TribeWanted - Chief's Blog

Chief's Update 16.7.08 by Mariah Boyle

Mariah Boyle — Tue Jul 15 22:31:41 UTC 2008

Bula sia tribe!

I’ve just come down from the water tanks talking water logistics with Sustainability Manager Ben and Marau, hiking over rocks barefoot in a sensible island skirt talking about purchasing wood and piping like I’m in construction and an engineer – you never know what you will be needed to do next as chief here! Furthermore, I can’t believe it has been two weeks of chiefdom already! Time flies in island paradise. In this second week I’ve settled in and fully embraced my role as “Marama Wasa Wasa”, ocean chieftess, as Giles has named me.

We’ve had a rather large group on the island for the first part of the month, but now we are down to about 15 which is a very nice number for group activities and such. In the past week we’ve made nine of the twelve beds needed for the new vale, and the rest will be finished this week. We also intend to add another bed to the family bure and a nice wooden floor for the family bure as well. Cabinets for various locations are in the works, as is putting new reeds on some leaky roofs. It is amazing how much work can get done here when we focus hard on accomplishing tasks.

The much anticipated return of Ben Keene to the island was celebrated last week and copious amounts of strong grog were shared by all. Ben has brought with him great energy and enthusiasm that always helps combat island lethargy and Fiji time.

Apart from the sweaty work that makes everyone feel like island warriors, we’ve had some great cultural experiences this week as well. Our sevusevu from this past week was for 15 people! Everyone presenting had some nice things to say to Tui Mali and after a roudy meke [with Ben Keene and Giles competing for the club meke award in the center of the crowd] the new folks took some time to chat with Tui Mali at the top of the mat. I was very impressed with how quickly everyone learned the cultural etiquette for the ceremony and the meke, it was a very special ceremony. Vinaka tribe!

Thursday was another historic day on Vorovoro. In the morning, a group departed to help farm yams at Liavi’s [Crimestopper’s] farm on the mainland. The group still on Vorovoro helped to prepare a lovo of chicken, fish, and all the traditional Fijian dishes for a large dinner with all of the tribe and all of Team Fiji. After the lovo preparation the tribe cleaned up very nicely with most wearing sulu-chumbas and bula shirts for the big dinner. We greeted Poasa and led him to the top seat at the lovo assembled in the grand bure. Poasa was very excited about having the two groups together, saying that it was a very good idea to continue [Tui Tom held a dinner in this manner last month as well] and that we were making Vorovoro history. The ladies in the kitchen prepared an AMAZING meal – a big vina’a to all of them! Next the Mali Choir came to sing to us, and it was recorded by Georgie and Dave, two tribies that practically brought a recording studio with them to the island. Ben Keene organized the “Vorovoro Sessions” a music jam and recording session of island staff and Team Fiji. The night was amazing – imagine having a private music festival for you and 30 close friends in the grand bure with blue lights and candles all enhanced by a moderate grog buzz. Great stuff. I don’t have details on the release of the music, chat with Ben about that, but he is hoping to have a Vorovoro soundtrack sometime this year. Georgie and Dave also wrote a song about Vorovoro, employing some of us to sing the chorus, and once that is done I’m sure it will be amazing. A big ‘naka to the two of them as well, as they have shared so many amazing talents with us during their stay.

Another highlight was when the school kids at Mali Primary challenged us to netball [yes, we played 6-8 graders], and they were fantastic! Team Vorovoro won one of the matches, and then we just played mixed teams the rest of the afternoon, but it was a highlight for us and the girls.

Sunday night we discovered Api our boat captain has been working with us for two years and the tribies whipped up some cakes and tea while Api whipped up some strong grog. We drank all night down by the boat captain’s hut [Kimbo you will be pleased to know the place looks fantastic and just got a new roof] under a fantastic moon. Vinaka Api for all you hard work and safe transport for the tribe members!

Can’t say enough good things about this place – will give another update next week!

As a nice way to be able to keep track, here is a list of completed projects so far this month:

Bamboo woven and placed around Lali
Bamboo woven and placed around Sustainability Hut
Nine beds made for New Vale
Karmic Duties Board Painted
Shelter put above school map at All Saints
Sand pathways finished around village
Plants added around village
Lots of work in the gardens
New Roof on Boat Captain’s house

Marama Wasawasa

Bitu Part Rua (Bamboo Part Two) by Kaz Brecher

Kaz Brecher — Sat Apr 19 01:21:12 UTC 2008

Dear Tribe,

I am so sorry reports have been slow to trickle in, but posting blogs isn’t always top of the list on a frantic day in Labasa, and I’ve taken to coming in once a week on Saturday. But the biggest update this week is that we have finished the bamboo walls for the new vale!!

I have stories to tell about the two visits I made, first to Matai Labasa, and then to Vuo, in search of bamboo with the clock ticking. It’s best to cut bamboo only during certain times of the month, given the growth cycle of the fibers. If you cut at the wrong time, the bamboo will shed (as it has in the chief bure). But lots of boat trips, madcap taxi rides (thanks, Mela, Jo, Marau, and Save), mud, grog and mumbled mixes of Fijian and English, we got our bamboo and started hammering away.

We were not as fast as the boys from Vuo would have been, but the tribe all pitched in, and we learned a things or two about how to make something beautiful, breathable, and cool from fast-growing resources around us. We have been having grog sessions in the vale, and we’ll put the finishing walls braces on this week. My hope is that we can crack on and build some accomodation for Team Fiji, using the remaining bamboo as Marau suggested. I’ll keep you posted. And I hope we can get more news out this week.

