Tribewanted: Vorovoro

It was as though this interview was destined to take place. As I returned from the kitchen with two mugs of water, silent in preparation for what was my first ever interview, the reflection of dusk in the sea caught me blinded for moments.

I didn’t need to be reminded that, with my bare feet rubbing against wet sand, that it had been raining throughout the weekend, even though it was dry season.

Ivan had set up the recording system and gave me the thumbs-up. Ben seemed unfazed by the presence of cameras and tape recorders – he is, after all, the veteran and I the novice.

The countdown began. Although I feel humbled – and indeed intimidated – by the things my interviewee has achieved, it was time to set aside my nerves, man-up and take charge. And so it was, the interview with my first extraordinaire.

Dylan Lowe Bula sia everyone, from Vorovoro, where I’m having my very final day on this beautiful island. I’m joined here by Mr Ben Keene – very nice to have you here.

Ben Keene Nice to have you here Dylan.

DL Thank you. So why Tribewanted in Fiji? It could’ve been in anywhere else in the world.

BK When we started Google-ing for islands to rent we came up with two places where we could actually get short-term leases for desert islands. One was in the Philippines, and one was here. So we booked two return tickets, one to Manila and one to Nadi and were going to decide at the last minute which one to go for.

DL And your decision?

BK We eventually went for Fiji because, firstly, it’s an English-speaking country; secondly, it’s on the travel route, the Philippines being harder to get to; finally, it’s more politically stable than the Philippines, which is slightly dubious in hindsight.

DL Must say, this was a big business gamble with a lot of risks involved.

BK Yes, but the big risk is to announce to the general public in the UK – and soon after the rest of the world – that we are attempting to bring together a bunch of people online, and then come to an island and build a community. Whichever way you look at it – brave or naïve – that was the risk of losing whatever reputation I had, or Mark had at the time. It was then for people to say, “we’ll watch these kids have a go and fail” – that was probably why we had such a big following from the start.

DL Before you started Tribewanted, what was your vision of it?

BK Initially, the idea was simply to say, there were all these different types of new tourism – community tourism, volunteer tourism, adventure tourism – that has sprung up in the last twenty years. And, there is this big new trend in how we communicate because of the internet. So the vision is basically to challenge ourselves to see if we could pull these two trends together and try to create something that would inspire, educate and provide an adventure for us all.

DL Any different to how it is today?

BK I think there is a big shift of emphasis, from people conversing about this project online to actually coming here, with more of the decision-making now in the hands of the Fijian people and the people who live here permanently. But I don’t think it’s an experiment any more – I think it’s a way of life here.

DL What would be your ambitious plan for the future?

BK What next.

DL For Tribewanted.

BK For me, it has always been the case since day one to have Vorovoro as our starting point. The interests the project has received for the last three years has suggested to me very strongly that we should try to take it to other places. However this is not a project that can simply be copied and pasted to somewhere else in the world. This project is unique to this island; it’s unique to the people who live here, and unique to the time that we’ve come to this place and the events that have shaped it. What you can copy is the values of what we have achieved here: a sense of community, and the idea that we can build these cross-cultural villages in different parts of the world.

What is so exciting about it is that we have so many people getting in touch with serious proposal from all over the world – from Borneo to Brazil, Wales to Costa Rica, to Indonesia – who are genuine in their desire to partner up and do similar projects. So I have been doing a lot of planning in the last year, finding partners, and finding models that are financially and environmentally sustainable. Hopefully, by early 2010, we’ll be ready for Tribewanted II.

DL I’m very excited about that.

BK I hope to see you there. [Laughs] You don’t even know where it is.

DL No.

BK Nor do I yet.

DL One of those things you’ve mentioned is that you are trying to promote tribal culture – Fijian tribal culture to be precise here. In your opinion, where should tribal culture stand in our increasingly technological world?

BK What we’re doing here is bringing together those two things. I love technology in the way it can change the way you communicate with people, making it easier in making connections that weren’t possible before. I also love the idea that we’ve been disconnect from each other because of this technology: because of certain technology we’ve been disconnect from this kind of lifestyle, which is how you live in balance with your local environment.
Rather than saying it’s about tribal ways of life, it’s more looking at indigenous people who’ve always lived off the land. We automatically say they have a lack of technology, and a lack of resources; the reality is that the local people have this amazing resource of knowledge that we lack. So here in this relaxed environment, we are fusing these new technologies for smarter living, with the local knowledge and older ways of living.

DL I certainly have learnt a lot about sustainability during my stay.

BK What have you learnt?

DL Nothing’s wasted. This should be the motto of Vorovoro. You were in London with team Fiji promoting Tribewanted – do tell more?

BK I have wondered in the back of mind as to how to repay some of the amazing hospitality we have received from the guys here, so when the opportunity came up to bring them over and be part of this big garden show, which would fund their trip, four of the boys came over. These guys had never left Fiji before – let alone travel to the other side of the world – so all sorts of interesting things happened.

DL What were the funniest moments?

BK There is this one incident that shows you their lack of experience travelling, and what is normal here that isn’t back in England. It was when Marau [village manager on Vorovoro], as we were leaving England, tried to take a handsaw onto the plane with him – you know, it was a souvenir he was bringing home to his family. In his mind it wasn’t a problem, so one of us mentioned at check-in in Heathrow that, actually, by carrying a handsaw onto the plane he would never get out of England.

DL [Bursts out laughing]

BK It was fantastic to have them in the UK – it made you look at your own country in a different point of view. They live for the moment, Fijians – they are great fun to travel with.

DL We do tend to take things for granted a little to often back home, don’t we?

BK Everyone takes thing for granted wherever they are from. The Fijian people take certain things for granted – they take for granted there will probably always going to be fish in the sea. So through little projects here we can share the knowledge that, actually, some fish are dying out; they can in turn tell us there are less of this fish and more of that.

DL Anyone in particular you would like to thank?

BK Yourself, Dylan. Because without this interview thing would have been tough. At least you’ve given us a chance to check if we’ve got the right stuff in the first aid kit.

DL Flattery aside, anyone?

BK [Chuckles] The boss man himself, Tui Mali. He was the one who remembered, when the Survivor sea plane landed on the beach two weeks after Mark and I had visited, our agreement and told them he had already shaken hands with these backpackers, and it was their lease. There was no contract, and no exchange of money by that stage.

And the other key people involved were the first members to sign up. If it wasn’t for their faith – or blind faith – this would never have started. So I am grateful to them. And I am also grateful to everyone who has been here. I can count with one hand the people who come here and actually not made an effort to fit in with the project – that’s a tiny percentage. Everyone who has come here is fantastic, especially in terms of engaging in and respecting the Fijian way of life.

DL What would you prefer, a British or Fijian wife?

BK Hmm, controversial. Fijian ladies are lovely, but you need to be a big strong man to manage them – this is probably my diplomatic answer.

DL Lamb chop [Fijian for drunk on kava] on the beach, or a good night-out in London?

BK My friend, there’s only one way to finish the night, and that’s weeing in the sea after you’ve had too much kava.

DL Absolutely, I should know better.

BK Cheaper as well.

DL One word to sum yourself up.

BK Expectant.

DL Were you the frog bomber?

BK No.