Team Fiji UK itinerary and events
The pitch perfect sound of fiji from a caravan in south london
From Sophie in London
The boys have landed….. hooray! Yesterday afternoon Ben, Jane (representing Tourism Fiji) and I headed to Heathrow T3 to greet some very special, long awaited VIPs. A slightly jetlagged Tevita, Leavi, Marau and Api arrived after a couple of days sightseeing in Korea, along with our new adopted team members Charlie, Jim, Matthew and Jimmy – the band boys from Pacific Harbour. After some typically Fijian last-minute visa interview dramas it was a huge relief to see they guys on terra firma in London. The world continues to come to Vorovoro, and now Vorovoro has come to us. So, what do you do with 8 Fijian friends in the UK? After settling the boys in to their accommodation, we headed straight to a traditional English pub, of course!
Hidden on the banks of the Thames, down the river from Hampton Court Palace, everyone tucked in to bangers ‘n’ mash, pie and chips, and a refreshing pint. Given the location the guys were keen to hear learn about Henry VII and the local history along the river, check out the moored power boats, and completely bowled over by the sight of two enormous Afghan hounds on their evening stroll. “Is England full of big hairy dogs?” was Leavi’s response to the sight, though Api wants to know where all the other wild animals are. Monkeys, specifically. We spent a really fun evening sitting by the river (once the gang were fleeced up!) singing some songs, and having a good yarn. Tevita and Leavi also had a chat with Tui Mali who was delighted to hear that they had all landed safely. All the gang were up bright and early this morning. We were scheduled to leave for the site at 7am this morning, so up they got at 3am for morning baths and prayer. 3am!!! Hopefully once they are accustomed to the fact that it’s NOT too hot to work at 1pm they will be able to enjoy a bit more sleep. Though I think they might be internally hardwired to survive heavy grog sessions, a couple of hours sleep, and begin the work day at 6am!
We took a beautiful drive through the palace grounds, and everyone enjoyed the sight of deer, ducks and swans, and are already scoping out the best fishing spots along the Longwater, next to our spot in the grounds. After we blessed the building and ancestors in the traditional Fijian way (let’s face it, we don’t want any broken bones having angered Henry VII!) work began at an astonishing rate.
It’s wonderful to be witness the energy and teamwork these guys show, and my cheeks are hurting from all the laughter so far. The frames of the four bures that will be the centrepiece of our ‘village’ had already been erected by a local team, and the roofing reeds (flown in from Fiji) were ready and waiting to be laid. Whilst this is a laborious and lengthy process in Fiji, involving lashing the bundles of reeds to make the thatch, we’ve been provided with flattened dried palm panels – another traditional Fijian technique for roofing. Having had a good conflab over a cuppa and bacon sarnie, the boys set to it… but this is no Fijian construction site. Each man is kitted out with hard-hat, high-visibility jacket, gloves, and steel-toed boots and a metal scaffold tower takes the place of mangrove poles. Not a flip-flop or machete in sight! But thankfully the familiar whooping, laughter, and friendly teasing have been abundant. You can take the boy out of Vorovoro, but…..
No word of a lie, by morning tea the roof of the largest bure was nearly completed before anyone had the chance to even break a sweat, and we hope to have all the major work completed by Saturday, leaving plenty of time for sightseeing and socialising. Speaking of socialising, come along to the Dream Foundation Picnic on Sunday 28th June in Hyde Park, if you can.
Grub, grog, guitars! What more could you want? Marau, Leavi, Api, and Te will be there and are all looking forward to catching up with everyone. Tickets can be bought (until 6pm, Friday 26th) here http://www.eventbrite.com/search?loc=&q=tribewanted for £15 (£5 to cover your food and drink, with the remainder going to the Dream Foundation). What a week. Vorovoro’s Team Fiji arrive in the UK, as Tribewanted:Andina sets off on it’s first trek in Peru. Thank you for being part of Tribewanted…. this trip is a dream come true for our friends, and it’s down to each individual’s involvement that it’s been possible. Vinaka vaka levu!
Sota tale.
Whether its the recent launches of the iphone3.0 software , microsoft’s search engine ‘bing’ (nice travel pics), twitter on the cover of TIME magazine , or the giants of the digital world’s with the unveiling of googlewave ; there’s little doubt about the recession-defying buzz around the on-going revolution in the way we communicate, work and play via the web.