Vinaka!!
Adi Vua (kazoo)

Serendipity on Vorovoro by Kaz Brecher

Kaz Brecher — Sat Apr 12 02:48:31 UTC 2008

Dear Tribe,

Apologies for not writing sooner, and I understand my first post had some techincal difficulties. It’s tough to drag oneself away from paradise to write, and I’ll be aiming to do a better job this week. It’s been busy, with a wonderful sevusevu for tons of new members, Tui Mali even taking up our hula hoops, some inter-village drama around getting us bamboo (thus a last minute trip to Vuo with Pupu and Poasa at low tide replete with mud and all), and fitting in Zaishu silk-screening when we can. We started with the tapa pattern, and everyone is delighted with how they’re coming along.

We’ve had rain and need some dry days to finish up. I have no worried that sun is in our future. We’ve also been painting Tui Mali’s boat, and it launched today, in a gorgeous signal orange. Photos to follow.

I will have more posts soon, I promise, but it’s been a bit mad with spreading the hands on deck and almost 30 members on the island. We also had a small medical emergency with Linda, who collapsed with what seems to be heat exhaustion. A scan in Suva and she’s fine, headed back this afternoon.

Lots to share. More soon.
Moce mada,
Adi Vuata ni Vanua (Chief of the Fruit of the Land)
xx

Trouble in paradise? Not on Vorovoro! by Kaz Brecher

Kaz Brecher — Sat Apr 05 03:41:10 UTC 2008

Where to start? You’ve had many chief reports, and all of the excitement and feelings of being overwhelmed are true and then some. So, instead of repeating, I’ll just touch on some of the more unique moments so far…

The handover ceremony went swimmingly – held in the new vale, which was decorated beautifully. I must say that Chief Jimbo has been an absolute pleasure. And I’m so glad to have him on the island for a couple of weeks, not just to be my wingman but also to be my main advisor (case in point, walking into my first kava session without a sulu…lots to remember being back on the island). I gave Tui Mali a Kodak photobook of pictures from 2007 during my two trips to the island as part of my sevusevu, and he seemed tickled by it. As there is more and more attention on the project, I hope it will be handy for him to be able to show people images from our little village.

The next day, a typical busy Wednesday, with Giles in Suva doing some marketing, Carol thrust a cell phone in my hand, saying that emergency numbers were on the kitchen wall, but I wouldn’t need them, and wished me good luck before she bustled off to coordinate three boat loads of departures, arrivals, and the presentation of Jimbo’s new map at the All Saint’s School. No sooner had the first boats left, dear Marau hit his head badly while dashing out of the bure (note that all doorways are low in Fiji, as you’re meant to bow when entering and not run once inside). A big gash and lots of blood later, Cheryl Wilkins and Laura Kyle kept everyone calm, while taking command of first aid, (Cheryl all the while adorably apologizing for touching Marau’s head), and off they went to the hospital. Jim went by taxi with Marau, who is doing just fine with 10 stitches and a fancy shower cap to keep the wound dry when it rains. Whew! I ended the day by offering grog to the boys and letting them know that even though we got off to a rough start, I am so excited to be back and working with them. Tevita, as always, guiding me on proper protocol.

A couple of random bits: having my dear friend, Elana, on the island for the first few days was a real treat. Turns out paradise comes with a price – and for Elana, it was the mozzies and the composting toilets. The island, I realized, is a bit like playing Chinese telephone – things morph and change, and it’s hard to remember why, with all the changing of people. So, while we used two scoops of sawdust in the loo in September, it’s been 1 for a while – and I think there’s just too much liquid, thus the smell. It’s not awful, but it’s been better; we’re back to two scoops and we’ll see how it goes.

The SolLight solar lights have been AMAZING. So, if anyone is coming over, please do bring more. They’re incredibly bright and really versatile. We used them in the sustainability forum we had last Thursday, which made for a lively discussion about reusable bottles and such.

The waterfall shower has been wonderful. Now, I realize, when I head rain, I don’t mind so much, as it means a good wash in the waterfall awaits (this said, though a few brave souls went on an expedition to check out the source of the falls and found that, as can be expected, there’s all kinds of leaves and possibly other creatures in there). It’s a fast flowing set of falls, though, so I don’t think there’s much to fear. But Paul Jay, who has been a vocal and knowledgable member of the tribe, wisely suggests we get some basic water testing kits, that we could do ourselves on the island…anyone?

A special shout out to Linda who has joined us bearing some great gifts, including an awesome camping firestarter, which basically just creates sparks. This works terrifically in the kitchen and won’t wander off because you can’t use it to light cigarettes! So, again, if anyone is looking for small gifts, more of these would be appreciated. Linda also brought musical instruments, and you cannot imagine how happy Pupu was with his shiny new set of harmonicas. We’re all playing with rhythm eggs and tambourines now, to make up for our lack of singing skills compared with the Fijians!

I don’t want this to be a huge ramble, though it’s turned into that
but the projects are rolling along. The vale should have bamboo this week. We’ve been making brooms in the meantime from the palms that were used to decorate for the ceremony. We’ve only had one good bone dry day, which we need for the zaishu painting, but we’re ready and waiting. And planting and landscaping continue. We harvested an amazing large pumpkin/squash, which we’re eaten and shared with Poasa’s family. Loads of cucumbers coming in, peppers, and tons of papaya. Bananas soon!

So, with that, I leave you. We have tons of new arrivals this week. Just picked up 4 in town, more on the way, and rumors of a past legend arriving are circulating; stay tuned!

Moce!
Marama Kazoo

The Last Broadcast by James Kerridge

James Kerridge — Fri Apr 04 23:51:18 UTC 2008

Respect to all the readers from around the globe. You’re tuning in to something worthwhile. Something unique. Something alternative. You may be reading this at home. Maybe you’re at work, boring work. Maybe you’ve been to Vorovoro before, maybe you’re coming in the future? Wherever you are and whatever you do… I bring you the last instalment from Tui Koli – currently typing away in the Ecotricity Hut using power collected from the wind turbine and the solar panels.

