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tripbods, awards and orangutans: my world travel market top ten

benkeene — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:28:33 +0000

See the world under one roof! The biggest global travel market gathered for its 30th – and hopefully – the end of one the toughest years for the industry.

I carefully handpicked the people I was keen to catch up with and talks I was going to attend. The scale of the event means you can’t really just turn up at the WTM in London and make connections (except at the Trinidad & Tobago rum shack perhaps…), so here’s my top ten:

1. Sally Broom and team from Tripbod who organised the excellent Fringe Responsible Travel Network event. Tripbod connects travellers to local experts who can organise bespoke itinereries for you.

2. Also at the fringe I met Thomas from West African Discovery who is doing well building a portal to promote responsible tourism for one of my favourite regions of the world

3. There I also caught up with Richard Hammond, who recently co-authored the excellent Rough Guides to ‘Clean Breaks’, and is now developing is successful blog Green Traveller into more of a business.

4. Nick Chaffe from Travelpledge has created a new model for giving back to local projects in the destinations you visit. This has great potential and could take a lot of the administration hassle away from tour operators and travel start ups who want to set up foundations but get distracted by running their business.

5. Amy Carter-James from Guludo for winning best poverty reduction project at the Virgin Responsible Travel Awards. Guludo Beach resort in Mozambique is proving to be one the most successful eco tourism projects in terms of its social impact. There’s definitely some things we can learn from Guludo and apply on Vorovoro. Tribewanted narrowly missed the highly recommended category for ‘Conservation of Cultural Heritage’… but with an average of 200 nominations for each category I think we can be proud of being just off the podium. I was pleased to see Rivers Fiji being recognised. Congratulations to them.

6. Daniel Raven-Ellison from The Geography Collective heads a talented group of people who are creatively encouraging young people to engage with the world. Their projects: the Journey Journal & Mission: Explore and simple concepts that hope to get more kids re-connected with the essence of geography, evne f that means climbing a tree int he back garden.

7. A stunning video by Prince’s Rainforest Project @ the launch of Responsible Travel Day was brilliant and great to see focus on rainforest conservation. This led to a good debate on climate change and the travel industry’s role. The crux of the debate understandably centered around aviation emissions and whether they will be capped, regulated or changed to biofuels. Head of environment at BA had a tough set of questions to answer but appeared very committed to changes in the near future.

8. Guilliame Feldman from Way Out Experiences in Malaysia is turning fantastic tourism experiences into conservation of one my favourite beasts; Orangutans

9. Tom Griffiths from gapyear.com did a brilliant talk on youth travel trends and social media with one message: engage online or fail.

10. Finally I bumped into Tim Smit from the Eden Project in Cornwall who was at the WTM to launch an intriguing partnership with the Maldives to put together a plan for cultural and phsyical resilience in the face of climate change.

Feels like this year – because of the duel economic and environmental pressures – may have been a turnig point for the mainstreaming of responsible and youth tourism. It’s certainly growing rapidly every year. Talo!

It's a Gland Problem...

stukimbo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:17:07 +0000

“you try?”
I looked up at Save standing over me. He went to hand me a freshly cooked piece of meat from the recently ‘opened’ lovo.
“What is it?”
“try” he replied, and went to offer me the meat again.

I have been in this situation before with Save. His ever present need and desire for me and other tribe members to share in Fijian Culture and traditions was here again.

Last time it was Fijian Mothers Day, and i spotted Save walking from Tui Mali’s village down the path to the tribe village. He had a ‘snack’ in his hand. We had the same conversation as above. Though this time it became clear it was the heart of the pig that i had killed earlier that morning. Save told me that as i was the one who killed the pig, then it is good for me to eat some of the heart. Fijian culture or Fijian prank against the white boy??? It didn’t matter. Vorovoro had given me a bundle load of new experiences and things that i would have never had the chance to do in England.

And tasting pig heart was the next experience to cross off the list. It tasted ok.

I walked back with Save, as he ate his snack as if it were an apple.

The Great Man himself - leading my Isa Lei as i depart Vorovoro

Then back to today. Tevita had invited me back to Vorovoro to perform in the Yaqona Ceremony for Tui Mali’s big guest – The Northern Commissioner. A man with a big wallet to spend in developing villages within the Macuata region. It was a big day for Tui Mali & Vorovoro.

Preparations had started early. The village had been spruced up and lunch had just finished cooking. I was sat round the edge of the lovo with the gang. Epelli (Master of Lovo and everything else), Sossi, Tale, Leavi, Tata Marau, Tevita, Jonny Robinson, and my good friend Api.

I think the rest of the tribe and team were in and around the bure waiting for the days events to commence.

They had just removed the cassava and dalo, and began to take the meat from the lovo. As they had prepared the lovo, im not sure if its tradition for them to take the first taste of the food, or maybe they just fancied a bite to eat, knowing it might be a while until lunch is presented.

We were in the clearing behind the kitchen, all crouched down, with my stupid ‘city softened’ feet feeling the heat from the soil of the lovo. I felt out of place and prayed that my ‘island feet’ would quickly return. I looked across at Epelli who was practically standing on the scorching hot rocks of the oven in the ground. The pig meat was still too hot to touch, but not if youre Epelli as he tucked into a pig leg. I chuckled to myself at the thought of Epelli who just deserves to have his own tv show in England.

The rest of the boys laid some meat and cassava out on the ground on some coconut frond, doused it in salt and lime and picked at it from there. Its the first time id done this.

“Dig in Kimbo…this is your lunch..” said Marau.
“You first” being ever so polite and awfully English! Afterall, they did all the hardwork, i had just rocked up about half an hour previous…..and i was buying more time, just waiting for the meat to ‘cool’ for my measily white hands.
Epelli gave me the rest of his pig leg, and some big slabs of pork. Fingers were the only cutlery we needed, and we all tucked in together.