And I’d like to think we’ve all learnt a little bit about online communities and the evolution of the web over the last three years. So with plans and ideas developing for the next level of Tribewanted online (I’m calling it Tribewanted 2.0) I took myself along – in person – to a digital conference in London yesterday.
would the real API please stand up?
Here’s the top five things I took away from the experts:
1. “Use small feature set, and large API” Doug Richard
No this was not a reference to our boat captain! API stands for application programming interface, which basically means if Tribewanted had an API – other web developers could build off the back of our website and add new features etc…
What Doug the Dragon is advising here, is that when you start your digital venture, you should focus on not making what you offer complex in terms of features, but allow others to take your basic features and turn them into something much bigger. Twitter is a great example – its feature simply asks: ‘what are you doing?’ The API has turned it into a 1000 new desktop and mobile platforms.
2. “hashtag us to appear on the twitterfall”
hash (# like you find on your mobile) and tag (when you label something online like a picture of your mate on facebook) are used on twitter as a way of creating easy new searches for certain events.
Twitterfall is simply where the hashtag search your looking for will appear in a cascading waterfall effect.
So, at the ‘being digital event’ where I learnt this, the hashtag was #bde, which if you search for on twitter you will see all the comments that were made at yesterdays event by the participants.
Useful? Yes, if you want to track the buzz and feedback around events, no if you want to ignore your audience.
3. “The internet is geographic – its all about the data”
Mobile location technology fascinates me. Using your data connected to your location to discover a place, especially urban areas will continue to grow. Check Rumbble
4. “Twitter was the communication we didn’t realise we needed until it existed.”
Brilliant for networking and getting the news and content you’re interested in fed directly to you. Makes newspapers more and more (apart from looking at nice pictures) obsolete.
5. “Digital ideas: last seen, most loved”
There is a trend, especially in investment into online ventures that the last seen – ie the newest – tends to get the most love, attention, finance. This is fashion, but shows you that you continually need to be ready to keep your content and brand and community moving.
Now back to the real API – our boat captain. He should be here in ten days and I’m sure he won’t be the least bit concerned by any application programming interface. Thank god.
What does all this sexy tech mean for the tribe? Well if we were starting again now I don’t think we would have put as much time and money into building a bespoke community online, and would be focusing more on sharing the sites development (just as we do on Vorovoro) – maybe via an API. Open ID (logging into any social network with one ID) is going to make multiple community memberships a lot easier to manage and allow niche communities like us to hopefully thrive.
I’ve also just re-connected (via Twitter) with global gossip , a travellers internet provider, who are bringing faster services to Fiji. Let’s hope they can help us replace Vodafone’s sluggish service on Vorovoro, or at the very least in Labasa.
follow the fun and insight with me on twitter
…and finally, if you want to see what the minority report is like in real life then check this amazing film out.
Update: 12:28PM A LOCAL tourism worker who does not consider sharing the Fijian culture a chore has gained overseas recognition for his selfless approach to work.
Tevita Ratunigaloa, the community manager of Tibewanted at Vorovoro island, received rave reviews that led him to be selected as one of the top six tour guides in the world.
The international competition, organised by Leap Local _ a travel website that was ranked among the world’s best by the UK’s Guardian newspaper _ was judged by an international panel of responsible tourism experts that included journalists and authors.
The five judges each picked six winning tourist guides and services and then debated the results during a live online conference.
“Tevita didnt even know he was competing, but is pleased to be amongst the winners,” shared Leap Local.
“This is a big honor for me, and makes me feel very proud. To share the traditional culture ofFiji
with the world is a blessing from God, vinaka vaka levu,” he was quoted to have said.
The hospitality guides were judged on the quality of experience they provided to the traveler, their eco-impact and whether they give back to their communities.
Tevita was an obvious winner on all counts.The other five were fromIndia, thePhilippines, two fromPeru, andEaster Island.
“Sponsors of the competition, such as ‘Go Outdoors’ from theUK, have provided prizes of sporting gear, while other sponsors are awarding free promotion to the winners,” said Leap Local.
Ben Keene of Tribewanted told Leap Local that the tribe would celebrate with Tevita as the project had gone from a three-year social experiment to a longer-term community project.