The month of March has flown by. Talks of one last hurricane never came into fruition. The weather has been super sunny with a touch of rain here or there. Enough to top up the waterfall shower and keep the tribe in natural ecstasy. Watch out for the black ‘n’ white banded water snakes, they’re quite partial to a shower themselves. Their venom is deadly. Alas, their fangs are too far back and unable to puncture our skin. Phew!

It’s time to crack on and bring the internet community up to speed with what was happening in Vorovoro during my last week of chiefyness. From the top, let’s go:

THE CONSTRUCTION OF MORE ACCOMMODATION: VALE 2 (photos attached)
The vale is sort of complete. But what does this mean? The frame is secure. Sweet. The roof is attached. Nice. The ground has been levelled. Good. But there are no walls! Bamboo is going to be used for this, a similar woven effect as the Grand Bure. Bamboo can only be collected when there is no moon. Pupu is all powerful but speeding up celestial planets is something he’s not capable of. The collection of bamboo will take place ASAP.

The large roof area will be capable of collecting large amounts of rainwater. Guttering and water tanks will need adding when there is some more cash flow. My budget has been spent.

Whenever a roof has been placed on a Fijian building a ceremonial grog session takes place under that particular roof. The framed space is massive, incorporating where the Love Shack used to be. And that is the spot where the tanoa (drinking bowl) was placed last Thursday night. I presented Team Fiji with some kava and thanked them for all their hard work. A massive vinaka vaka levu. The space has a really nice feel, plenty of room. I’m no fortune teller but I predict lots of happiness under this roof.

Word on the coconut wireless is that the chief hand over ceremony will take place in here. Oh gosh.

PIGLET PROBLEMS
You may recall a wee problem regarding the piglets – they could squeeze through the wire fence and were free to munch on Crimestopper Api’s radishes in Fruitopia. The sty was secured. Twice. The pigs now live in Fort Knox. So how the monkey do the piglets escape? Is there a secret floorboard? Do they pole vault? This is a mystery that only CCTV could solve. The tribe is currently investigating the phenomenon.

CHICKEN PICKIN’
Not only are the piglets detrimental to Fruitopia but the chickens are causing havoc with their scratching style. All chickens need capturing. Alive. Traps are being made laced with roasted coconut. Mmmm finger lickin’ good.

RAFTING
The tribe has been collecting bamboo in the attempt to build a raft. The tribe also likes lots of camp fires. Can you see the conflict of interests? The camp fires are winning. The raft crew is loosing momentum. And stocks.

MEKE
“Meke love, not war” – this is the slogan being used for some t-shirts. There’s often a daily class to bring the new members in to the wonderful world of meke – Fijian dancing. There’ll be a big meke session for Tui Mali at the chief hand over ceremony. He loves it. And we do to. MEKE!

MAP MAKING (photos attached)
All Saints Secondary School requested a map of their school. It has now been completed. A big thanks to all those tribe members who helped in its creation: Claire, Dan, Amy and Elaine.

Given enough time, I would have visited the school and complete a visual audit to create something really interesting and accurate. Instead, I was given a battered photo copy of a bird’s eye view of the school. Akuna matata. The end result has been getting positive feedback so it should go down a storm. An unveiling ceremony is being organised for some time soon. Any future maps will be done on a commission basis and profits donated to the Dream Foundation.

A shelter for the Vorovoro map is currently being constructed. Pupu (armed with a chainsaw) and myself (armed with a machete) hiked it up the hill to chop down two trees. The first one fell, no problems there. The second one fell and got stuck at a 45 degree angle! What to do? Pupu looked at me and said “nothing is hard in this world” He burst out laughing and then jumped up on the trunk and proceeded to climb the tree. This 68yr old man was a long way up, jumping up and down on an unstable trunk using his weight and gravity to bring it to the ground. As he tree-surfed, branches came crashing down around him as the tree made its way to a horizontal position. If you wanna see a living legend, come and spend some time with Pupu. Here’s one of his riddles:

What has a skirt? You lift the skirt and there is hair. You separate the hair and there is a line with teeth. What is this?

a
n
d

t
h
e

a
n
s
w
e
r

i
s

corn!

Did you think of something else?

KITCHEN TROUBLES
The infamous double barrel oven made by Pupu (Episode 1 of ‘Paradise or Bust’) needs repairing. The cement has arrived but the barrels still need collecting. Nothing happens quick in this part of the world. The cooks continue to adapt and feed the tribe handsomely. Mmmmm cake.

SHOWERS
The bucket showers both appear blocked. They get fixed but they soon revert to crapness. This is currently being rectified.

FITNESS FANATICS
A tribe member by the name of Elaine has started up a daily fitness class. Or as I call it: Looooooooooser’s Club. It seems extremely popular and this vexes me most deeply. So I bring to you: The Hammock Society. We make a pledge of no ‘conventional western exercise’ and discuss philosophical matters, spiritual things and general story telling. So at 4.30pm there is a collection of loonies doing leg raises, The Hammock Society sits nearby eating cake and shouting words of encouragement. We then grab some chilled beers and head up to one of the peaks to watch the sun set. What would you prefer to do in paradise? Would it surprise you that ten tribe members prefer to participate in a workout class and only three members watched the sun set? M to the E to the N to the T to the A to the L.

But respect due to Elaine, the Mali Sharks (rugby team) are coming to Vorvoro. The TV and the press are being contacted to generate more publicity. Can 27 giant, strong men survive a class with lil’ Elaina. I don’t think so.