Marau piped up again. “Eat it all. Eat well. This is all you are getting today. No lunch. Just grog next. You punish..” and he gave the Internationally recognised (!) hand signal for ‘high tide’. “yeeeeehooooooo” he bellowed, and laughed has he said “you. Malau bus. All day”

I was back amongst friends, but knew i was in trouble. After my 10 week abscence i knew the boys would attempt to get me with as many high tide bowls of grog as possible. A kind of ‘welcome home’ gift perhaps, that then takes on the same sort of course that you do in the UK when its your birthday, when for one day a year you feel the need to get as wrecked as possible, as soon as possible, with whatever alcohol you can find.

Though here on Vorovoro, the only drink you need is grog. And though we get ‘drunk’ together, its a lot more civilised than walking the streets at 4am with Kebab meat hanging down your shirt. ‘Vorovoro drunk’ is the kind of ‘drunk’ i like, or as they say on the island ‘lamp chopped’.

I accepted what was coming, and prepared myself for the grog onslaught.

I looked up at Save. “Try” he repeated and gave me the Fijian head nod and eyebrow raise to imply that i should take the meat from him.

“what is it? Heart?” perhaps dazzling Save with my knowledge of pig anatomy and its internal organs.

he remained expressionless, though i know deeper he was thinking something different. I ‘inspected’ the meat. It looked different to the last heart i tried. I sniffed at it, turning it in my hand as if looking for the label, to find out what it was that i was or wasn’t about to eat. I looked up at him again. “Balls ?” i asked.

He smiled.

Ant and Dec weren’t hiding behind the trees, so for now this was the closest i was going to get to ‘Im A Celebrity….’. The imaginary list of ‘things to do before youre 30’ ran through my mind again, and i hadn’t crossed anything out for a while, so i took an apprehensive bite of Save’s offering.

“good?” he asked.
But id barely eaten enough to clarify if i was to enjoy pig gland or not. So i took another larger bite. Too much. Not sure if it was the texture, the taste, or just knowing what i was chewing, but thats as much as i ate, and handed it back to Save, hoping id passed his test on being a ‘Kaiviti’ or not.

I think i did. Save was still smiling.

Next Epelli gave me the largest portion of pig liver id even seen, and i used that to try and forget about what id just eaten. Then Leavi throwed me a piece of the tongue. Well if id just eaten ‘ball’ then im sure if could handle tongue. After all, ive seen them do it on Shipwrecked!

The fact it was the tip slightly put me off. “C’mon. EAT EAT EAT EAT” Leavi called. Maybe Marau wasn’t joking and perhaps this was ‘my lunch’. So i tucked in and crossed something else off the list. Leavi joked that if i ate the pig tongue, then my tongue would grow very long. I joked back saying that perhaps Marau should eat more 2 or 3 more pieces of the ‘meat’ he was currently chewing on. It was the organ very ‘exlcusive’ to male pigs…..

Ive picked up enough Fijian to understand Maraus ‘colourful’ reply, and now realise that he wouldn’t be out of place on the set of ‘The Royle Family’, filling in for Ricky Tomlinson.

We continued to eat, and laugh, eat and laugh. I wondered why in 15 months id never sat and had this fresh ‘lovo buffet’ before. I looked around and had a wall of smiley friendly faces. My mind glanced back to what i could be doing in England. I knew were i was happier. You just don’t get these sort of experiences with layers and layers of cardboard and cling film wrapping….

I checked around to make sure i was the only kaivalagi sharing in this great moment of Fijian lifestyle. I smiled back. Gave a ‘thumbs up’ and “set!” acknowledgemnt to my friends. I was glad to be back, and they were happy to have me back, even if it was for less than 24 hours.

You don’t always have to understand the language, but its more the fact of being with people, and sharing in each others company that builds the friendships on Vorovoro.

The grog onslaught arrived, and i ‘staggered’ off to bed at midnight, happy with the days events.

Tribewanted celebrates its three year island anniversary as the project is extended

benkeene — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:38:56 +0000

1000 ‘tribe members’ have spent an average of two weeks on Vorovoro Island

$2,000,000fj (£630,000) has been injected into the local economy through the project as agreement with landowners extended for further five years

The celebration included traditional Fijian meke (dances) performed by the tribe members, lovo (earth oven) feast and kava (Fijian Islands drink)

Tribewanted founder, Ben Keene, plans to begin new tribes in 2010

In April 2006 an online community was launched with the mission to recruit a ‘tribe’ of adventure travellers to help develop a sustainable community tourism project on the Fijian island of Vorovoro. A partnership had been formed between Vorovoro island owners who were advertising for a tourism development and two young British social entrepreneurs.

The project opened on 1st September 2006 with 13 of the online tribe members arriving on the beach to be welcomed by the island’s chief landowner, Tui Mali and his yavusa (tribe).

Over the next three years a village has been built using traditional craftsmanship and materials. Several ‘bures’ – thatched Fijian houses – now nestle between the palms where visiting ‘tribe members’ sleep on drift-wood beds. All water is rain-harvested from a tribe-made dam on the hill and other roof-tops. The average tribe member consumes just 6.2 litres of water a day compared to 200 litres per person per day in the United States. Compost toilets and bathing in the sea have been the main reasons for this conservation. A small amount of energy is generated by wind and solar power sponsored by UK green energy company, Ecotricity. Area for biggest improvement is needed in the kitchen where 12.5% of the food comes from the island, but the project has almost eliminated using any imported food. Similarly waste is minimised on Vorovoro with 40% of the 13kg produced per person each month being recycled. The project currently houses several chickens and ten pigs and plans to add bee hives shortly as well as a community diving project and fair trade coconut workshop.

On the neighbouring island of Mali, tribe members have taught in the local primary school a day a week for the last three years as well as raising funds through the tribe’s own foundation and art projects for wiring and sanitation projects. The school also visits for Vorovoro for project away days .