The new edition of Lonely Planet Fiji features a small info-box on Tribewanted: Vorovoro
Good thing to finally be in the backpackers bible – as local travel will be important to the future of Vorovoro.
Of course we’re still way off the beaten track in Fiji backpacker terms, so I am not concerned that this will change things dramatically. You can’t drift by Vorovoro unless your an adventurous sailor or a Mali fisherman.
The write up is reasonably accurate, although it doesn’t say that the project is ongoing, only that Tui Mali will decide (he already has…)
We’re getting closer to our Fijian friends visiting the UK this summer. Passports have been issued, visa interviews and medical checks have been booked (the team have to visit Suva for this!) and flights are on hold. Of course as this is Fiji things can always change, but I know how many of you are planning time-off/travel to see the guys so here is a provisional itinerary for the teams visit and how you can spend time with them.
Team Fiji
Tribewanted: Vorovoro’s team will be representing Tourism Fiji and their role is to build the ‘Legends of Fiji’ village for the Hampton Court Show (see plans above). Despite Kaz and co’s great efforts we couldn’t quite get the team to go via LA as flights proved too expensive. Originally there was a plan for 8 to visit including the ladies but budgets have had to be cut.
There are five scheduled events where any tribe members, friends and family will be welcome to spend time with the boys. There may be some more events planned nearer to the time, we’ll keep you posted.
Outside these events the guys will either be working before/during the show or chilling out as it will be quite an intense experience for them
You will be able to follow Te and the teams UK adventure on Tribewanted, twitter, facebook and their blog
I’ve finally done it. I’ve nose-dived into social media mania and started to twitter. I’ve never seen a verb diversify so quickly – you tweet (micro-blog) for tweeple (you & me) from your tweetdeck (desktop twitter dashboard) and if you really like you can go to a twonference (real world gathering of twitterers) or even, and check this…join a twibe (a shared interest group minus desert island and fijian family).
I find the twitter language pretty annoying, but if you can get over that, show a little perseverance you may well start to discover, as I have, a remarkable form of communication. I’ve started to connect in a more meaningful way with a network of bloggers, social entrepreneurs, environmentalists and writers than I had online before. The content I’m interested in gets fed directy to me. I guess twitter, facebook connect , kiva micro-loaning (genius) mobile apps etc.. are the start of what the shift from web 2.0 (the conversation web) to 3.0 (the semantic web or as I understand the web where the world is the platform), and if you saw the launch of Wolfram Alpha – an intelligent computerised engine – then its easy to see the hype.
What I’m trying to do is use it for progress, work, development, marketing, education – and not as so much for social/chatter as I have so far with facebook. It requires some discipline, but like a game of black jack if you stick to your own rules you usually gain.
What does it mean for Tribewanted?
Well from my point of view lots of things. Marketing ideas, connecting actions, inspiring change at a faster and deeper rate. We could have built Tribewanted via Twitter – but it didn’t exist back then….
So if you fancy joining in and get what is important to you delivered to your digital doorstep then I can recommend this annoyingly brilliant blue birdie they call twitter.
twitter.com/benkeene
another kind of media: does the coconut wireless resemble twitter?
twitter.com/tribewanted
Good news tribe, island and Fiji lovers – thanks to all your hard work and support since 2006, Vorovoro is now formally open for another three years!
What have you achieved so far?
- Collectively invested approaching $2,000,000 into the local economy in Northern Fiji.
- Generated 20 full-time jobs and fundraising for four villages
- Supported the development of the local school and communities
- Built an island village!
- Raised awareness about and made changes towards more sustainable living
- Won posh digital media awards, recorded an album, been on the telly and in magazines
- Made friends, connections and memories for life
A report of the first three years of Tribewanted: Vorovoro will be available later in the year and there will be discussions between now and then as to future plans for the project.
You can now book your stay on Vorovoro any time between September 2009 and August 2012. Here’s what this means for your Tribewanted membership.
CURRENT MEMBERS
- Your current island time will expire on 31st August 2009 as set out at the start of the project. Unused island time cannot be transfered to other members or be refunded.
- So if you haven’t visited yet get to Vorovoro quick – flights are cheaper than ever and there is space between now and mid August.
- Your online membership to Tribewanted: Vorovoro will continue as long as the project exists.