WATER SUPPLIES
One of my manifesto aims was to increase the water supply. As mentioned before, the new Vale roof is a large catchment area. But there is also talk of a bore drill making its way to Vorovoro. The island has been surveyed and a suitable site has been found. This would ease all water worries of the future.

TUI MALI’S BOAT
The Big T has left his boat on Vorovoro. It has been moved up from the shore to his veranda using the rolling logs technique. It needs repairing and he has asked the tribe to help. Not a problem, the tribe is happy to help their favourite chief.

And speaking of chiefs, the new April chief by the name of Kaz has arrived safe ‘n’ sound. Her Zaishu (chair) project sounds unique and fits in perfectly cos it doesn’t require any manual labour from the Fiji Team, allowing them to continue with construction and Vorovoro maintenance. It all works out well in Vorovoro.

So will I miss chiefdom? It’s been a blinding experience, of that there is no doubt. Being part of this amazing project in such a significant role is something original to put on the CV.

As chief, a sudden invisible wall of respect came up between me and my Fijian friends. I look forward to them calling me by my real name and feeling free to joke around more. I can’t wait to chill out at the back of the grog mat, no more loneliness up at the top.

I will miss the Chief Bure and hanging out with Tui Mali drinking tea but look forward to setting a tent up on the beach.

The fresh fish tasted delicious but I look forward to returning to my veggie ways. It’ll make interesting future conversations, picture the scene…

I’m at a wedding reception, dinner has arrived, I’m the only one eating a vegetarian dish. A fellow guest inquires (as they always do):

“So how long have you been vegetarian?”

And I reply “Well, for almost a decade except for the time I was a Fijian Chief…”

The weight of responsibility, politics and decision making was felt, it takes up much mental space and my respect for the proper chief, Tui Mali, has deepened. There wasn’t any tribal coup so that’s a good sign. I’ve enjoyed being chief. And now, I feel confident that the transition of March chief to April chief will be a happy, smooth, progressive one. Enter the month of Kaz. You have my full support (from the hammock in the treehouse).

This is the last broadcast from Tui Koli. Over and out.

Zombies of a four-legged kind by James Kerridge

James Kerridge — Thu Mar 20 22:07:08 UTC 2008

Greetings from the southern hemisphere to all you readers ‘n’ believers. Utopia exists. I hope this blog finds ya well ‘n’ happy – just like me. What’s been happening in this part of the world? Well, let’s start here on an average week day:

5:58am
Open one eye. Open second eye. Stretch and vacate the four poster bed. Put on some boardies and leave the chief’s bure. Stop. Take a deep breath and absorb the serene surroundings. It’s another glorious day in Vorovoro.

6:00am
Bang the village ‘lali’ (drum). This signifies the sun rise and I getta kick outta waking up the whole village. The man called Save (Captain Culture) taught me the correct method and it goes something like this:

D-dum… (4secs)
...
D-dum… (3secs)
...
D-dum… (2secs)
...
D-dum… (1 sec)
...
D-dum…D-D-D-d-d-d-d… d… d… (fade out)
…
DUM!
…
DUM!
…
DUM!
…
DUM!
…
DUM!
…
DUM!

Good morning Vorovoro!

6:01am
Grab some snorkelling gear and leg it to the ocean before an angry tribe member batters me! Haha, too late, I’m off with the fishies. The sea is warm and clear. Warm and clear. These early morning coral sessions are the best starts and one doesn’t have to go far before and underwater kingdom reveals itself. Loud shout going out to the blue sea-stars. Respect to the sting rays. Watch yourself Mr Jellyfish.

7:00am
Hang out on the floating pontoon, appreciating Vorovoro in all its lushness, contemplating and waiting for the kitchen bell to ring.

7:15am
Breakfast. Cuppa cha (tea), bowl of porridge, slice of papaya. Sorted. Rolling on to the picnic tables by the beach. Perhaps watch a baby turtle hatch and scuttle down to the sea. God speed little fella.

8:50am
Blow the ‘duvui’ to alert the tribe for the 9am meeting. The duvui is a giant shell horn that Tevita gave me. I am musically handicapped so it was no surprise that my first attempt sounded like a pathetic raspberry fart. This is no good, so I took a trip up to the waterfall and practised. It has now been mastered and a deep, rumbling VOOOOOOOOOOooouuuuu is produced each time. Yes yes. The locals are well impressed.

9:00am
The tribe and Team Fiji congregate in the Grand Bure for a quick meeting. This involves talking about current trips, projects, and letting people get involved as much as they want to.

10:30am
Morning tea with banana cake. Or chocolate cake. Maybe a pancake (or three).

12:30pm
Lunch time. What goodness has the chef’s created today?

12:45pm
A little siesta. That cheeky lil’ power-nap to recharge the batteries. Ideally up in the hammock in the treehouse.

3:30pm
Afternoon tea. With yet more cake. Perhaps donuts. If anyone coming to Vorovoro thought they would loose weight, they would be mistaken.

4:30pm
Mock the tribe taking part in Elaine’s tortuous workout class. L-O-O-S-E-R-S! There’s no exercise in paradise. Go eat some more cake.

6:30pm
What’s the time Mr Wolf? Dinner time! It’s non-stop work for the belly acids.

7:30pm
Grab the sulu (sarong) and settle down at the top of the mat for some high tides of grog. Indoors or outdoors, it always turns in to a Fijian acoustic concert…

“Dulaaa duuuuuuuuula laaaaaaaywaaah…”

10:30pm (ish)
Swim out to the pontoon and try not to think of ‘Jaws’. I recommend distracting yourself by backstroking and looking up at the milkyway. Lay on the pontoon and count the shooting stars. But it gets better… the sea is full of magic… when you swim thousands of illuminated twinkling algae appear. What is this called? Phosphorescents or something? Whatever they are, no LSD is required, this is a natural trip. The best sort of trip. Twinkles everywhere. As above, so below.