Visiting tribe members stay for a minimum of one week at a cost of £200 which includes being met from the local airport and transfered to the island, all meals and stay. The tribe can be involved with the daily projects and jobs as much as they like alongside the permanent on-island Fijian team. The only expectation of the visitor is that they wash up their plate and respect the local cultural etiquette in terms of dress and greetings. Most members spend very little time sun-bathing compared to participating in island life: cooking, weaving, firewood-collecting, gardening, feeding the animals, carving coconut jewelry, sustainability forums, learning Fijian meke’s (dances), presenting sevusevu (ceremonies), learning songs, spear fishing and snorkeling on the great barrier reef of Cakau Levu – the third largest in the world – or creating their own art, education or eco project.

The average age of a visiting tribe member is 28. Although the project is also seeing an increasing number of families visiting. Jimmy and Jenny Cahill from Indiana in the US, spent ten weeks on the island with their three children Lucas, Bethany and five year old Oliver who has his own video guide to island life. The Cahill’s will return to Vorovoro in October to lead the project for one year.

Jenny Cahill says: “Our time on Vorovoro has given us gifts that will be a part of us forever – we have experienced enduring and strong connections to ourselves, to each other, and to our goals and intentions for our family. We have formed relationships that will last the rest of our lives. The important lessons of slowing down, laughing much, and enjoying the moment we are in have become a part of us.”

Online Tribewanted has won several awards including Broadcast’s ‘best social network’ in 2008. Out of the 1000’s of blogs, regulars include: The Hammock Society Interviews and Recipes from Vorovoro’s Vali ni Koro . 34 tribe members have been elected ‘chief ’ so far online, giving them the chance to help lead the project for one month on the island.

The three year anniversary began at sunrise with members and locals preparing the lovo, an earth oven that cooked pig, chicken, fish and root vegetables. Guests from neighbouring islands and the mainland arrived by boat and at midday Adam Carter, a 24 year old Australian accountant on his sixth visit to Vorovoro, blew the conch from a bilibili (bamboo raft) to announce the arrival of the islands chief – Tui Mali.

A ceremony consisting of sevusevu (kava drink), tabua (whale’s tooth presentation – the contract) and meke (dances) followed. The rest of the day and all through the night the 35 visiting tribe members and 100+ locals sat under the stars singing Fijian songs and drinking kava.

Ben Keene, founder of Tribewanted, says:

“It’s been an unbelievable three years. The first few months were the hardest – with the fire, the military coup and a cyclone all threatening the projects survival, and its always been tight financially. But we got through it and the tribe have flourished. I’m very proud and grateful for the way the two cultures have integrated on Vorovoro to form one community. When I return now I can sit back and enjoy being part of one of the happiest little villages in the world. There is nowhere I’d rather be.”

“There’s no reason why the best and most inspiring vacations should finish the day you go home. Tribes – people connected to one another, a leader, and an idea – can change the way we all live, for the better.”

“I don’t particularly see Tribewanted as voluntourism – its more adventure meets education meets community – it’s tribal tourism. On Vorovoro you belong to something and you play your part.”

“The downside of island life is leaving. The emotional attachment to the people and the island is strong and we’ve had a lot of members find it difficult to get back to life off the island. The good news for Vorovoro is that this means they often come back.”

“I always hoped the idea of Tribewanted could go beyond Vorovoro. Now is the time to do this as we have proved that it can work. Next year we will be launching a worldwide search for new tribes in new locations. The values of the projects will be the same – to empower both locals and visitors to live more sustainably whilst celebrating the local culture. The goal is to build a collection of the best community tourism projects anywhere and use social networking to fund, connect and scale them. It’s ambitious, but then again a lot of people thought what we’ve just done on Vorovoro as just a dream.”

Tui Mali, chief and landowner says:

“In most of Fiji there is a line in the sand between the locals and tourists. On Vorovoro there is no such line. That is why I’ve invited the tribe to stay. They are part of our community here on Vorovoro now, we feel sad when they leave.”

The project re-opens on 9th September 2009 and the lease agreement between Tribewanted and the landowners of Vorovoro has been extended for a further five years.

A two hour documentary about the project will be shown on National Geographic in Spring 2010. Ben Keene has also written a book published by Ebury. ‘Vorovoro Sessions’ is available for download from itunes.

Tribewanted’s partners include: Ecotricity , Survival International & World Nomads

Images available on request

Outside Fiji contact Andy Barr on +44 (0) 1452 300683 or +44 (0)7743057458 / press@tribewanted.com

or in Fiji contact Tribewanted on 992 0428 / island@tribewanted.com

Top 10 Team Fiji tour moments to remember...

benkeene — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:23:59 +0000

1. Walking into the Weir pub an hour after their arrival and Leavi greeting those having a quiet evening meal by the canal with a: ‘Bula, we are here!’ Indeed they were.

2. The team arriving day one of build at Hampton Court in hard hats, yellow reflector jackets and steel toe cap boots; it was like a Fijian version of Resevoir Dogs with ‘father’ Marau leading the way. (The boots were soon removed as normal service resumed whilst doing the bure-top thatching).

3. Walking through London with Leavi as tour guide: ‘You build this (pointing at Westminster Abbey), we build the compost toilet.’ Seeing the re-unions with tribe members in the park that day was brilliant.

4. Strolling into the tropical biome at the Eden Project and Te pointing at the first flower and saying, ‘eh, we’ve got a song about this one,’ and proceeded to pull out the guitars and sing it. Those that had worked in the biome for the last 8 years were excited to hear their plants had songs and new medicinal values as well as Latin names. The boys were such a hit at Eden that day that they were offered jobs for the rest of the summer. Next time…

5. Taking the boys with the family across Devon at sunset in a hot air balloon. Oh. My. God. We landed in a field where there was a young farmers tug of war contest taking place. And although we missed the chance to enter the men from the sky in skirts as a team, we were soon invited for cider at the barn dance. Welcome to rural England!

