DESPITE the bad weather, Joji Uluiviti has remained positive of earning income along the Seaqaqa highway in the north.
With a table set by the main road and a tarpaulin tied to branches of a tree to provide shelter, the young lad neatly arranged bundles of dalo being sold for $10 each — attracting commuters along the highway.
"This weather is not good for our root crops and it is another reason for harvesting the dalo from my farm to save it from getting bad," Mr Uluiviti said.
"But even in this rain, people are buying dalo and I am blessed to have customers today considering how bad the weather is," he said.
"I started selling from the morning and within two hours, four bundles of dalo were bought and this money will be used to support my family."
Although a single man, Mr Uluiviti —an active member of the Macuata Provincial Youth, believes life can only be successful if one works hard.
"I am unemployed in terms of no white collar job but I have a farm, built a house and earn money from my own sweat.
"And for me to stand out here in the rain during bad weather is even more challenging but that is part of hard work.
"It is even sweeter when we reap the rewards of our hard work," Mr Uluiviti said.
He said it was better for him to sell dalo than keep it in his farm and have it borrowed for functions.
Other means of income has been derived from his yaqona farm that was uprooted last week.
"I have orders from villages for the grog and I have been farming for more than 10 years now. I have seen the good income it brings and I'd rather remain a farmer than find a job," he said.