Tribewanted: Vorovoro

This information was originally posted in a forum thread, but it made sense to post in an easier to access place, so here it is:

Bula all!

Re: Eco cleaning and personal products:

Back in July, when I was in Canada, I started talking with a someone there who makes all these things and is happy to use his luggage allowance to bring them down here as needed. I sent some of the products down with Chief Whatnot (September Chief, Chris Marino) and told the guy who makes them that it would be better for us to organize it once I was on-island and able to suss out what was in the works re: eco products and how it might best be stored/handled etc.

As it is now, those of us living here can’t buy eco products, so we can’t put a moratorium on others using non-eco products. Once this changes, once we have an alternative to offer, then we CAN stop use of non-eco personal products.

Should it all go through (and if it does, it’ll most likely be this summer or fall it arrives on Vorovoro),TW could buy kitchen/toilet cleaning (using commercial cleansers in our toilets interferes with composting – only a lttle, but still…if we can stop it, we might as well!) and have personal products available for sale to tribe and on-island team.

I’m sure people will be annoyed at being required to purchase products, will think it’s a cash grab or something, but it will not be for profit (other than environmental profit – ie less damage to it). Obviously, this will be up for discussion online when we get closer.

This is all in the works though, and not written in stone nor with a set date to have it happen!!! We’re dealing with “island time” back where they are coming from, and Fiji time here, so…

There are always longer range, bigger picture issues to bringing/storing anything in this climate. As well, setting up what is the eqivalent to a wee shop could be quite challenging time wise (operating the shop) for on-islandteam, so infrastructure for storage, cash handling, shopping hours etc etc needs to be in place before we just leap ahead.

Another idea I’ve been thinking of is to actually just put an eco kit together (Duncan’s idea originally, but this is a twist on that) that has soap, shampoo, conditioner, bug dope, a shaving bar, disposable wipes and all comes in a lovely TW eco bag.

These would not be free of charge, and I don’t know the cost of them yet, but would make it easier for people to just buy the little kit and be sorted for their stay on Voro. It would also take pressure off island team to manage a wee shop. We’d still have to manage stock and put the bags together, but way less hassle than a shop type thing.

They guy I’m talking with makes all these products at his home, to sell in his retail store, and getting smaller versions of everything made shouldn’t be an issue. Our own little mini soaps and shampoos! (His shampoo and conditioners come in bar form as well as liquid, so less plastic waste and packaging).

Anyway, all in the works and it will take time, but I see it as being entirely possible and very likely we’ll have this initiative in place by September/October!