6. Marau and Leavi’s random dancing on the bili bili rafts and around the village on the opening night of the show. No fear and absolute classic entertainment.

7. Api explaining on the BBC why, when he tried to say Bula to a swan it bit his finger.

8. Te lowering the Fijian flag as we all sang isa lei on our own little beach at Hampton Court to a slightly bemused, smiling and in some cases teary British public at the end of the show.

9. Api and Tale busking for their cocktails on Hampton Court bridge on their last night. Tale: ‘It’s easy to make money all you have to do is sing.’ Api, pointing at the guitar case: ‘heh, who put the pinapple in there?’

10. Marau two minutes away from attempting to take a bin-bag wrapped handsaw on the flight as carry on luggage at Heathrow. It was quickly shoved down the back of Tale’s rucksack. Laughter ensued before more tears as these big sensitive men said their final goodbyes. The laughter had gone back to Fiji.

Those were the moments I will remember. What were yours?

Lots of pictures from members on facebook and Nienke’s brilliant videos at tribewanted.tv

Almost time for me to return to Fiji, see through the three years and get ready for Vorovoro part two…

Vina’a va’alevu’s to Jane, Andrea, Ulai, Kelly, Keti, Sophie, Jim, Amy, Craig, James, Helen and all those who made this dream come true for the boys and help bring a little bit of the best of Fiji to the English summer.

Team Fiji in London - the movie

benkeene — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:15:17 +0000

Ni sa bula, Londoni!

benkeene — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:29:15 +0000

Team Fiji UK itinerary and events

The pitch perfect sound of fiji from a caravan in south london

more pictures on facebook

From Sophie in London

The boys have landed….. hooray! Yesterday afternoon Ben, Jane (representing Tourism Fiji) and I headed to Heathrow T3 to greet some very special, long awaited VIPs. A slightly jetlagged Tevita, Leavi, Marau and Api arrived after a couple of days sightseeing in Korea, along with our new adopted team members Charlie, Jim, Matthew and Jimmy – the band boys from Pacific Harbour. After some typically Fijian last-minute visa interview dramas it was a huge relief to see they guys on terra firma in London. The world continues to come to Vorovoro, and now Vorovoro has come to us. So, what do you do with 8 Fijian friends in the UK? After settling the boys in to their accommodation, we headed straight to a traditional English pub, of course!

Hidden on the banks of the Thames, down the river from Hampton Court Palace, everyone tucked in to bangers ‘n’ mash, pie and chips, and a refreshing pint. Given the location the guys were keen to hear learn about Henry VII and the local history along the river, check out the moored power boats, and completely bowled over by the sight of two enormous Afghan hounds on their evening stroll. “Is England full of big hairy dogs?” was Leavi’s response to the sight, though Api wants to know where all the other wild animals are. Monkeys, specifically. We spent a really fun evening sitting by the river (once the gang were fleeced up!) singing some songs, and having a good yarn. Tevita and Leavi also had a chat with Tui Mali who was delighted to hear that they had all landed safely. All the gang were up bright and early this morning. We were scheduled to leave for the site at 7am this morning, so up they got at 3am for morning baths and prayer. 3am!!! Hopefully once they are accustomed to the fact that it’s NOT too hot to work at 1pm they will be able to enjoy a bit more sleep. Though I think they might be internally hardwired to survive heavy grog sessions, a couple of hours sleep, and begin the work day at 6am!

We took a beautiful drive through the palace grounds, and everyone enjoyed the sight of deer, ducks and swans, and are already scoping out the best fishing spots along the Longwater, next to our spot in the grounds. After we blessed the building and ancestors in the traditional Fijian way (let’s face it, we don’t want any broken bones having angered Henry VII!) work began at an astonishing rate.

It’s wonderful to be witness the energy and teamwork these guys show, and my cheeks are hurting from all the laughter so far. The frames of the four bures that will be the centrepiece of our ‘village’ had already been erected by a local team, and the roofing reeds (flown in from Fiji) were ready and waiting to be laid. Whilst this is a laborious and lengthy process in Fiji, involving lashing the bundles of reeds to make the thatch, we’ve been provided with flattened dried palm panels – another traditional Fijian technique for roofing. Having had a good conflab over a cuppa and bacon sarnie, the boys set to it… but this is no Fijian construction site. Each man is kitted out with hard-hat, high-visibility jacket, gloves, and steel-toed boots and a metal scaffold tower takes the place of mangrove poles. Not a flip-flop or machete in sight! But thankfully the familiar whooping, laughter, and friendly teasing have been abundant. You can take the boy out of Vorovoro, but…..

No word of a lie, by morning tea the roof of the largest bure was nearly completed before anyone had the chance to even break a sweat, and we hope to have all the major work completed by Saturday, leaving plenty of time for sightseeing and socialising. Speaking of socialising, come along to the Dream Foundation Picnic on Sunday 28th June in Hyde Park, if you can.

Grub, grog, guitars! What more could you want? Marau, Leavi, Api, and Te will be there and are all looking forward to catching up with everyone. Tickets can be bought (until 6pm, Friday 26th) here http://www.eventbrite.com/search?loc=&q=tribewanted for £15 (£5 to cover your food and drink, with the remainder going to the Dream Foundation). What a week. Vorovoro’s Team Fiji arrive in the UK, as Tribewanted:Andina sets off on it’s first trek in Peru. Thank you for being part of Tribewanted…. this trip is a dream come true for our friends, and it’s down to each individual’s involvement that it’s been possible. Vinaka vaka levu!

Sota tale.

sexy tech vs the real API

benkeene — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:20:45 +0000

Whether its the recent launches of the iphone3.0 software , microsoft’s search engine ‘bing’ (nice travel pics), twitter on the cover of TIME magazine , or the giants of the digital world’s with the unveiling of googlewave ; there’s little doubt about the recession-defying buzz around the on-going revolution in the way we communicate, work and play via the web.

