Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Bula sia and welcome to the first instalment!

Time to get everyone up to speed on this week’s antics and tell you all about my first week as chief…

Phew, Sophie (November chief) mentioned things were going to be busy and she got that right – never a dull moment on Vorovoro!!

So, the story begins on Tuesday afternoon, with the official chief’s handover. In the Fijian culture, it is tradition to have a handover ceremony from the current to pending chief, and on Vorovoro we try to do this wherever possible (although travel plans do not always allow.) As the day was dawning (and a few nerves and excitement growing), I felt fortunate to have Sophie (November chief) onside, to have her support and ease the transition between chiefs.

Fast forward ... And with the sound of the Lali drum, I knew it was time … Tui Mali was on his way to the Grand Bure. I sat waiting with great anticipation, waiting for the signal to go forward to Tui Mali. It was a really special moment as I knelt over and felt Tui Mali place the ‘salu salu’ on my shoulders. He went on to explain what the ‘salu salu’ signifies and the role and responsibilities I was taking onboard by wearing the salu salu. A daunting but honourable prospect! See photo. It’s going to be a good month…

My first day as chief, began with ’Yadra Sia Chief!’ (Fijian – Good morning chief!) There was a really good vibe amongst both tribe members and team Fiji and spirits were high. As I told the tribe members about the week’s activities, I began to appreciate just how active Vorovoro is at the moment – it’s a busy wee place!

Firstly, the tribe were invited to attend and perform a Meke at Ligu Levu Day, which was a great event for my first week as chief. As result we had another week of meke madness, and memories of our Nadouri meke performance in November came flooding back. Kate Walker – the boys are still laughing about the Liverpuddlian pronunciation of ‘Lange’ (‘Sing!’) We had three days to get new tribe members up to scratch on the meke, just in time for Saturday’s performance. It was a fantastic day of fine food, meke performance and a great way to spend the weekend.

Project wise, I’ve got to talk about the big one…the dam/water storage solution. Myself and a few tribe members took our first trip up to the waterfall/damming site on Wednesday. Wow, this place has to be seen. Speaking with Jim, the scale of this project is BIG. Next to the Grand Bure, the waterfall is probably our most ambitious project yet – lead by Pupu the great. I had no idea the site would be so big, and we were all amazed to see what Pupu and the boys have achieved so far using bare hands, machetes and shovels. Pupu and his team really demonstrate the true meaning of manpower. Pat on the back to the boys!

Another exciting one has been the wind turbine. Yip, Alan is now on the island and going full steam ahead with his turbine plans. For our active blog readers, I’m sure you will be aware of Alan’s ambitious wind turbine project that began from his home office over a year ago. To find out more, check out Alan’s blogs. There’ve been a few Fiji style/time delays, but Alan is optimistic of getting the turbine up by the end of this week…which will provide a power source for the Fijian village. Amazing to see how much work has gone into the planning, construction and then the assembly.

Between meke, the dam and the wind turbine, all the tribe have been busy. And of course, I can’t forget to mention precious hammock time, sunsets and sunrises, star gazing and volleyball ‘Fiji rules’. Life can be tough!

I can’t believe how quickly Sunday has come around. It’s the end of my first week. And I’ve just heard there’s a tv film crew coming next week. To be continued…

Moce (‘Bye’)