Tribewanted: Vorovoro

So with the clock winding down on what has been just an unbelievable experience of living on the island, one of the main things that have occupied my mind recently is what makes this place so special. I have met countless people over the last few months that, the majority pretty much, arrive confused, disorientated and baffled and leave to a crescendo of Isa Lei’s, hugs, tears and happiness.

Yet when you ask anyone to try and describe this place they stutter, muddle their words a bit. Start on one theme and go off on another tangent. I consistantly have found this place a nightmare to describe accurately as everything I say always ends up sounding cliched, playing on stereotypes and just a bit generic. I think a lot of that is due to fact that everyone takes away their own experience from this place, thus how could there ever be a sweeping term or statement for what goes on here? (This is as far as I’m aware not even a agreed upon genre that this type of experience fits into).

So then if Vorovoro and the ethos behind it can touch so many people in so many different ways, what could underpin this? To my mind I feel what links it all together is the simple idea of connection.
Everything we do in life involves a type of connection. However with all the noise and clutter of the modern industrial world it seems to me that these connections are being lost, confused, ignored or just plain misunderstood. Transport yourself to a desert island where the focus is upon making the best of what you have and being truly resourceful suddenly things become so much clearer.

Island life is very self-contained; there are only the people who are on the island here. Anyone else who arrives you will hear by the incongruous whirr of a ‘40’ engine coming round the headland thus giving yourself time to prepare. There are no shops that can be rushed at a moments notice to replace anything lost; as a result provisions have to be used well and carefully. There is no real phone or Internet meaning that people’s presence in the moment cannot be interrupted (one of the real ironies of the project is that while this was set up to be a totally connected island, one of the things most people love is the lack of phones of easy contact to the outside world). Thus people are forced to live very much in the moment; there is no immediate or easy access to the outside world. The knock on affect of this I believe cause people to then be able to really concentrate on what is actually around them and start identifying and connecting with it.

This is where the power of the experience then starts to manifest itself. By having nothing that can come in unexpectedly, the mind is free to enjoy the moment. You’re in a world of almost incomparable beauty, lively, fun and interesting people, great weather, a project that the ethos is about making the best of the situtaion and trying to maximise your surrounding environment to sustain yourself in as minimum impact way possible, and crucially a culture whos warmth and sense of unconditional acceptance to it’s guests I think must be almost unparalleled. The island gives a strong and uncomplicated platform to then go out and explore and connect with these different elements, its no wonder that no one can ever have the same experience. Those who come can follow their passions and still stay as part of the common goal.

The Fijians too play such an important role here; it’s been often said that they are the soul of the project. Their lives and way of thinking is all abut connecting to their environment and the people aroud them. One of the key teachings they give us is the importance of the people around us and not to get caught up in efficiency and single-minded progress. Their happiness in the way they connect to their world is so infectious and important; almost every tribe member says that is one of the things that strike them the most and what they want to take away with them.

When life is simple and the unnecessaries are stripped away then it seems the mind can start connecting in a positive and meaningful with what is really important; people and the environment that they live in. How they do that is up to them, and that is where I believe the true power of this island experience is really generated from.