A conclusion could be drawn from this routine that I’m doing sweet F.A! But it’s not true. No no no. I am constantly running round in between the routine and making sure all the tribe is happy, cleaning the place, chatting to the Fiji staff to see what can be improved and overseeing current projects. Here’s what’s been happening recently:

The construction of more accommodation
An area has been cleared near the volleyball court. The frame has been completed. Tui Mali popped over and joined in the grafting. Marau (Village Manager) assures me that it’ll be finished by the end of March. But they say ‘yes’ to everything. Pupu (the Knowledge) just laughs and says it will be completed in forty blinks.

Piglet problems
We have two adult pigs called Bacon and Sausage (they may have been renamed). The family increased with the birth of four piglets back in January. The little mischief makers have been squeezing through the sty’s wire fence and munching on Crimestopper Api’s radishes. He looked offended. He talks to the plants like they’re his children so the sty has been secured. No more take-aways. The farm is safe. Api is happy happy happy. Oi oi oi.

Tanoa Park
The pitch has been given a face lift. It has been widened. Stones ‘n’ weeds removed. Wheelbarrows full of sand have been brought up from the beach and it’s looking cooshtie. Calling Man U and all the big guns, we’re ready for yah! (Day time only, flood lights are in the R&D stage).

Rafting
The tribe has been collecting bamboo in the attempt to build a raft. Alas, it keeps ending up on the nightly camp fires. Progress is s-l-o-w. Very slow indeed.

Meke
Meke love, not war. There’s often a daily class to bring the new members in to the wonderful world of meke – Fijian dancing. Rope has been purchased and the ‘voi’ (special tree bark) has been prepared for the meke skirts. A little job to do around the grog bowl.

Map making
All Saints Secondary School have requested a map of their school. It took me over a month to complete the Vorovoro map and they want theirs in a couple of weeks. Oh selector please! Fortunately, there are many eager hands here so we accept the challenge. Shells have been collected and the plywood canvas is being painted at this very moment. Someone alert the Tate Modern.

Kitchen troubles
The infamous double barrel oven made by Pupu (Episode 1 of ‘Paradise or Bust’) needs repairing. There’s a crack allowing flames to enter the oven space and torch the cake. Replacement parts have been ordered. The cooks are adapting and knocking out daily feasts. Who needs Jamie Oliver when Va is in the place to be? Not us.

Showers
One of the bucket showers is blocked. The other one’s tap device fell off. The waterfall is but a drip. The tribe is a wee bit smelly. One of the problems has been rectified. The other is in a state of fixation and the third is dependant on Mother Nature. No hurricanes please.

Fitness fanatics
A tribe member by the name of Elaine has started up a daily fitness class. It looks pretty hardcore and people come away walking funny and hugging their stomachs. Coconuts are used as weights. Some of the exercises are a Fiji first and there’s talk of recording them for the local rugby team – The Sharks.

Rat attack-tack-tack
The friendly vermin have been nibbling on sleeping peeps. Yep, disgusting, horrific and true. But what to do?

a) Introduce a cat
This could mess up the eco system big time. The giant frogs wouldn’t be happy.

b) Poison
But where does the rat go and die? Would another creature eat the poisoned rat and suffer a similar fate? We need a Buffy the Vampire Slyer style death of dust.

c) Glue
Inhumane but effective.

We opted for ‘c’. Please send alternative ideas through.

I can here the kitchen bell ringing and it’s making me salivate so that’ll be all from Tui Koli.

Merry Easter.

P.S.
My glue trap caught one rodent. It was a little distressing to see it stuck to the board and hyperventilating. It was given a cookie as a last meal before being put out of its misery. The same trap was used the following night with the deceased rat attached. The following morning the body had disappeared! No one had removed it. Is this the beginning of a zombie rat invasion? Hmmmm, very, very suspicious.

Vorovoro renaissance by James Kerridge

James Kerridge — Mon Mar 17 22:53:54 UTC 2008

This is a story about art attack. What started off as a quick sketch in my diary of the village turned into something massive…

… a map of the Vorovoro village complex.

My profession of choice is Graphic Design, with over nine years experience but its all mac stuff. No hand drawing or modelling etc. So to create a map from materials took me back to my art college days.

I found a piece of ply wood 8ft (wide) x 4ft (deep) and painted it deep green. Ants kept crawling all over it and getting stuck. They were painted over. Yellow was used to represent the path and beach, sand was sprinkled over the yellow for a textural effect. The sea was painted guess what colour? Yep, blue. A trip to the shoreline provided the shells to decorate the beach ‘n’ sea. Voila. The landscape was now complete for the next stage: building construction.

I found a thin piece of wood and cut the shapes out of various buildings. Pupu battered the crap out of some coconut husks providing perfect bure roofing. Nice one Pupu – gotta love that toothless smile. The guy’s a don. Bits of bamboo, driftwood and sticks were used to construct the walls. Mosquito nets were used for the hammocks. The (real life) recycling bin got raided for some blue-stringy plastic for the bucket shower. A couple of other tribees contributed their talents. For example, Toby made the pigs and chickens from cork while Pupu Peta made a smokin’ hot mini tree house.

The piece was finished off with a big V O R O V O R O – using coconut shells to represent the Os. The tagline reads sega na ka e dredre evuravara. It translates as: nothing is hard in this world (a Pupu quote). All the materials used were found on the island which fits in perfectly with the eco vibe of the place.