And I’d like to think we’ve all learnt a little bit about online communities and the evolution of the web over the last three years. So with plans and ideas developing for the next level of Tribewanted online (I’m calling it Tribewanted 2.0) I took myself along – in person – to a digital conference in London yesterday.

would the real API please stand up?

Here’s the top five things I took away from the experts:

1. “Use small feature set, and large API” Doug Richard

No this was not a reference to our boat captain! API stands for application programming interface, which basically means if Tribewanted had an API – other web developers could build off the back of our website and add new features etc…

What Doug the Dragon is advising here, is that when you start your digital venture, you should focus on not making what you offer complex in terms of features, but allow others to take your basic features and turn them into something much bigger. Twitter is a great example – its feature simply asks: ‘what are you doing?’ The API has turned it into a 1000 new desktop and mobile platforms.

2. “hashtag us to appear on the twitterfall”

hash (# like you find on your mobile) and tag (when you label something online like a picture of your mate on facebook) are used on twitter as a way of creating easy new searches for certain events.

Twitterfall is simply where the hashtag search your looking for will appear in a cascading waterfall effect.

So, at the ‘being digital event’ where I learnt this, the hashtag was #bde, which if you search for on twitter you will see all the comments that were made at yesterdays event by the participants.

Useful? Yes, if you want to track the buzz and feedback around events, no if you want to ignore your audience.

3. “The internet is geographic – its all about the data”

Mobile location technology fascinates me. Using your data connected to your location to discover a place, especially urban areas will continue to grow. Check Rumbble

4. “Twitter was the communication we didn’t realise we needed until it existed.”

Brilliant for networking and getting the news and content you’re interested in fed directly to you. Makes newspapers more and more (apart from looking at nice pictures) obsolete.

5. “Digital ideas: last seen, most loved”

There is a trend, especially in investment into online ventures that the last seen – ie the newest – tends to get the most love, attention, finance. This is fashion, but shows you that you continually need to be ready to keep your content and brand and community moving.

Now back to the real API – our boat captain. He should be here in ten days and I’m sure he won’t be the least bit concerned by any application programming interface. Thank god.

What does all this sexy tech mean for the tribe? Well if we were starting again now I don’t think we would have put as much time and money into building a bespoke community online, and would be focusing more on sharing the sites development (just as we do on Vorovoro) – maybe via an API. Open ID (logging into any social network with one ID) is going to make multiple community memberships a lot easier to manage and allow niche communities like us to hopefully thrive.

I’ve also just re-connected (via Twitter) with global gossip , a travellers internet provider, who are bringing faster services to Fiji. Let’s hope they can help us replace Vodafone’s sluggish service on Vorovoro, or at the very least in Labasa.

follow the fun and insight with me on twitter

…and finally, if you want to see what the minority report is like in real life then check this amazing film out.

Tribewanted's Tevita front page news in Fiji

benkeene — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:24:58 +0000

Update: 12:28PM A LOCAL tourism worker who does not consider sharing the Fijian culture a chore has gained overseas recognition for his selfless approach to work.

Tevita Ratunigaloa, the community manager of Tibewanted at Vorovoro island, received rave reviews that led him to be selected as one of the top six tour guides in the world.

The international competition, organised by Leap Local _ a travel website that was ranked among the world’s best by the UK’s Guardian newspaper _ was judged by an international panel of responsible tourism experts that included journalists and authors.

The five judges each picked six winning tourist guides and services and then debated the results during a live online conference.

“Tevita didnt even know he was competing, but is pleased to be amongst the winners,” shared Leap Local.

“This is a big honor for me, and makes me feel very proud. To share the traditional culture ofFiji
with the world is a blessing from God, vinaka vaka levu,” he was quoted to have said.

The hospitality guides were judged on the quality of experience they provided to the traveler, their eco-impact and whether they give back to their communities.

Tevita was an obvious winner on all counts.The other five were fromIndia, thePhilippines, two fromPeru, andEaster Island.

“Sponsors of the competition, such as ‘Go Outdoors’ from theUK, have provided prizes of sporting gear, while other sponsors are awarding free promotion to the winners,” said Leap Local.

Ben Keene of Tribewanted told Leap Local that the tribe would celebrate with Tevita as the project had gone from a three-year social experiment to a longer-term community project.

Tribewanted makes it into new Fiji Lonely Planet

benkeene — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:24:34 +0000

The new edition of Lonely Planet Fiji features a small info-box on Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Good thing to finally be in the backpackers bible – as local travel will be important to the future of Vorovoro.

Of course we’re still way off the beaten track in Fiji backpacker terms, so I am not concerned that this will change things dramatically. You can’t drift by Vorovoro unless your an adventurous sailor or a Mali fisherman.

The write up is reasonably accurate, although it doesn’t say that the project is ongoing, only that Tui Mali will decide (he already has…)

Tribewanted: LIVE in the UK with TEAM FIJI 19 June -13 July 2009

benkeene — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:53:39 +0000

We’re getting closer to our Fijian friends visiting the UK this summer. Passports have been issued, visa interviews and medical checks have been booked (the team have to visit Suva for this!) and flights are on hold. Of course as this is Fiji things can always change, but I know how many of you are planning time-off/travel to see the guys so here is a provisional itinerary for the teams visit and how you can spend time with them.

Team Fiji

Sailasa Aisake Leavi(Leavi)
Tevita Ratunigaloa(Tevita)
Osipani Marau Tuiraviravi (Marau)
Apenisa Laisave Rasega(Capt)

Tribewanted: Vorovoro’s team will be representing Tourism Fiji and their role is to build the ‘Legends of Fiji’ village for the Hampton Court Show (see plans above). Despite Kaz and co’s great efforts we couldn’t quite get the team to go via LA as flights proved too expensive. Originally there was a plan for 8 to visit including the ladies but budgets have had to be cut.

