PEOPLE sent to jail for stealing dalo are being made to plant five times the amount they stole as part of their rehabilitation.
And the dalo is planted in the farms where the crimes took place.
The program by the Fiji Prisons and Corrections Service started in Taveuni where dalo thefts have been frequent. This new initiative is called "Restorative Justice for Dalo Thieves on Taveuni".
Under this program, the offender will return to the scene of the crime and, under supervision, plant five times the amount of dalo that was stolen.
To determine the exact amount stolen, wardens liaise with Taveuni police to ascertain the true amount in metric tonnes that needs to be replanted.
Officer in Charge of Taveuni Prison, Savenaca Vula, has been given the task of ensuring that planting schedules are synchronised with the duration of the inmate's sentence.
The inmates who are part of this program will be closely monitored by the Prisons Service Education, Training and Rehabilitation Unit.
During the replanting process, farming materials will be supplied by the farmer.
There are currently nine inmates sentenced for dalo theft. On Tuesday, inmate Isake Naicolavalu was the first to start under the new rehab program.
Naicolavalu was jailed for one month for stealing one bag of dalo.
Prisons Service Media Liaison Officer, Fred Elbourne, said this directive by the Commissioner of Prisons, Brigadier General Ioane Naivalurua, was a positive step.
"This is just another positive step where the FPCS allows the perpetrator to show remorse by physically planting dalo to replace the ones stolen," he said.
"It also allows both parties to come together, where the person who stole the dalo can admit his mistake and seek forgiveness."