The whole piece took four weeks from start to finish. Work progress was interrupted with rash outbreaks and extreme weather. It was unveiled at the 18 month anniversary and watching people admire the piece left me buzzing. A natural high of satisfaction. The map was liked so much that All Saints Secondary School sent me a kerikeri for a map of their school. Oh gosh. Perhaps this is the way to continue my travels: Map making across the pacific islands… that would be cool.

Good night.

Tui Koli by James Kerridge

James Kerridge — Wed Mar 05 08:48:48 UTC 2008

When I landed in Nadi Airport there was a band playing…
… I felt welcome.

When I flew to Labasa the pilot left the door open…
… I felt trusted.

When the boat arrived in Vorovoro…
… I felt at home.

When I arrived in the kitchen there were hot donuts and tea…
… I fell in love.

That was back in January and five weeks later I was elected chief. Can you Adam and Eve it!? So I climbed to the top of the tree house, claimed the hammock and surveyed my new kingdom – feeling like the Lion King.

Saturday 1 March 2008 marked the halfway mark of this amazing project that is Tribewanted. The workforce pulled out some Fiji magic and transformed the village into something even better. The attention to detail was superb and no trip to Homebase was needed. Giant leaves were used to decorate the shelters providing shade on this blue sky day. The place looked absolutely T for tremendous.

There was a real positive energy about the place and everyone was excited except the pig which got ‘done in’ and shoved in the lovo (underground oven). The guests arrived including teachers and government officials. They were given tours of the place dispelling the myth of a 5-star Vorovoro hotel. There was even a camera man from Fiji One: hello mum!

The ceremony began in the traditional Fijian way. This involved Tevita presenting Tui Mali with a tabua in the form of a whales tooth. And then it was the changing over of chiefs, time for me to shuffle across on two knees, bow and clap three times before Tui Mali and receive the salusalu (a straw-like mini-poncho garment placed upon the shoulders to symbolize the carrying of responsibility). Enter the new chief. As always, there was the ceremonial drinking from the tanoa. A bowl containing the pounded kava mixed with water to produce a muddy sort of drink with amphetic effects called grog. Oh gosh. For the newbies here, grog is anti tolerant and it takes time to build up in your body, maybe a couple of weeks, before you feel any effects. You will feel your tongue turn fury.

With the formal bit done it was time to entertain our guests with the supadupa meke (traditional Fijian dance)! Tops off (boys only) and palm costumes on. Let’s rock this joint. Tevita led the sounds, his deep powerful voice taking over the airwaves with the gang joining in for extra oomph. Beats were getting knocked out on the lali (drum). The place was buzzing. There were 18 tribe members sitting down and bouncing to the left, bouncing to the right and cutting shapes. The crowd was going nuts and decided to distract everyone by sprinkling talcum powder on them, or shoving cake in their mouth, perhaps a big kiss. Large amounts of fun were had by everyone and the word is spreading fast of white people coming from all over the world and learning the meke.

All this energy needed replacing and the cooks had put on a Willy Wonker feast of goodness. Tuck in and fill those bellies with fresh fish and juicy pork. Poor piggy. I have been a vegetarian since 2000 (for spiritual reasons) and no meat or fish has passed these lips. But as a token of respect to Fijian culture, I will push my beliefs to one side and embrace their culture fully for this month. Because of this they call me Tui Koli (Chief Fish).

And that’s pretty much the end of the day. The guests left with big smiles on their faces and Tui Mali looked well chuffed with his big, brown twinkling eyes. As chief I get to hang out with him and chat chief business – this involved me trying to explain what a zombie was. I think we’ll be great buddies and I’m excited about helping to push things forward.

First job: New accommodation. Everybody in the place… let’s go!

Preparing for the Half Way Celebration by Christyna herman

Christyna herman — Wed Feb 27 02:15:59 UTC 2008

Preparing for The Half Way Mark Celebration, March 1, 2008

Obviously we all feel that there is something very special about reaching the half way point in the existence of Tribewanted here on Vorovoro and so construction projects (the Ecotricity Hut and new shower walls) will come to a halt sometime tomorrow as work begins on the grounds and gardens so that Vorovoro will look it’s best on Saturday. This celebration is beginning to take on far reaching importance. Food planning has begun, invitations sent and this morning Tevita, Kessa, Frances and I went over the lists of what needs to be purchased to host about 60 people who will arrive at Malau at 8:30 on the infamous Malau Bus and board our boats for the 35 minute boat trip here to Vorovoro.

I am seated looking out to sea in the outdoor kitchen area, TuiMali is here, the guys are singing with guitar accompaniment around the tanoa just in front of the Gran Bure; the sun has just set and the colors are extending across the sky, the seas are calm and the tide is slowly rising. We have had the first sunny day in about four days; a welcome breeze is blowing after a very muggy breezeless day. Everyone did wash today and mattresses and linen came out for an airing in the sun. It is again, one of those perfect evenings. I can hear Marau, Sossi, Leavi and Tale laughing at their non stop teasing and joking as always on these easy evenings when TuiMali comes for his weekly visit and we have SevuSevu for the new arrivals, 5 since last Tuesday.

The very enjoyable film crew from New Caladonia will be leaving on Wedensday and 5 new tribe members arrive, they won’t have much time to learn the Mekes that we will do for our guests on Saturday, but we have had a few good afternoon and evening practices already and things are shaping up quickly. Save has developed some good techniques for helping us to pick up the moves more quickly; Tevita has been joining in to give emphasis to the character of the moves. TuiMali is enjoying that people are less stiff while doing the Meke these days, and really having fun with them. Occasionally they tell us a few bits and pieces of the stories which the Meke hand and body movements are telling and it helps to remember, but still, we have yet to be told the whole story! The Meke is such an important part of the Fijian culture, history is past down through these Mekes, books are still pretty hard to come by here and very expensive. I was told by Save that the reason they can all remember our names and phrases in foreign languages that we teach them is because they learn young to memorize because of the shortage of books in the schools. Sadly enough, the performance of Meke and the singing of traditional Fijian songs just for the enjoyment of it and for local celebration is slowly dying out, thus it is all the more important that these traditions find importance here on Vorovoro, the Tribe being a good excuse for learning the Meke and performing them.