There are five scheduled events where any tribe members, friends and family will be welcome to spend time with the boys. There may be some more events planned nearer to the time, we’ll keep you posted.

Outside these events the guys will either be working before/during the show or chilling out as it will be quite an intense experience for them

You will be able to follow Te and the teams UK adventure on Tribewanted, twitter, facebook and their blog

FULL DETAILS HERE

twitter: annoying name, incredible tool, sunny future

benkeene — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:09:24 +0000

I’ve finally done it. I’ve nose-dived into social media mania and started to twitter. I’ve never seen a verb diversify so quickly – you tweet (micro-blog) for tweeple (you & me) from your tweetdeck (desktop twitter dashboard) and if you really like you can go to a twonference (real world gathering of twitterers) or even, and check this…join a twibe (a shared interest group minus desert island and fijian family).

I find the twitter language pretty annoying, but if you can get over that, show a little perseverance you may well start to discover, as I have, a remarkable form of communication. I’ve started to connect in a more meaningful way with a network of bloggers, social entrepreneurs, environmentalists and writers than I had online before. The content I’m interested in gets fed directy to me. I guess twitter, facebook connect , kiva micro-loaning (genius) mobile apps etc.. are the start of what the shift from web 2.0 (the conversation web) to 3.0 (the semantic web or as I understand the web where the world is the platform), and if you saw the launch of Wolfram Alpha – an intelligent computerised engine – then its easy to see the hype.

What I’m trying to do is use it for progress, work, development, marketing, education – and not as so much for social/chatter as I have so far with facebook. It requires some discipline, but like a game of black jack if you stick to your own rules you usually gain.

What does it mean for Tribewanted?

Well from my point of view lots of things. Marketing ideas, connecting actions, inspiring change at a faster and deeper rate. We could have built Tribewanted via Twitter – but it didn’t exist back then….

So if you fancy joining in and get what is important to you delivered to your digital doorstep then I can recommend this annoyingly brilliant blue birdie they call twitter.

twitter.com/benkeene

another kind of media: does the coconut wireless resemble twitter?

twitter.com/tribewanted

The Vorovoro experience continues: September 2009-August 2012

benkeene — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:28:06 +0000

Good news tribe, island and Fiji lovers – thanks to all your hard work and support since 2006, Vorovoro is now formally open for another three years!

What have you achieved so far?

Collectively invested approaching $2,000,000 into the local economy in Northern Fiji.

Generated 20 full-time jobs and fundraising for four villages

Supported the development of the local school and communities

Built an island village!

Raised awareness about and made changes towards more sustainable living

Won posh digital media awards, recorded an album, been on the telly and in magazines

Made friends, connections and memories for life

A report of the first three years of Tribewanted: Vorovoro will be available later in the year and there will be discussions between now and then as to future plans for the project.

You can now book your stay on Vorovoro any time between September 2009 and August 2012. Here’s what this means for your Tribewanted membership.

CURRENT MEMBERS

Your current island time will expire on 31st August 2009 as set out at the start of the project. Unused island time cannot be transfered to other members or be refunded.

- So if you haven’t visited yet get to Vorovoro quick – flights are cheaper than ever and there is space between now and mid August.

Your online membership to Tribewanted: Vorovoro will continue as long as the project exists.

All tribe members who have paid to join the project between April 2006 and August 2009 will receive 2 free nights on Vorovoro between September 2009 and August 2012.

- This is to say thank-you for helping Tribewanted get going! We hope you come back…many of you have already.

- Your two free nights will become available on your Tribewanted profile on September 1st 2009. You will need to use these in conjunction with at least one week booked on the island.

Island time from September 2009 can be purchased for £200/ $600fj per week. You will be able to stay for up to 12 weeks at any one time.

- You will be able to use your time at any point during the three years subject to availability on Vorovoro.

- All island time purchased for use from September 2009 will expire August 31st 2012.

- Vorovoro will close for one week (1st-8th September 2009) and re-opn September 9th. For tribe members departing Vorovoro September 1st 2009, a Vitika trip will begin on the 2nd and you can then choose to return to Vorovoro on the 9th.

Future Members
You can join the tribe and book to stay on Vorovoro either before or after September 2009.

Any questions on current and future memberships please say Bula Sia to Sarah in Suva sarahg@tribewanted.com

Here’s to another three years in paradise…. vina’a va’alevu to all of you for making the dream real. Long may it continue.

As tribe member Xena said this week. ..“If you haven’t been yet, please take the opportunity as soon as you can. You will dream of it forever, in technicolour.”

Talo na yaqona!

just the beginning: the Vorovoro story continues...

'No island is an island': Tribe's food sustainability forum

benkeene — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:12:26 +0000

From Amy Briden on Vorovoro:

Forum discussion here

Recently on an overcast afternoon, some of the tribe gathered together in the Grand Bure to have a delicious ‘green’ discussion. There are four main principles to Sustainability and it is often broken up into Water, Food, Energy and Waste.

As it’s been a large tribe over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of focus in helping out in the kitchen, getting involved in the preparation of meals and learning about the food we buy as well as what we find and grow around the island. It’s also an exciting time of year where a lot of the plants have had plenty of water from the rainy season, have nestled their roots in firmly and are starting to shoot out of the soils. At the moment, the pawpaw trees are heavily laden with ripening fruit and the Chinese cabbages Leavi has nurtured and transplanted, are steadily sprouting. The gardens are a haven of growth…so it’s a great time to discuss FOOD.

So what are we doing on the island in regards to Sustainability and Food?

The tribe came up with the answers and we went through each one and discussed them.

COMPOST: Reusing our food waste to put on the land…this makes the trees happy and add important nutrients into the soil!

FOOD LOGGING: The tribe have been fantastic this week and have done a great job in going through all our bags (eco bags!) and rice sacks of shopping once they come off the boat. The idea is that we are monitoring what comes on to the island, what we buy locally and what type of products we have bought which have been imported. We weigh each individual product and write down exactly where it’s from.