- All tribe members who have paid to join the project between April 2006 and August 2009 will receive 2 free nights on Vorovoro between September 2009 and August 2012.
- This is to say thank-you for helping Tribewanted get going! We hope you come back…many of you have already.
- Your two free nights will become available on your Tribewanted profile on September 1st 2009. You will need to use these in conjunction with at least one week booked on the island.
- Island time from September 2009 can be purchased for £200/ $600fj per week. You will be able to stay for up to 12 weeks at any one time.
- You will be able to use your time at any point during the three years subject to availability on Vorovoro.
- All island time purchased for use from September 2009 will expire August 31st 2012.
- Vorovoro will close for one week (1st-8th September 2009) and re-opn September 9th. For tribe members departing Vorovoro September 1st 2009, a Vitika trip will begin on the 2nd and you can then choose to return to Vorovoro on the 9th.
Future Members
You can join the tribe and book to stay on Vorovoro either before or after September 2009.
Any questions on current and future memberships please say Bula Sia to Sarah in Suva sarahg@tribewanted.com
Here’s to another three years in paradise…. vina’a va’alevu to all of you for making the dream real. Long may it continue.
As tribe member Xena said this week. ..“If you haven’t been yet, please take the opportunity as soon as you can. You will dream of it forever, in technicolour.”
Talo na yaqona!
just the beginning: the Vorovoro story continues...
From Amy Briden on Vorovoro:
Recently on an overcast afternoon, some of the tribe gathered together in the Grand Bure to have a delicious ‘green’ discussion. There are four main principles to Sustainability and it is often broken up into Water, Food, Energy and Waste.
As it’s been a large tribe over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of focus in helping out in the kitchen, getting involved in the preparation of meals and learning about the food we buy as well as what we find and grow around the island. It’s also an exciting time of year where a lot of the plants have had plenty of water from the rainy season, have nestled their roots in firmly and are starting to shoot out of the soils. At the moment, the pawpaw trees are heavily laden with ripening fruit and the Chinese cabbages Leavi has nurtured and transplanted, are steadily sprouting. The gardens are a haven of growth…so it’s a great time to discuss FOOD.
So what are we doing on the island in regards to Sustainability and Food?
The tribe came up with the answers and we went through each one and discussed them.
COMPOST: Reusing our food waste to put on the land…this makes the trees happy and add important nutrients into the soil!
FOOD LOGGING: The tribe have been fantastic this week and have done a great job in going through all our bags (eco bags!) and rice sacks of shopping once they come off the boat. The idea is that we are monitoring what comes on to the island, what we buy locally and what type of products we have bought which have been imported. We weigh each individual product and write down exactly where it’s from.
Not only do we want to find out the percentages of all of these, the main aim is to reduce everything that we buy from overseas, support the local farmers and Labasa market as well as cut out or use alternatives that are from far away places.
USING THE LAND: Growing our own vegetables, planting fruit trees, picking fresh herbs, foraging…
USING THE SEA: Spear fishing. Bringing back adult fish and just enough to feed the tribe.
Currently our statistics show that we are using about 25% from the land and sea.
We discussed what else we can do on the island, how we can improve/alter as well as how we can increase the percentage of being sustainable here with the growing tribe numbers….
WORK FORCE: The gardens need continual loving and although Leavi is doing a great job and looking after his family, lots of hands are needed to weed, nurture, transplant and tend to all the plants. If you love gardening with guitars playing in the background, Fruitopia needs your help!
WATER: In the rainy season, the earth has too much and the ground is sodden washing away all the plants and encouraging weeds. In the past we haven’t had enough water for the gardens in the dry season…but now the Dam has been finished! Woop! This will provide much needed water in the gardens during the dry season so hopefully we will be producing a lot more fruit and veg for the tribe in the future!
The chat went on…
What do people do back home?
TRIBE: Jon grows his own veg on his roof in containers, Adam’s girlfriend’s family lives very organically and grows as much as they can on their land, Fiona has recently spent time on a dairy farm in New Zealand where the family were living a ‘green’ existence and living the good life. Mairead comes from Ireland and understands about farming and gardening, Aussie couple Katherine and James are into sustainable living and buy all their vegetables and fruit from the local market as well as buying only organic produce. I have been studying lots of green books from our library recently (love it!) and our Wavu is getting involved with the Green Club at Mali School and writing a fact a day up in the toilets.
