Tribewanted: Vorovoro

In the spring of 2006 I was an idealistic Graphic Design student who stumbled upon the notion of Tribewanted, scraping together the last of my student funds I joined the tribe and promised myself I’d visit the island in the years to come.

As a keen member of the online community I got involved in various sustainability debates and watched as the tribe slowly made decisions to shape Vorovoro, this included designing tribal passports, voting on new chiefs and witnessing the development of many inspiring projects.

As time moved on I settled in the big smoke of London and knuckled down to the chores of the city. I’d swapped the beaches of Cornwall for concrete pavements and was now riding a different type of tube each day. My student dreams and wishfull notions were slowly being transformed by the need to earn a wage; I’d started to accept a false notion that there was no alternative to selling my soul and plodding along as best I could.

In January of this year I realised I needed a change and once again became enthrauled by the idea of visiting Vorovoro. The excitement and open-minded ideas of past years came flooding back and I eagerly booked my flights to Fiji. Jump to the present day and here I am on the Bounty Bar of the Tribewanted kitchen, enjoying the novelty of computers once again whilst I struggle to type my experience to date.

So far on the island I’ve woken myself up each day by swimming at dawn, which was abruptly ended by some over-eager climbing of the palm trees (leaving me with a graze shin that I can’t get wet). I’ve spent many reflective hours as a wannabe member of the hammock society, taking advantage of the ever-growing tribe library. I’ve experienced Meke classes, cultural tours of the island, fishing trips, sustainabilty debates, a trip to the local school, firewood collecting for the many camp fires, a treasure hunt, an awesome assortment of tennis/badminton tourneys, cooking for 23 tribe members, husking cocunuts, arts and crafts, Vindivindi games and of course the Sevusevus and more informal grog (Kava) drinking. But above all, I’ve shared my time with wonderful new friends from all over the globe.

Vorovoro is an amazing place and has opened my eyes to the potential for any idea to become a wonderful reality. I hope that as my time on Vorovoro comes to a close, I can take away with me some of the elements of island life: From the inclusive and positive attitude of the Fijians, the concept of “Fiji-time”, the ambition and commitment of everyone involved with Tribewanted, the commitment towards sustainability and a new found enthusiam for growing veggies!

Finally, I hope I store the optimistic viewpoint I’ve found, which was fading fast before starting this wonderful adventure. Au na lesu tale mai.

Jon/Jone/ J-Dawg/Ace
24th April 2009