Newsletter, September 29, 2006
From Tribewanted
Contents |
Dear Tribe members
It's that time of the week again - your tribewanted update e-mail, we have LOADS to tell you so let's get on with it:
Kimbo for November Chief
The tribe has decided and Stuart Kimberely (Kimbo) has been voted in as November's Chief, here is what Kimbo had to say:
..and how do I feel about being voted in as Chief...
Firstly I must thank Ben, Mark, & Tui Mali for giving us this amazing chapter in our lives. I have read some amazing reports, and seen some beautiful pictures of Vorovoro. I cannot wait to step foot on the beach, and have my first sunset/sunrise on the island - which leads me on to thanking the tribe for voting for me, and giving me the opportunity to really get involved with this project. I hugely appreciate your support. Hopefully with all this passion, and excitement within me, I can use it make something tangible on the island! I think we are now beginning to see what aspects of island life need addressing first - so I will work hard towards this goal, and involve as much as the tribe as possible in the decision making process. I will always remember the reason of why we have all signed up to TW, and why I am on the island. It is just a shame we can't all be on the island together!!
I will take great pride in listening to the tribe and seeing what we can achieve during November. I promise I will do best, and look forward to continuing on with the hard work that Poques and the members that have visited Vorovoro so far have all put in. Thanks to them, and thanks to the tribe.
Regards, Kimbo
Vote: Jetty on Vorovoro
Option 1
Building a Jetty off the front beach.
Image of this location:
Placing a jetty off the beach will give the easiest point of landing closest to the camp for goods and people.
It would need to be approximately 50 metres long and 4 metres in height .
Some coral may be damaged in the process of constructing upstanding posts.
The natural beauty of the beach would be lost by a jetty being built on it.
Option 2
Building a Jetty on the other (South) side of the Island.
Image of this location:
Insert pic: 
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.
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.
Both options will take some time to construct and costs would be slightly less in option 2 , due to the overall length of the jetty.
Until a jetty is built we shall build a floating pontoon of the main beach , just past the reef line. It shall be attached to a mooring post which the large boat will be attach to. People can then use the pontoon to transfer to the small boat which will carry them to the beach. We have a natural passage out from the beach which can be used to walk onto land at very low tide. We will be seeking further marine expertise on this.
Tribewanted: What are you doing this Xmas?
Last Call for Hartington Hall!
Christmas Gathering at Hartington Hall Friday 1st and Sat 2nd December in the gorgeous countryside of the Peak District, staying at Hartington Hall, a posh YHA (Youth Hostel Association), more akin to a country house hotel. Imagine a long walk in the beautiful Dales, a drink in a pub on the way, and returning to Hartington Hall for dinner. Mulled wine by a roaring log fire, a 3 course meal, with wine, and afterwards retiring to the bar area, a tribe wanted quiz and some carol singing round the fire.....plus a treasure hunt and Gilligan's Secret Chinese Pollyanna Santa - guaranteed to be hilarious! £65 for 2 nights, including a 3 course meal on both Friday and Saturday night and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Have a look at Hartington Hall: http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hostelpages/53.html
There are only 7 beds left. So who's coming??
If you are interested call Lorren on 020 8292 0125.
If there is still a bed available she will tell you where to send the money. The remaining 7 beds have to be paid for by next Saturday 30 September.
Becky bids farewell
Bula s'ia tribe!
The last few months have gone so quickly and it is now time for me to leave Vorovoro. It has been amazing to have been part of this so far and I am excited to see what the next few months will bring for all involved. It's been a roller coaster ride and I am pleased to say that I have really enjoyed being part of it. Although I am now handing over the reigns of Tribal TV to you, the tribe, and I hope you continue to share your experience with the rest of the world. I am still a tribe member so will be involved in discussions on the forum and making sure I cast my votes. If anyone has any questions about my experinces then please feel free to contact me and I'll do my best to fill you in.