Saturday will also be the chief hand over day, it will be my pleasure to turn the chiefdom over to Jim, to see the continuation of work that has begun this month and so will stay in the same vein. It is too bad that all chiefs cannot come a couple weeks early to fall into the role.

It is not easy to see the end of my stay and my time as chief approaching. How easy it is to become one with this island, and become a part of the Vorovoro family, and for those reasons so very hard to leave.

New members arrive tomorrow and the cycle continues. The half way mark has been reached and with Tribewanted in good health. The challenge now is to solidify this project into something that the Mali people will be proud to carry on with in the form that they choose. Tribewanted is a challenge to the people who have “invented” it, a great thing to be involved with for those of us who have joined, it has also been a big gamble for the chief of Mali who has put his reputation on the line with his own people and here in Fiji to try this new way of bringing people to Fiji. We honor TuiMali and his people this coming Saturday for attempting this experiment with us. TuiMali is very proud that local officials as well as teachers and administrators of The All Saints Secondary School, serving over 1000 students, will be attending. We start at 8 in the morning to ferry the guests from Malau on our 30’ open boats. I am honored to be here to share this moment with TuiMali, our Vorovoro Team of Mali men and women who work daily with us and teach us, and of course, with the tribe members here on the island.

Cheers/Bula
TRIBEWANTED!

Tocaqu and Taciqu: Chief's Blog by Christyna herman

Christyna herman — Mon Feb 25 09:09:33 UTC 2008

In the Fijian culture family relations are everything, your cousins become your brother and sisters, your “aunties” your multiple mothers. Extended family is who you depend on and they are all very close, no matter where they are. The endearing term for brothers and sisters varies according to your birth order, if your brother or sister is older, you call them Toca-qu (pronounced tocangu) if younger, Taci-gu (tathingu) – there are some variations on that but I won’t elaborate, that is as far as I have gotten. One of my greatest joys here has been in one month’s time to establish a personal rapport with each of the guys who are here all week to work, discovering the personalities of each and their particular strengths. They now call me “Toca-qu” or older sister, and I call Va and Frances Toca-qu in turn. The guys are all Taci-qu to me. It creates a bond and a respect, and it is infinitely satisfying to be able to have this rapport.

Watching the men work together here is always great fun as any work is not to be born but to be enjoyed; it is a game, there is always a lot of teasing and laughter, and if the work might progress a little more slowly so be it, what ever is built will be imbued with joy.
I won’t talk about this being my last week, it is too hard to do! I am treating it as another week like the other three, and just hoping that all that I have been doing this month will carry over with the next chief, finishing the ongoing facelift of the village, and always looking for where we can make things better, moving the Tribewanted project always forward.

Tribewanted is an experiment that has never been tried here, and who knows to what extent in other countries. To keep it alive and well takes constant evaluation and constructive criticism. Just because we started with a particular organization does not mean it is written in stone and cannot be improved upon. Once you have a system in place, then and only then can you see where it works and where it does not.
SaraJane is on the island this week and a lot of discussion has gone on about the organization of the work, the kitchen, the rapport between the “gapers and tribe administrators”. Working to give more definition to the individual roles and responsibilities, the collaboration and work load for each, and to keep fresh in each person’s mind that what our role is here primarily is to be part of the tribe, representing them and making it all work.

We all feel a particular kinship here after a short time, we all feel attached to the island and it becomes a part of us; we want to protect this relationship and sometimes become jealous of it or of our role here, and this has been a reoccurring source of conflict among who is here representing the tribe and who is newly arrived. Defining each person’s role and evaluating how we are interacting or not, keeps the project from stagnating from an administrative point of view. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes here to keep “camp Vorvoro” working that most are not aware of, and the smooth interaction of the local tribe and visitors is to be admired, but it is also something that only works smoothly because a lot of work goes into it; you don’t bring a foreign culture and the local Fijian Culture together just assuming that it is all going to work. Just go look at the disastrous rapport between the local people and the big hotels here in Fiji. It is disheartening to see how most Fijians are treated and what little good these huge concerns bring to Fiji. Our project may not be perfect, but we are striving to create collaboration instead of looking at the Fijian people as a work force to just be dealt with as such, bending them to our way of thinking and organization. It is our goal to find a way to continue to respect them and their ways, and try to make it work, and maybe we can learn something along the way about our own interpersonal relationships while taking on the role of administrators here.

Working on specific guidelines for each person who comes to stay here on Vorovoro who has the job of keeping all things practical and essential to the daily life here on an even keel is an ongoing process and I don’t believe that there have ever been moments when all was hunky-dory for months on end. With every administrative change and new person coming to work on the team, you get new view points and a shake up in the group dynamic, just as you do when every new person arrives on the island. If there is a positive flow of things and people are getting along, it tends to keep going that way, but if the chain is broken, it takes time to fix it; it is not at all an easy task to keep everyone happy. I am always seeing parallels here to what I have to work with keeping my guest crews working on the sailing trips that I have been running for over 10 years. An island is like a boat, you have a set number of people in a small space that have to work in harmony if you want to have a good sailing trip. That does not always mean that everybody loves everybody else but you still can respect them and work together. The ultimate responsibility rests with the island administrator who is now Giles, he has taken over from Ben for the present. We have spent time discussing the definition of the roles that each person here should play who is here as administration and how the work should be organized to avoid conflicts which either slow the work down, or cause it not to get done at all. We are at the half-way mark of Tribewanted, and the process of improving the running of this project is ongoing. We have made it through the phase of getting the project up and running with no set platform really to go by, inventing the system as we go. Now is the phase of fine tuning it so that it will keep going and also run more smoothly.

