Riya Mala 
[Photo: SUPPLIED]
A leadership model built on shared responsibility and opportunity is reshaping how talent is recognised and developed within Waste Recyclers Fiji Limited and the Pacific Recycling Foundation, as the organisations elevate grassroots experience into formal leadership roles.
As part of this co-leadership model, WRFL and PRF have announced the progression of Aliti Cautabua, who will now serve as Co-Lead of the Finance Team alongside Vishal Chand.
Her appointment is not only a promotion but also reflects a system designed to reward growth, effort, and lived experience.
Cautabua’s journey began in an administrative role at Malhana Cloud Kitchen before she moved into PRF’s wider advocacy work, including participation in a Collection Pillars of Recycling mapping exercise that exposed her to community-level realities of waste management.
She says the experience changed her understanding of inequality and resilience and reshaped how she views opportunity and responsibility.
PRF Founder and Director Amitesh Deo says Cautabua’s progression reflects the organisation’s long-standing commitment to building leadership pathways, particularly for women in the recycling and sustainability sector.
He says the co-leadership model is designed to break traditional hierarchies and replace them with shared leadership, accountability, and structured mentorship.
WRFL and PRF say the model forms part of a broader shift towards collaborative governance, long-term capacity building, and strengthening leadership pipelines within their sustainability and advocacy work.
