Tribewanted: Vorovoro

WEDNESDAY

The Journey has ended. The work begins. After breakfast, which is served with a breathtaking view of the beach, we head into Labasa with our shopping list to survey the local hardware stores for the necessary building blocks of the boiler. We have been told that because we neither are nor look Fijian we may be overcharged. The plan is to first find our materials and then return with some of team Fiji to help with the haggling. Haggling is the West is a lost art; a dying sport. We look forward to the challenge.

We have a budget of $1000 FJD (appx. 400 GBP) for all our materials, including the cost of the boat trips and such. Will this be enough? It has to be. There is no choice. This is all we have. Besides, if it is to be replicable it must also be affordable.

……..

We spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the hardware stores and the shopping trip was a resounding success. We found everything that we wanted. Well, almost… we ideally wanted large flexible mirrors for the solar panels for the system, but were unable to locate them. We had anticipated this might be the case, and our alternative was to buy some flexible boards and aluminium foil to cover them. The principle is similar, though mirrors are vastly better. Will this matter? Only time will tell. At any rate, we were just pleased that we not only managed to get everything
(we were worried that we might not be able to, and thus would be another plan scuppered), but we also managed to get it all with under half our budget. We returned triumphantly to Vorovoro, materials in tow, knowing that soon enough these items which singly are of little consequence, when assembled have the potential to transform seawater into freshwater.

…………

By the time we return, the sun is beginning to set. The Fijians locate a spot for the machine, which they think is best, just looking to the ocean. With the help of a few friends we carry the base of the system which we constructed on the beach to its final resting place. There, Team Fiji help us with making holes in the ground where we will place the base of the system. It is now completely dark. There is no light at all. The bell rings. It is dinner. Suddenly we remember that we have not eaten since breakfast.

THURSDAY

Another hot sunny day. We are joined by Team Fiji in the construction of the boiler. They are extremely helpful and we progress fast in the assembling of it all together. They are interested to hear how it works, and what it does. During moments of doubt when we falter, they have faith in us. “It will work. It will,” they say. It is important to them. They had learnt 2 weeks before that we would be coming to build the solar-powered icemaker, and then when we arrived we told them this could no longer be the case. They didn’t dream that we would come up with something else, which to them not only seemed beneficial, but potentially more important than the initial idea. Before we know it, we have finished making it.

It isn’t working.

The sun, unknown for its bashfulness on this island, recedes in awe. It is as if she doesn’t want to let us down. But in keeping away she does. Without the sun, this system of course cannot work. We cannot test it out. We cannot see which adjustments need to be made. The assembly was the easy part. The modifications are the difficult part. And we can’t really see whether they work.

The pressure is on.

The Fijians have thanked us already, and now some people are making banners for the opening. The machine even has a name. Sali.

FRIDAY

The sun makes a brief appearance in the morning. But, like an extra on a film set, its moment on stage is fleeting, and its actions dwarfed into insignificance by the occurrences of the day. The clouds descend; the sky becomes grey; the winds blow. It’s raining. On Fridays there is a trip on the boat to visit the school in Mali. We had hoped to be able to go and talk to the kids about what were doing and teach them about the science behind the system. But. We. Can’t. Though it’s raining now, it might not be raining later. We need to wait for the sun. If she comes again. But no one here is renown for their punctuality. Everything operates on Fiji time. The sun, it seems, is no exception. The rest of the tribe departs to the school, where they read to the children, help them with painting, dance together, and then finally play football.

Instead, we decide that in the meantime we can find any other projects which we may be able to assist on. We have come here to apply and share our knowledge and skills of engineering and the physical sciences, and that is exactly what we are going to go. So we ask the Fijians what there is that we can do, and they tell us that one of the wind turbines has not been working for several weeks now. No one knows what to do or how to fix it. This seems to us a cautionary tale, and emphasises the importance in our project of its sustainability, and the transfer of knowledge to the locals, such they will be able to deal with any problems which arise long after we have gone. After closer inspection it becomes clear that it is the fuse that has blown. It can be replaced, and the generator
will work.

They also tell us that the pontoon has rusted and is no longer in use. If we can fix it will greatly help with the unloading of cargo from the boats, and their docking, both of which are currently a problem. We find its remains buried in the sand on the beach. We had seen part of it before. We walked by it daily, but did not realize what it was, what it had been. We dig it out, get a closer look, and come up with a plan of what to do. Its rusted metallic base must come off, and some plastic barrels instead attached to its underside.

Later on, Tui Mali arrives on Vorovoro. He has come specially to see our machine, to learn about it, to open it. But it isn’t yet finished. Nevertheless, he is keen to learn how it works, and tells he thinks it is very important for the island and thanks us.

The rains continue for the rest of the day and well into the night. This water is much needed. But we know that the sun too can give the island water. If only she would just come out.