Not only do we want to find out the percentages of all of these, the main aim is to reduce everything that we buy from overseas, support the local farmers and Labasa market as well as cut out or use alternatives that are from far away places.

USING THE LAND: Growing our own vegetables, planting fruit trees, picking fresh herbs, foraging…

USING THE SEA: Spear fishing. Bringing back adult fish and just enough to feed the tribe.

Currently our statistics show that we are using about 25% from the land and sea.

We discussed what else we can do on the island, how we can improve/alter as well as how we can increase the percentage of being sustainable here with the growing tribe numbers….

WORK FORCE: The gardens need continual loving and although Leavi is doing a great job and looking after his family, lots of hands are needed to weed, nurture, transplant and tend to all the plants. If you love gardening with guitars playing in the background, Fruitopia needs your help!

WATER: In the rainy season, the earth has too much and the ground is sodden washing away all the plants and encouraging weeds. In the past we haven’t had enough water for the gardens in the dry season…but now the Dam has been finished! Woop! This will provide much needed water in the gardens during the dry season so hopefully we will be producing a lot more fruit and veg for the tribe in the future!

The chat went on…

What do people do back home?

TRIBE: Jon grows his own veg on his roof in containers, Adam’s girlfriend’s family lives very organically and grows as much as they can on their land, Fiona has recently spent time on a dairy farm in New Zealand where the family were living a ‘green’ existence and living the good life. Mairead comes from Ireland and understands about farming and gardening, Aussie couple Katherine and James are into sustainable living and buy all their vegetables and fruit from the local market as well as buying only organic produce. I have been studying lots of green books from our library recently (love it!) and our Wavu is getting involved with the Green Club at Mali School and writing a fact a day up in the toilets.

So everyone is aware of being more ‘food’ sustainable, has thought about growing their own veg, questioned where food comes from, has ideas in which we can improve healthier, tastier living…
We then went onto what’s happening in the world today.

What are the global issues regarding food?

This is what we discussed…

SUPERMARKET CHAINS
Did you know that the average item of food you see in a supermarket has travelled more than 1,600 km?

The tribe all agreed that more and more supermarkets are taking over and pushing out smaller businesses and local farmers. Fiona mentioned that where she lives in England, there used to be farming all around Greater Manchester, but now this has all been taken over by building development and there are only pockets of fields left. Katherine also mentioned that the suicide rate of potato farmers have increased dramatically in Australia as they aren’t able to earn enough. Adam mentioned that in Kent there is a large area of land which has been purposely used for farming but they spray the crops and this area supplies a large supermarket near him.

Fiona brought up ‘Kill it, cook it, eat it.’

Being on the island, you really appreciate where food comes from. i.e. the fish are caught, de-scaled and gutted, cooked and prepared ready to eat all in the same day. Food this way is fresh and you can see the process from start to finish. We concluded that a lot of us are loosing our contact and connection with nature and people aren’t always aware of where food comes from/what it looks like to begin with.

We also chatted about the desire to have anything we want when going to supermarkets and everything is so readily available. People’s lifestyles and marketing campaigns have pushed society into living conveniently and ‘having everything on a plate’…it’s more an ‘I want’ view rather than ‘I need’.

FOOD MILES
Food miles means the journey in which food takes from the farmer to the processor, from the processor to the packager, from the packager to the shop and from the shop to the consumer. Food travels even further nowadays as people prefer to do all their shopping at a super market rather than at lots of different shops. The range of products in a supermarket is so great now due to public demand that you can buy anything from anywhere…

So why is it important to reduce the number of miles that food travels?

Preservatives are put into food which travels a long way and some produce is often stored in controlled refrigerators for days and even months at a time. Apparently, we learnt that Big Cruise ships can keep apples up to 3 months in a vat but as soon as they are taken out, they ripen up.

The further food travels, the less fresh it is and it looses vitamins and its nutritional value.

Food travelling around the world is also bad for the environment due to all the fossil fuels being used.
The well being of live animals that are being transported, sometimes for days from one country to another, also needs to be considered.

WE ARE WHAT WE EAT
We discussed about the welfare of animals and hormones which are given to animals to make them even bigger as there is now more demand. Apparently a lot of cows are given antibiotics as their udders become increasingly sore and scabby as they are forced to produce more milk. It really made us think and want to buy only organic milk.

The tribe also brought up Macdonalds and why it appeals to people, what is actually in the ingredients and who would eat a Big Mac? There was some very interesting burger chat! Interestingly, Jon told us that although certain fast food chains claim that there is 100% beef in every burger, this doesn’t mean that it is actually edible bits or meat just that 100% comes from a cow. Scary stuff!

So this led us onto discussing about…

What’s in our food?

We also discussed not only about a certain product coming from miles away but also products which include various ingredients…so although the milk in Cadbury’s chocolate comes from the UK, cocoa travels all the way from South America. Aussie James brought up an interesting point that he learnt from a documentary where they interviewed workers who farmed cocoa beans in Cote D’Ivoire but they hadn’t ever tasted chocolate or didn’t know what it was.

So what can we do once we are back home?

Here are a few suggestions that the tribe came up with…

Buy certified organic products…this is produce that is based on natural processes such as crop rotation and natural predators rather than using nasty chemicals, pesticides, animal drugs or food additives that are potentially harmful to us. Crops are grown to work sustainably with the environment.

Buy fairtrade: this ensures that people are paid for their produce fairly as well as considering the environment. Rainforest clearance is not practised and many pesticides are banned.

Buy seasonal goods from your own country and reduce how much you buy from other countries.

Did you know that 95% of fruit and 50% of vegetables eaten in the UK are imported? Crazy statistics!

Pick your own fruit and veg so you know that your food is fresh…

Support local farmers by buying produce from Farmers Markets.

