Guests can view Forums! and other Ides of March updates

Tribewanted.com is now more inclusive! Previously, Tribewanted Forum access was limited to only Tribewanted Members. Today, we’ve extended that access to Guest members as well!

* Visit the Tribewanted Forums
* Tribewanted Forums: getting started guide
* Who has access to Tribewanted Forums?

If you’re already a Tribewanted Member, there are a few minor features that have been introduced to the Forums:

1. If you’ve added a nickname to your profile, this will be used as your display name in the forums. Hovering over someone’s nickname will display their full name and link to their profile.
2. When locking a topic, you are now required to give an explanation for why the topic was locked, along with a link to where current discussion can continue
3. Many of the forums have been renamed and topics have been regrouped relative to the Restructuring the Forums topic.

Got feedback to share? Hop over to the Forums and join with the Tech Tikina discussion!

Self Sufficiency Stats - February 2008

From Giles on Vorovoro:

Hey tribe, sorry for the delay on the stats. But the good news – on island produce has gone up to 22.2% in Feb, which is up almost 15% from Jan. Gardens starting to bear regular fruit and Marau is fighting off the tiger sharks to bring in more amazing fish every week!

Waste stats to follow soon. We’ll do a break down of where the food comes from again in April

Download the spreadsheet

Tribewanted Dream Foundation Update – 18th March 2008

So, a month has passed since the end-of-series party for Paradise Or Bust TV programme, and what a night it was !! One of the key objectives for the evening was to raise awareness of the Tribewanted Dream Foundation (or TWDF for short) and also raise as much money as possible for some very worthy projects we are looking to undertake in the near future. The evening was a very successful one for us on both counts. Helen Lang providing an overview of TWDF, it’s goals and recent activity. David Natale (the infamous Gilligan) hosted a raffle with a wide range of prizes – top prize being a free week on Vorovoro (flights not included !!). Stuart Kimberley (Kimbo) was auctioned off to the highest bidder for whatever purpose the winner could find for him. All in all the evening raised £920 for the TWDF coffers, so a huge “Thankyou” to all of you who dug deep over the course of the evening.

To keep the momentum going we will endeavour to give regular updates on our activities going forward, and that is the purpose of this update.

As Helen mentioned during the party a large proportion of what we are doing right now is pretty tedious. Over the weekend preceding the party the Trustee’s met face-to-face to review where we are, and where we are going, to ensure we have the correct framework in place to make TWDF a long-term success. This involves wading through and completing a lot of documentation to satisfy Charities Commission guidelines and legal requirements. Progress is steady rather than speedy, an unavoidable consequence of us being geographically dispersed and also being volunteers with our ongoing daily lives to manage. The key pieces of documentation at this time are called the Memorandum and Articles Of Association, and is important because it covers the whole range of who / how / why / what / when type of questions as to the existence and functioning of TWDF, the Trustee’s, and it’s members.

Get the low-down on what's been happening with the Tribe Wanted Dream Foundation and how you can help out!

Vorovoro Live: The Change Within Me

From Mike Johnson on Vorovoro:

(For those that are interested, this blog is being sent from Tanoa Park, Vorovoro. We’ve sorted out the gprs card on the laptop on the island - very exciting!)

From the moment I got to Nadi, the world seemed a different place. As I have never traveled on my own before, when I got off the plane it hit me; I’m the other side of the world!! 42 long hours separated me from home…it did scare me, hell yeah but at the same time I felt proud that I have done it; a year ago it wouldn’t have even entered my head! A friendly ‘bula’ seemed to come from everyone I met as I walked though the airport just after 6am; the sun was shining and I went to get that all important bottle of water. It went down very well, as did the 2nd and 3rd!!

The 1st thing I did was to take off my watch. Time is not what it is at home; you’re now on Fiji time! In a nut shell it means it will happen; it just takes time. Be patient and it will come…

The reason why I came here was to find out a bit more about myself, to see if I could live outside of the box and to take time out. I am not a seasonal traveler and this is a once in a life time experience. My friends thought I was crazy to go half way round the world for a ‘holiday’ on my own and work wasn’t too happy either! However, I wanted to meet like minded people and it was the perfect opportunity to be a bit more independent as well as learn more about the Fijian culture and lifestyle. It’s amazing what we take for granted back home.

Read on

Charlotte Ireland: 5 Weeks on Vorovoro

I can’t really find the words to explain what it felt like to spend five weeks on Vorovoro. I think it should be compulsory for everyone. I found a new family, many like-minded people, and a mysterious disease just to spice things up. Discovering new things everyday, and spending time with Save, Sosi, Mess, Te, every single person in camp…and especially Pupu! I have been away about 2 weeks now and still find myself thinking about Vorovoro every day and wishing I was there. I especially miss the incredible stories that Pupu would tell, sitting late into the night on the grog mat…building the Bure with just his eyes!

It’s an incredible feeling to experience something as life changing as the community that is Tribewanted. Not two days were the same, ever. I went chicken hunting, into the mangroves, got ‘lamb-chop’ to the point that Pupu said to me he thought I wouldn’t make it to my bed! Made a ladder to the tree house, shot a potato cannon (WOW, Peter you’re a legend!), and survived the cyclone, and that is by no means the end of the list! I kept thinking that a boring day must come along sometime, but it honestly never did. I don’t understand quite how it happens, but arriving on Vorovoro everything starts to make sense…nothing is hard in the world as Pupu would say.