Recently we have discussed at length the importance of Tavita in keeping all relations running smoothly. Tavita, being a chief himself and a good one, not to mention TuiMali’s person of confidence, is pivotal in the workings of the Tribe, both native and visiting, watching how the group dynamic is working- or not. We have discussed among us how we have to guard against the organization of the people working here at anytime disintegrating, it takes constant vigilance and both Giles and Tavita has a watchful eye over it all and share the load. The smooth running of Vorovoro is not something that is left up to chance. Too much is at stake here for the Mali people and for chief TuiMali who put his reputation on the line to allow Tribewanted to be established here.

We all arrive with our own ideas of what Vorovoro is and most people are more than pleasantly surprised. There is hardly a person here right now who has not extended their stay, from one week to two, two to three…or more! The life on Vorovoro is in sharp contrast (unfortunately) to the alternatives offered in other islands here in Fiji, many of the places have become a place to booze it up and raise hell, and a good part of the people here who have been on extended trips are relieved to find a haven and much more what they hoped to find here in Fiji. I have heard that only on Wailailai, is there anything like here where there is real community interaction with the local tribe.

This week we had the honor of being the chief guests at the Presentation of the Badges at the All Saints Secondary school near Malau, which I believe serves the greater Labasa area. We received a written invitation from the Principle of the school, Mrs. MaKensie, and I was asked to present the badges to the head girl, head boy of the school as well as make a speech to the 1000 students, visiting parents and 40 teachers. This was a significant moment in the Tribe’s history as the school had never had guests such as us, and the Tribe has never had such recognition or honor. Our talented me sat in in the tradition way in front of the students and teachers (all seated on the floor, traditionally barefoot, but with the utmost decorum!).
After all the speeches were made and sang two traditional chants, their booming voices resonating through the hall; it is a sound that sends chills up your spine. You could see that the crowd of young people was visibly taken by the singing. I have been told that they do not often hear their elders singing as they once did, it is a part of the society that is disintegrating sadly enough, while we here on Vorovoro are lucky enough to have the men singing many nights, often long after we retire. One of the songs was in honor of their Chief, TuiMali, seated next to me on the stage along with the Principle and the Reverend. Following this our male tribe members filed in, dressed in the traditional leaf decorations, bare chested and with black smudged on their faces. You could see the amazement on the faces of the students there, ages 14-18.

I have run out of time, the boat is leaving for town.
More later this week as we finish the Ecotricity Hut, make new bamboo screens for the showers and the big one, prepare for the March 1 Celebration, Tribewanted reaches the half way mark!

Week four and we have more rain by Christyna herman

Christyna herman — Sat Feb 23 03:10:58 UTC 2008

I woke up this morning about 5 AM to a steady rain, I know we need it, but the afternoon showers were just fine! We were lucky that the rains let up to let us come in to town. Today it is staying cloudy but no more downpours.

We have had a few new arrivals, and the departure of one of those really special people who just become one with the island and all the Fijians, not to mention the rest of us. Lottie just climbed into the cab, and the tears flowed. PupuEpeli had tea in town with Lottie, he and some of the guys,came to bid her goodbye, even on their day off. They sang a special goodbye Isa Lei for her on Thursday night, since they knew that they would not have the opportunity to bid her goodbye from the Vorovoro beach today. Everyone here had become good friends with her. Lottie, although only 18, was able to embrace her experience here as deeply and fully as is humanly possible, she conducted herself well beyond her 18 years, I thought that she had finished University and was doing a gap year; Vorovoro often brings out the very best in people, and hidden talents they never knew that they had. When I arrived on the island, she was great help to me and knew all of the meke dances and took me through them. She kept the gran bure picked up and was always looking for work to be done in her 5 weeks here, which originally were to be 2. She worked directly from Pupu, and learned a great deal about what it means to be Fijian from our “grandfather” figure here on Vorovoro. I watched her blossom in this environment which she came to love so. We all wish her well on her travels in NZ. She has left her mark on Vorovoro, and Vorovoro now holds has a very special place in Lottie’s heart and soul. Some people come and have a good time, some come and learn a lot, and some, like Lottie, have a real “revelation” which will probably change the course of their life. We all ask, “how can we explain to our friends and family what the experience is here? No one really understands.” It seems that the only real way to find out what makes people love the Vorovoro experience so much is to come and do it yourself, it leaves most of us without words.

Update:The powerhouse is coming along and should be finished by Tuesday. the grounds are looking better all the time.
After our huge success preforming at the All Saints School and participating in the presentation of the Prefect Badges, it was decided to invite the teachers to join the Tribewanted Halfway Mark Celebration on March 1, so we have some preparations to think of this week, there are about 40 invited.

I have a blog to finish and put up that I wrote early this morning, there may not be time today to do that and get new pictures to Adam, so it might be Wednesday before I can get a proper blog off.
I know that there is a Chief’s Role Forum going on, I will be more in a position to comment once I have finished the month. I do hope to help Tevita get his comments online this week. His description of the Chief Role is important to understanding our interaction with the local tribe and the importance given to this position. I do think that many things need to be taken into consideration for future choosing of the chief, and if our two “tribes” are to work well together, the position has to be taken seriously and candidates should be aware that the position is an important one.

Thanks everyone for your comments, I do read them even if I can’t get back to you, I am afraid that trying to type on a Blackberry from the island is a bit beyond me… and I have building, painting and planting to do!

Bula sia,
Marama (chief) Christyna