Newsletter, October 6, 2006
From Tribewanted
Contents |
Bula S'ia
We have got some great news, updates and information for all our tribbies this week:
6 months after launch and The Vorovoro Tribe reaches 1000!
April 5th 2006 - City commuters across the UK were seen smiling as they read on page 3 of The Metro, "Do you have what it takes to run an island paradise?" A search for an internet tribe that would create a sustainable community on a Fijian island had begun.
October 5th 2006 - 6 months on to the day, and just over a month into the launch of the island, and Danny Bamping, an entrepreneur from Plymouth, England becomes The Vorovoro Tribe's 1000th member.
"I'm delighted to have joined the Tribe and become its 1,000 th member.
I can't wait to get out to Vorovoro and spend some time with the other members"
"I think this is a great global project which has a huge future, specifically in re-educating ourselves how we can live content with the planet and other the people on it"
"The Tribe will help bring people from around the world to its own 'mini planet', its own eco-system, culture and climate all on Vorovoro, on this small world the tribe is the entire population...I suppose the questions are - will the 'planet' survive, will the 'tribe' survive and we will 'learn' from it!" Danny Bamping
Bengazi from Vorovoro
"The last 6 months have been the craziest of my life, and although we had an inkling that tribewanted might cause a bit of a buzz we had no idea what lay ahead. There are three things that I am very proud of:
1. That we decided to have a go at turning a mad idea into a reality“ and so far, thanks to the tribe, it's working. 2. That the reaction to those involved with the project online and in Fiji, especially the first footers, has been amazing. 3. That 1000 people are enjoying the adventure with us.
Tribewanted was a dream and now it exists. There is a lot of hard work and challenges to come but as Epeli, our Fijian master-craftsman says, 'nothing is hard in this world'. Let the adventure continue!"
Tui Mali
Tui Mali, the Island Chief, from Vorovoro "Normally there is a line in the sand. On the one side are tourists and on the other are Fijians. On Vorovoro there is no line. We are one community and we will live, work and play together. You are creating employment in our communities, education in our schools and happiness in our homes. Bula Vinaka Vorovoro! (you are very welcome to Vorovoro)"
Poques
Poques, the tribe's first elected Chief, from Vorovoro: So how would I sum up the first month on Vorovoro? Well to start with it has been totally amazing to see this project come to life. It has been a fantastic experience; the welcome from Tui Mali and his people was in a word 'AWESOME'. The basics are now in place for us all to build on. Food, water, sanitation and accommodation is all up and running. We shall not starve or die of thirst. We have a roof over our heads. Our home is coming together. The joining of our Tribe and the Mali people is so real and so alive. What Ben, Mark and their team have achieved so far, is just quite amazing. Just 6 months on, we've reached 1000. A real active community is alive and kicking both online and on Vorovoro. Members have had real life changing experiences coming here. Yes we have a very long way to go, with many hurdles to jump. But is that not one of the major attractions of this whole project? So I say to all who doubted Tribewanted and what we are doing ' EAT MY FLIP FLOPS'
Jo Tuomoto
Jo Tuomoto is the manager of the Fiji Visitors Bureau: "It is very exciting and it is fantastic to see a dream turning into a reality, we're extremely excited for the North of Fiji where tourism is sparse".
First Footers
Will Spaughton: "tribewanted is a real break from the norm. My week on Vorovoro has been stupidly good!"
Kim Lindsay-Black: "I'll never forget the sight of seeing the island for real and people emerging onto the beach through the trees."
Raina Jensen: "It is better than I could have possibly expected. This is a once in a lifetime experience."
Nick Cresner: "You see the pictures and read about it but nothing can prepare you for what is actually here. It still hasn't sunk in. I've been travelling for a year to Thailand, Australia etc.., just following the tourist trail. This is the first place that feels like I've found something unique, untouched and truly off the beaten track."
The tribe decides on South Side
The tribe have decided to build the jetty on the South Side of the island. Placing a jetty on the other side will be further away from the camp. A path would need to be cut through to the other side (50% done already). It would need to be approximately 30 Metres long and 2 metres in height.
The benefits of building on the South Side are that no coral would be damaged . 2/3rds of the course of the Jetty is over solid rock, which is out of the sea in Mid and low tides. This would aid construction greatly.
Good decision tribe! Discussion continues over extra time on the island. We really want as many tribe members to feed into this conversation as possible, please offer your thoughts:
http://community.tribewanted.com/forumcomm/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=462
That's all for now, let's take some time to celebrate out 1000th mark! Vinaka Tribewanted HQ
