a Postdoctorate Fellow with Te Au Rangahau, Maori Business Research and Leadership Centre, Massey Business School, Massey University, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Suliasi's research areas include solesolevaki (social capital) and cultural currencies, indigenous entrepreneurship, customary land and economic development, food security and food sovereignty, cross-learning on indigenous development between indigenous groups, intellectual property, and the protection of indigenous knowledge systems. Suliasi has been involved in a project titled “Land Has Eyes and Teeth” supported by a Marsden fund from the Royal Society Te Apārangi, New Zealand. Suliasi recently completed his PhD in Development Studies (Thesis title: E da dravudravua e na dela ni noda vutuni-i-yau (We are poor while standing on riches): Customary land and economic development—case studies from Fiji). Suliasi's thesis challenges the assumption that culture and customary measures in Pacific island societies are impediments to development. Instead, Suliasi's thesis demonstrates how indigenous Fijian communities have established economic models and practices that allow for successful business development while also retaining control over their customary lands and supporting their community practices and values.