My top 5 Vorovoro treats:
1. Being welcomed into island life by Tui Mali's family - they are wonderfully colourful characters and I have learnt lots from them. I'll think of them always and look forward to visiting again.
2. Snorkelling the reef - It's is STUNNING!!! Make sure you bring a good snorkel and mask to fully appreciate it, it's right on your doorstep!
3. The food! My jeans may no longer fit but the food has been scrumptious. My advice is; be prepared to drop all your food hangups and get stuck in. Back home I would never eat fish with skin on but here I've tucked into a huge range of new foods and loved them.
4. Sunsets and campfires - As the sun goes down, sitting round the fire with a yummy Fiji Gold has been delightful.
5. Vorovoro itself - It's just so cool. Get there as soon as you can!
If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be just let yourself go and cherish the experiences that you have, good and bad. In the end, they will all form one amazing time for you, so enjoy it.
I have learnt a huge amount about the Fijian culture and I know that you will too when you visit the beautiful island and spend time time with the truly beautiful people that live there. There is so much to take in and I hope your Vorovoro time is as memorable as mine has been.
So, finally, thanks to all the team in Vorovoro, I wish you all the best of luck and will be keeping in touch with all my thoughts, especially those concerning composting toilets ;-)
Thanks to everyone that I've met so far at the gatherings and here on Vorovoro, I'm a dedicated TWOT and TWIT I look forward to hooking up with you all when I return to England. Actually, I'm coming home via NZ, Oz and LA so if you're around and fancy a drink, let me know!
Finally, a huge vinaka vaka levu to all the Mali people, you will be in my thoughts always and I hope to see you again. I'll miss you tonnes.
All the best, and more
Becky
Do you want a longer stay on the island?
One of the major pieces of feedback we have received from first footers and members online is that tribe members wish to spend more than 3 weeks over 3 years on Vorovoro. Several members have said that they would like to visit the island for more than 1 week each year whilst others would like to spend more than 3 weeks in one go on the island.
This is great news as it means that people are building strong relationships with the people of Mali and, of course, the island itself.
It is proposed for a discussion here that current tribe members should, if they wish to, be able to buy more than 3 weeks on Vorovoro.
- How would this work? (the numbers bit)*
Tribewanted: Vorovoro has a capacity both in terms of time (now less than 3 years) and numbers on the island (currently capped at 100 at any one time) – ie there are a certain number of weeks up for grabs. So…
• If a few tribe members purchase extra weeks then the model of 5000 remains the same. We would guesstimate that the number of extra weeks brought would be offset by those few members that may never actually visit Vorovoro.
- However, if a large number of tribe members purchase a lot of extra
weeks then we WOULD need to re-consider the target number of 5000. This could be re-adjusted at this point to fit in with the number of weeks available.
This is an opportunity to have a discussion amongst tribe members about spending more time on Vorovoro. The number of weeks a tribe member could buy could be either unlimited (does the tribe want tribe members on the island for long periods of time?), limited by number of continuous weeks on the island, or limited by number of weeks each year. Obviously every current member is guaranteed their stay of up to 3 weeks on Vorovoro regardless of the outcome of this discussion.
- Questions to consider*
- Should tribe members be able to extend and book their stay beyond 3
weeks before they come to Vorovoro?
- Should there be a limit to the number of weeks tribe members can buy –
altogether, per year, or in one stay on Vorovoro? One suggestion here has been that tribe members should not be allowed to stay for more than 4 weeks on the island in one go (ie the length of the stay of an elected Chief). If this is the case how long should they have to leave the island before coming back again?
- Would you, as a tribe member, be happy if a significant number of
tribe members decided to extend their stay that we would then have to shrink the capacity of the tribe from 5000 to a smaller number?
- Is it a good idea to have tribe members staying on the island for a
long period of time (ie more than 3 or 4 weeks a year)?
Head over to this tribal discussion taking place now: A longer stay? (link to: http://community.tribewanted.com/forumcomm/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=462)
Until next time, vinaka, Tribewanted HQ