So everyone is aware of being more ‘food’ sustainable, has thought about growing their own veg, questioned where food comes from, has ideas in which we can improve healthier, tastier living…
We then went onto what’s happening in the world today.
What are the global issues regarding food?
This is what we discussed…
SUPERMARKET CHAINS
Did you know that the average item of food you see in a supermarket has travelled more than 1,600 km?
The tribe all agreed that more and more supermarkets are taking over and pushing out smaller businesses and local farmers. Fiona mentioned that where she lives in England, there used to be farming all around Greater Manchester, but now this has all been taken over by building development and there are only pockets of fields left. Katherine also mentioned that the suicide rate of potato farmers have increased dramatically in Australia as they aren’t able to earn enough. Adam mentioned that in Kent there is a large area of land which has been purposely used for farming but they spray the crops and this area supplies a large supermarket near him.
Fiona brought up ‘Kill it, cook it, eat it.’
Being on the island, you really appreciate where food comes from. i.e. the fish are caught, de-scaled and gutted, cooked and prepared ready to eat all in the same day. Food this way is fresh and you can see the process from start to finish. We concluded that a lot of us are loosing our contact and connection with nature and people aren’t always aware of where food comes from/what it looks like to begin with.
We also chatted about the desire to have anything we want when going to supermarkets and everything is so readily available. People’s lifestyles and marketing campaigns have pushed society into living conveniently and ‘having everything on a plate’…it’s more an ‘I want’ view rather than ‘I need’.
FOOD MILES
Food miles means the journey in which food takes from the farmer to the processor, from the processor to the packager, from the packager to the shop and from the shop to the consumer. Food travels even further nowadays as people prefer to do all their shopping at a super market rather than at lots of different shops. The range of products in a supermarket is so great now due to public demand that you can buy anything from anywhere…
So why is it important to reduce the number of miles that food travels?
Preservatives are put into food which travels a long way and some produce is often stored in controlled refrigerators for days and even months at a time. Apparently, we learnt that Big Cruise ships can keep apples up to 3 months in a vat but as soon as they are taken out, they ripen up.
The further food travels, the less fresh it is and it looses vitamins and its nutritional value.
Food travelling around the world is also bad for the environment due to all the fossil fuels being used.
The well being of live animals that are being transported, sometimes for days from one country to another, also needs to be considered.
WE ARE WHAT WE EAT
We discussed about the welfare of animals and hormones which are given to animals to make them even bigger as there is now more demand. Apparently a lot of cows are given antibiotics as their udders become increasingly sore and scabby as they are forced to produce more milk. It really made us think and want to buy only organic milk.
The tribe also brought up Macdonalds and why it appeals to people, what is actually in the ingredients and who would eat a Big Mac? There was some very interesting burger chat! Interestingly, Jon told us that although certain fast food chains claim that there is 100% beef in every burger, this doesn’t mean that it is actually edible bits or meat just that 100% comes from a cow. Scary stuff!
So this led us onto discussing about…
What’s in our food?
We also discussed not only about a certain product coming from miles away but also products which include various ingredients…so although the milk in Cadbury’s chocolate comes from the UK, cocoa travels all the way from South America. Aussie James brought up an interesting point that he learnt from a documentary where they interviewed workers who farmed cocoa beans in Cote D’Ivoire but they hadn’t ever tasted chocolate or didn’t know what it was.
So what can we do once we are back home?
Here are a few suggestions that the tribe came up with…
Buy certified organic products…this is produce that is based on natural processes such as crop rotation and natural predators rather than using nasty chemicals, pesticides, animal drugs or food additives that are potentially harmful to us. Crops are grown to work sustainably with the environment.
Buy fairtrade: this ensures that people are paid for their produce fairly as well as considering the environment. Rainforest clearance is not practised and many pesticides are banned.
Buy seasonal goods from your own country and reduce how much you buy from other countries.
Did you know that 95% of fruit and 50% of vegetables eaten in the UK are imported? Crazy statistics!
Pick your own fruit and veg so you know that your food is fresh…
Support local farmers by buying produce from Farmers Markets.
…and even better, grow your own food in your back garden!