I think the central point on which this project survives is the idea of ‘community’. It’s something which I would have had no chance of understanding or ever even slightly comprehending, had I not experienced it first hand. Everybody lives together, there’s no confrontation and people obviously and unashamedly care for each other. You sit under the stars into the night and drink grog together, singing, chatting and just having a laugh…in my case trying to avoid as many high tides as possible!

Read more of Charlotte's adventures

Last ride on the Malau Bus

Final blog from February Chief, Christy:

To leave Vorovoro is to leave behind a loved one, Vorovoro has a heart and soul. Departure is always hard, but you leave taking with you an armful of new knowledge and a new concept of the word sharing; and so,so many precious memories.

Vorovoro possesses a life of its own, something you have to experience to understand; Vorovoro is a living thing, and we are like one of the trees growing on it; we thrive on it’s rich soil, it’s deep rich heritage.

I think it would be safe to say that anyone who arrives with an open heart and an open mind will be swept off their feet by the encounter with the nature here and these wonderful Mali people who so readily give of themselves, their time, their whole way of life, to let us enjoy the pleasures of this unique culture, this simple way of life. God forgive us if it should ever die out. What the Mali people lack in material things, they possess beyond belief in the richness of their existence, and although they would love to have “what we have” they make themselves content with what little “creature comforts” they have. How many times I tried while I was there to express my thanks to them for sharing this ability to live simply, their willingness to enfold us in their culture.

The longer you stay, the longer you want to stay; you get into the easy rhythm of the days and nights, you stop worrying or wondering about tomorrow; Fijians live very much in “today” – so much so that planning ahead can sometimes be problematic for we “Europeans” who mainly live in the future, worrying how tomorrow will be planned and how we will live it. In Mali, they know. If something is not perfectly planned it does not really matter, one way or another they will get by and rarely anything has dire consequences.

Read on

Ep 4, first showing on the island

From Giles on Vorovoro:

So after all the hype and furore from the site after episode 4, it finally arrived on the island and we sat down to watch it last night. After everything that was said we were excited to see how the events that had been edited together a year ago compared to life on the island now.

So after a fascinating hour we descended on the campfire, cracked open a bottle of bounty (just kidding) and got chatting.

The most telling reaction from the group was the sense of responsibility that exists in coming here. We are coming into a very delicately balanced environment and must take real care to bring the positive aspects of our culture, not the negative and destructive. One of the best threads of conversation that came up was the idea of balance here. Also the important question of do we give to the place as much as we take away. Are the locals benefitting as much from us being here as we are being welcomed and absorbed into their incredible culture. Does the ‘but we’re providing employment line for them’ line really wash when you think about the uglier aspects of how we live that we can expose the locals to? Do both sides benefit equally?

Read on further and add your thoughts!

Times Flies, but Carol Almost Doesn't

From Carol on Vorovoro:

I’m often giggling to myself here. Life can feel quite surreal and I find it pretty funny. The night of the last episode of Paradise or Bust was a prime example. It was Tuesday morning here in Fiji the night everyone was gathered at Sway Bar in London and I walked back from reading the forums in Tanoa Park– everyone’s excited “I’m in London!”, “I’m at Heathrow!!! See you tonight!” and Raina’s classic forum post of “Everyone but my mum, ignore this message…Mum, I’m safe in London, will be in touch when I can!” – had me all smiley because many of you were together there, and even though I was here, I felt this really nice connectedness and some of the tangy buzz of of London permeated my mood – I felt like I should have a beer in my hand instead of a coffee, only to be in keeping, of course.

I was chatting with Leavi at the tool shed – coffee in hand – when suddenly there was a happy laugh from PuPu Epeli – he had lowered the brilliant chicken catcher Lottie and James had built and trapped himself a prime rooster. He didn’t care much about the rooster, it was just fun that the giant net had worked.

Read on

Tribal Voice from the Island 13.03.08

From Giles on Vorovoro:

Just before we were about to start we had a classic vorovoro moment. Sitting on the table by the sea we saw some movement in the sand. On closer inspection it was a load of turtles having just hatched making their way back down to the sea. Good start to the meeting!

1. Big group today so maybe some a bit shy to speak. make 2 smaller groups next time for when numbers are high?

2. Blogged from the island today with gprs card on laptop, slow but got there in the end!

3. Maybe we should look to posting our blogs elsewhere as well as on the site. Facebook, myspace, other good travel sites etc. Would spread the word but difficult to manage, any good ideas how?

4. Project currently feels more cultural than sustainable (about 70;30) in it’s focus. Feel that we need to try and bring up the balance more.

5. Island will aim to produce a monthly wish list instead of always updating, maybe this could be a sticky blog?

6. People concerned that 30 on the island might be too many. Lots now and it feels slightly cramped. (Once new vale is built then that should help)

7. When organising arrival times to labasa for airport pickup you can’t allow for people arriving not on mon,wed and sat?

8. A girls section of kitlist to highlight clothing info, more tshirts for example. Dress here for women much harder than for guys. More awareness given is felt.

Add your thoughts to the discussion at Tribewanted.com!