Tribewanted: Coconut Evolution

This year has been an interesting year for Tribewanted. As we continue to find the balance between running a community project and running a business, we often take steps forward and steps back. It is a good feeling to look back and see that though there have been many ups and downs, progress has been made. When things are running smoothly it is like being on an exhilarating roller coaster. At other times it feels like trying to push mud uphill in a hurricane.

I can't speak for the first four months of the year as I only started recently, but here is what we have achieved over the past eight months.

Tool Shed

The first project I took when I arrived was to improve materials storage in the tool shed. We built some shelving against the back of the shed for storing wood. Two days after completing this somebody dismantled it and used the wood to install bamboo walls on the fun house. It has since been partially rebuilt and most of our materials are now off the ground. We plan on incorporating better storage when we renovate the tool shed.

Showers

The showers that were built when the project first started had begun to deteriorate beyond repair so new showers were constructed. Our goal was to build something that would be beautiful, clean, and require minimal maintenance. The finished product is one that most are happy with but admittedly sacrifices were made in terms of the sustainability of the materials used due to the constraints of running a community with mostly transient members.

Gardens and Compost

The gardens looked almost abandoned by the beginning of the year and as we go into the rainy season it is easy to see why. The amount of rain and mosquitoes are not conducive to working outside. Fruitopia was also located in an area with extremely poor soil quality and most of the crops that had been tended were failing due to this. Tubo te te tubo, the garden behind Poasa's house, had been completely neglected since the beginning of the last rainy season. We have since replanted much of this and diverted our efforts in Fruitopia to a new area nearby where the soil is better. The compost which had previously been left to rot is now being managed on a weekly basis in a new compost area and all the non-compostables (socks, plastic bags, broken buckets, nylon cord, etc.) have been removed. The usable compost then gets worked into the soil when we plant a new bed. We have also begun to mulch the beds which should help to control the weeds a bit during the rainy season.

Kitchen

Our drinking water was being used to do all the washing up in the kitchen. To change this we moved one of our large blue drums (about 55 gallons) next to the sink. We go through one of these drums almost daily and I am sure that we would have run out of water had we continued to waste our drinking water to clean our dishes. It has now been raining for the past 24 hours and our white 36k litter tank is nearly full so we will be discontinuing our salt water collection and turning the toilet sink back on until the rains end around May.

Biogas

The rain also means that we have enough water to start using the bio-gas system which had almost been complete by the previous sustainability manager. The remaining pieces have been purchased and installed and as soon as we can work out a reliable feed stock we will begin to utilize the processor. Manure from our pigs was intended to be used for this but as we are down to one pig at the moment, we will have to find another source. We will try to acquire a feedstock from team Fiji while we make plans to get more pigs.

Sanitation

We have also made a few improvements in the sanitation of the kitchen. Mostly this has involved using three bowls for dish washing rather than two. A small thing but it is making a difference.

Lighting

The lighting in the village has been greatly improved. We now have solar powered lighting in the Grand Bure and much better lighting in the kitchen and the dinning areas.

Wood/ Coconut Storage

A significantly better wood storage hut has been created and we will now be able to enjoy the luxury of dry firewood throughout the wet season. We have also built a shed to house our coconut husks and protect the huskers. This is extremely important as the previous storage provided habitat for rats and dry coco husks are vital for minimizing mosquito activity around the village during the rainy season.

A new storage area for snorkeling equipment has been built but there is still room for improvement here.

Bure's and other projects

Other projects that have been completed include the construction of the new vale, Team Fiji's bure, Te's bure, repairing the roof on sunflower Hut, Amy's hut, the Grand Bure, Eremoni, and the Chief's bure. We are also a little more than half done with the construction of the dam above the waterfall. I also estimate that the pontoon will be back in the water before the end of the rainy season using pop bottles for flotation.

What would you do?

I just recently finished reading The Whale Warriors. It was donated by the tribe members who went to the Christmas TWOT. It was an amazing book and I highly recommend it particularly to anybody who feels passionate about a cause. It got me thinking, as reading often does. The last line of the book is "What did you do?" Our planet is changing and we are responsible. In the next ten to fifty years our actions will determine the quality of life for all beings on the earth for many generations to come. This is not a theory. We have reached the stage where to be complacent, to stand on the sidelines and watch, is to be part of the problem. There are no more innocent bystanders. To be uninformed and ignorant is no longer an excuse. It is our job here at Tribewanted to provide a platform for ideas to help you be informed and inspire you to take action. So, for the new year, here are some things that you can do to help make a difference.

Your actions

One of the easiest ways of reducing your carbon foot print is to conserve energy. This is something we have all heard before but it doesn't make it any less true. Energy can be conserved in many ways. Electric appliances and transportation play a large part in this but there are other less obvious ways in which we use energy. Almost every thing we do has a carbon footprint. The food we eat, the clothes we buy, everything we consume or use. What we need is a shift in our awareness so that this embodied energy plays a part in our decision making process. In most cases it is very hard to know what the carbon footprint of something is. However there are a few simple things we can all keep in mind that will help us to make decisions that are good for ourselves and good for the planet.

Tribewanted's Sustainability Resolution

Remember that the more processed it is and the farther from home that it was produced the more embodied energy it has. If we can use this one simple sentence to help us make our decisions we will all become more responsible consumers and collectively we can have a significant impact.

What are your sustainability resolutions for the new year and how are you going to stick to them?

About Tribewanted:

Tribewanted is a unique community tourism project based on Vorovoro Island, Fiji. Tribe members join online before spending upwards of one week on Vorovoro living as part of a Fijian and global community. You can do as much as you like on Vorovoro from collecting firewood to spearfishing to learning the local dance. "If there's one thing you do in life, make sure its Tribewanted" Lisa Niari