Make your own lunch…this can be a scrummy sandwich, a fresh salad or use the left overs in the fridge. At least you know what’s in it, saves on food miles as well as all the packaging that goes with it.
So most importantly, we learnt to really think about what we purchase and what we put in our mouths everyday…
A good start is to research into products so you know what’s in them, if they are good for you and if they support fairtrade and are organic. There are numerous websites, books and articles out there which will really help and there are some really informative ones below:
USEFUL WEBSITES:
aboutorganics.co.uk
whyorganic.org
Fairtrade.org.uk
Maketradefair.com
Farmersmarket.net
Soilassociation.org or
USEFUL BOOKS:
The Good Shopping Guide ‘Your Guide to a Clear Conscience’ Published by the Ethical Marketing Group
The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnaun (don’t be put off by the title, it’s a really inspiring read!)
And a great one for children…
You can save the planet: A day in the life of your carbon footprint by Rich Hough
So, everyone learnt a lot and the discussion could have gone on for a lot longer…but ironically we heard the food bell! It definitely makes you question where your food comes from, what we put inside our bodies and how we can do something to decrease food miles and be on the sustainable path to happy and healthy living!
Please share with the tribe your thoughts, ideas, any other useful websites etc.
From Giles….
So the dust has finally settled after a fantastic day in London. Myself and Bengazi took to the streets for Survival charity
Having worked across the world, most recently in Fiji, Survival (http://www.survival-international.org/) is a charity that particularly resonates with us as they help try and protect rights of indigenous tribes across the world. We have so much to learn from these traditional ways of life and so to be given the honor or representing Survival (who had only a few spots to give out) was massive.
Of course, when myself and Ben are involved, there will always be competition. Since regularly taking each other on at the 4 peaks on the island last year, it would be fair to say that ‘taking part’ becomes just a small part of it. The build up was good up until the last month when I almost twisted my knee off snowboarding and Ben’s schedule meant that finding time to train was tough.
However the day came and things seemed ok and we were prepped. After an all day eating frenzy on Saturday, we awoke early to join the masses descending on Greenwich for the big off. Its soon when you get close to these events when you start to realise that you are taking part in something special. Days like yesterday have this amazing ability to bring out the very best in people- all across the board. There is this incredible sense of unity, support and camaraderie amongst everyone involved. From the runners to the spectators, bands playing at regular intervals to people handing out sweets to strangers as they gag for sugar towards the end. Yes, you want to get a time that does yourself justice, but suddenly you feel as though you are part of something that is so much bigger.
The race started well and we hit our target times for the first 15 miles, however my other knee went soon after (excuses excuses………..) which meant i didn’t dare push myself any more than i had to. Once you get to this point in the race the challenge is really on. You know you just have to hang in there, ignore the demons in your head trying to persuade you that you don’t really need to carry on, draw inspiration from others suffering around you, and just dig deep.
The experience reminded me a lot of climbing. Very often when you are trying to summit anything it is just hard. When sitting in the pub with friends, it all feels doable, exciting and a very seductive idea. We all feel capable of anything before we’ve set out on it. However its when you’re right in the middle of it, and it hurts (mentally and physically) do you start to realise the enormity of the challenge you’ve set yourself and what you are attempting. That’s when it is always easier to stop or turn back…………
And so you dig deep, you refuse to give in to yourself and you make it happen. And that’s where the beauty of these types of events comes in. They are not easy. They force you to go within yourself and challenge you own boundaries. And then you do, and the sense of achievement is unbelievable. Combine that with a chance to raise money for a vital cause, and be part of what is quite simply an amazing event – it is very special. You definitely earn your finish in the marathon (or climbing), there is no short cut. And that is a very powerful feeling.
Myself and Ben came in at 3.25.43 which was great. Although the real achievement was raising awareness for Survival and (as i write) raising almost £3500 for them. We still have a justgiving page so if you are feeling generous then please click here
http://www.justgiving.com/benandgiles4survival
A massive thanks to all those who have generously sponsored so far. Your words and cash were extremely motivating!
If anyone is thinking about challenging themselves further then have a think about Andina this summer (www.tribewanted.com/blog/andina) as we take to the Peruvian Andes with our Q’echua guides to build up our strength and skills before taking on 2 summits of 5,500 meters!
Drop me a line giles@tribewanted.com for more details
