Re: Fijiwater - my experience

[Guest guest]

Geri,

Yes, it is me. I have drank the water for it's health benefits for years, before

hand, I visited Fiji and had the opportunity to visit Wakaya and spend time

with and Gilmour, Fijiwater's Founders and original owners. In

addition, Dr. Dean Ornish, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Ornish, was also

staying there at the same time and he began promoting the water for medical

health. I was directed to 2 important books, including medical studies of

Fijiwater for health and disease. (The Miracle Gel by Kaus Kaufman) and

(Fijiwater- the Essensce of Life: the Healing Power of Nature)by Dr. Barbara

Hendel and Fruggia)

In my experience, Fijiwater got me off coffee. sugar and soft drinks, increased

my metabolism, helped me loose weight, the silica, calcium and magensium has

enhanced my overall wellbeing and that includes no advancement in my CMT. I'm

57, have a 19.6 BMI, don't need or take alot of meds for blood pressure or

cholesterol, healthy heart, lungs, etc.

Actually, it's been just the opposite, since drinking Fijiwater I have felt I am

only getting better. Perhaps you might want to try it? Try it for 10 years or

so, 3 liters a day, then let me know. I don't bet it retail, but at a Big Box

store for 1/2 the price.Personally I loathe the word 'miracle' and I will not

use it.

However, this water is good for health, and in my experience with CMT and my

life in general has proved this.

Please read this:

http://blog.fijigreen.com/2009/08/fiji-water-responds-to-mother-jones-article/

FIJI Water Responds to Mother Article

This is our response to the recent Mother article about our company.

We strongly disagree with the author's premise that because we are in business

in Fiji somehow that legitimizes a military dictatorship. We bought FIJI Water

in November 2004, when Fiji was governed by a democratically elected government.

We cannot and will not speak for the government, but we will not back down from

our commitment to the people, development, and communities of Fiji.

We consider Fiji our home and as such, we have dramatically increased our

investment and resources over the past five years to play a valuable role in the

advancement of Fiji.

It is true that Fiji is a poor country, but we believe that the private sector

has a critical role to play to address the underserved areas of Fiji's

development, with special attention to economic opportunities, health,

education, water and sanitation.

First, we employ nearly 350 Fijians in a rural part of Fiji with very little

economic opportunity. We are one of the highest paying employers in the country

with an annual payroll of nearly $5 million; we provide health care and other

fringe benefits; and we have created advancement opportunities for women. There

are also a number of smaller, entrepreneurial enterprises that have been created

in the local region to supply our facility.

As an active member of the Fiji community, FIJI Water is committed to enabling

positive change by means of social investment, capacity building, and

sustainable development. It is important to us that we give back to the

communities in which we work and live. We know that Fiji has tremendous

potential because we see it realized at our factory every day.

Part of our investment in Fiji comes from royalty and trust payments paid each

year that is a percentage of our total volume. As we grow our business, we are

able to contribute more in royalty payments. In 2008 alone, we paid $1.3

million USD in royalties representing 1.5% of gross revenues of our Fijian

company. These payments have allowed us to bring clean drinking water to the

surrounding villages, infrastructure projects like electrification,

kindergartens, secondary schools, renovations of community halls and much-needed

health care clinics.

In addition, in late 2007 we created the FIJI Water Foundation to serve as a

vehicle for social investment around the islands of Fiji. The Foundation has

played a critical role in flood relief in Fiji, renovation of schools, and

bringing much needed health care to rural villages. We have also partnered with

the Rotary Club and Pacific Water for Life to bring clean water to 100

communities in Fiji this year. To date, FIJI Water Foundation has invested

$600,000 USD, directly impacting more than 50,000 beneficiaries in 11 of Fiji's

14 Provinces. You can learn more about the specific projects we have funded at

www.fijiwaterfoundation.org.

With respect to the environmental issues raised in the article, our commitments

are quite clear and laid out in www.FIJIGreen.com. We are the only bottled

water company in the industry to publicly report its entire life cycle carbon

emissions. We are independently audited and report to the Carbon Disclosure

Project. And we are offsetting these emissions by 120%.

Land access issues are very delicate to negotiate in Fiji, but the Sovi Basin

project remains on track and the 50,000 acres of the last remaining lowland

rainforest in the South Pacific is protected now and through perpetuity from

logging. The project will pay the local villagers not to sell their timber

rights to logging companies. Deforestation of our tropical rainforests is one

of the largest sources of carbon emissions. Protecting the Sovi Basin is the

equivalent of removing 2 million cars from the highway.

Our carbon offset project in Fiji includes replanting the rainforests that have

been decimated to plant sugarcane fields. Part of this effort includes planting

native tree species, such as mango trees, to provide local villagers with a

source of income. We are proud to create projects that protect the environment

as well as provide for a source of sustainable income for the local Fijians.

It's unfortunate that the reporter did not have the opportunity to speak to any

one of the thousands of local people whose lives have been impacted in a very

positive way because of FIJI Water. Had we known she was in Fiji, we would have

been happy to escort her to any one of the 75 villages who have been a

beneficiary of a clean water project sponsored by FIJI Water this year alone.

She could have visited one of the villages surrounding our plant to visit a

kindergarten that was recently built or to meet a local Fijian who received a

life-saving corrective heart surgery by a physician we brought to the island.

The real irony here is that the reporter suggests that buying FIJI Water somehow

legitimizes a military dictatorship, when in fact the jobs, revenues, and

community projects supported by FIJI Water are strong contributors to growth in

the well-being of the Fijian people.

Now read this: http://fijiwater.com/Community.aspx

http://fijiwater.com/Water.aspx

http://fijiwater.com/Investing.aspx

http://www.fijigreen.com/OurPromise.html

http://www.fijigreen.com/OurProgress.html

http://fijiwater.com/Newsstand.aspx

And if you really want to know what's truly happening in Fiji, start reading the

Fiji Times http://www.fijitimes.com or perhaps one day plan on visiting Fiji

yourself to see the projects and meet the Fijian people.

BTW, I recyle my bottles for use in my greehouse, when starting young seedlings.

I support the work Fijiwater does and also support several villages sprinkled

among the islands. I am hoping that I may also ask Dr. Ornish to speak at one

my support group meetings, if not there, at the Conference for sure.

Gretchen