…and even better, grow your own food in your back garden!

Make your own lunch…this can be a scrummy sandwich, a fresh salad or use the left overs in the fridge. At least you know what’s in it, saves on food miles as well as all the packaging that goes with it.

So most importantly, we learnt to really think about what we purchase and what we put in our mouths everyday…

A good start is to research into products so you know what’s in them, if they are good for you and if they support fairtrade and are organic. There are numerous websites, books and articles out there which will really help and there are some really informative ones below:

USEFUL WEBSITES:
aboutorganics.co.uk

whyorganic.org

bigbarn.co.uk

Fairtrade.org.uk

Maketradefair.com

Bafts.org.uk

Farmersmarket.net

Soilassociation.org or

localfoodworks.org

Organicfoodee.com

USEFUL BOOKS:

The Good Shopping Guide ‘Your Guide to a Clear Conscience’ Published by the Ethical Marketing Group

The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnaun (don’t be put off by the title, it’s a really inspiring read!)

And a great one for children…

You can save the planet: A day in the life of your carbon footprint by Rich Hough

So, everyone learnt a lot and the discussion could have gone on for a lot longer…but ironically we heard the food bell! It definitely makes you question where your food comes from, what we put inside our bodies and how we can do something to decrease food miles and be on the sustainable path to happy and healthy living!

Please share with the tribe your thoughts, ideas, any other useful websites etc.

Forum discussion here

Naka na kana!

Why we're running for SURVIVAL

benkeene — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:33:20 +0000

On April 26th, Giles and I will be running the London Marathon for Survival International – the only international organisation that represents the voices and struggles of indigenous peoples worldwide.

Below are a few the latest stories of survival that enforce the reasons we are doing this.

Thank-you to all of you have supported Survival so far, the work they do is so important for protecting some of the knowledgeable people alive today.

Training is going well for a 3 hour 15 minute run – Giles and I ran in the Bath half on Saturday in under 1 hour 30 minutes. We’re aiming to raise £5000, so far so good – £1400 in the bank.

You can sponsor us here and join our facebook page here.

—-—-——-

Mine: Story of a Sacred Mountain, featuring the Dongria Kondh tribe from India, narrated by Joanna Lumley, who, incidentally, was also born in India.

Incorporating stunning footage from the mountain forests of Orissa state, India, it tells the current situation of the Dongria Kondh tribe as they face and fight their own destruction.

Right now, UK-based, FTSE100 firm Vedanta Resources is pushing ahead with a bauxite mine which will devastate their livelihoods and sacred sites. In this film, their voice is heard.

Tribe forms human chain to keep British company off sacred mountain
Hundreds of members of the Dongria Kondh tribe , together with many tribal and non-tribal allies, formed a human chain at the base of their sacred Niyamgiri mountain on the 27th January to prevent British mining giant Vedanta from bulldozing it.

Survival calls on Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz to boycott Graff’s jewels for Oscars. Survival International today called on Oscar-nominated actresses Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz not to wear Graff diamonds at this week’s Oscar ceremony. The jeweller is embroiled in controversy over its 9% stake in Gem Diamonds, which plans to open a diamond mine on the land of the Kalahari Bushmen in Botswana.

Andaman tribal women widowed by poisoning remarry
Four women from the tiny Andaman island tribe the Onge, who were widowed in December in a tragic poisoning incident, have remarried.

Follow SURVIVAL on Twitter

Ecotricity TV series on Discovery: 'Ways to Save the Planet'

benkeene — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:43:03 +0000

Our renewable energy partners Ecotricity are currently supporting a brilliant new series on the Discovery Channel: Check out ‘Ways to Save the Planet’, Sundays at 7pm

Ways to save the planet

Is a vast, high-tech blanket enough to save an icecap from melting?

Can we bomb the planet’s forests back to life? Could a beam of energy free us from fossil fuels?

Ways to Save the Planet joins a team of the world’s most prominent scientists and engineers as they identify and put to the test a selection of highly ambitious and cutting edge proposals from the field of geo-engineering.

www.discoverychannel.co.uk/planetinperil

Episode 3 – Space Sunshield
March 1st – 7pm

Episode 4 – Raining Forests
March 8th – 7pm

Episode 5 – Infinite Winds
March 15th – 7pm

Episode 6 – Brighter World
March 22nd – 7pm

Episode 7 – Orbital Power Plant
March 29th – 7pm

Episode 8 – Fixing Carbon
April 5th – 7pm

Ecotricity
Ecotricity is sponsoring Ways To Save The Planet. They’re an
electricity company with a difference – dedicated to changing the
way electricity is made. They take the money their customers spend
on electricity and build NEW, clean forms of power – harnessing the
wind. Be part of the solution, turn your electricity bill into a windmill!
call 08000 302 302 or visit www.ecotricity.co.uk
WIN
a year’s green electricity from ecotricity at www.discoverychannel.co.uk/planetinperil

Dream Foundation: 2009 update

benkeene — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:23:14 +0000

So, what’s been going on with the Tribewanted Dream Foundation then ? Does it still exist ? Have we spent all the money on beer and flights to Fiji ? Have we raised enough money to do anything useful ? Are we a registered charity yet ? What’s on the agenda for 2009 ?

Well, to find the answers to these questions, read on.

Contact the Dream Foundation and DONATE here

The Trustees have been continuing with the mind-numbingly boring process of jumping through all the administrative hoops required to be recognised as a charity by the Charities Commission. This includes setting TWDF as an incorporated company in it’s own right and submitting ourselves for a criminal background check. Luckily we all have super-clean aliases in place so no dirt should be raised on that front. To all intents and purposes the paperwork is complete for final registration by the Commission, and the final hurdle is to show that we have annual receipts in excess of 5,000 pounds per year. This has come as a bit of a setback as we were hoping to be registered below this figure as many people like to see the benefit of Gift Aid when donating, something we can’t claim without registration, so it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

Rather than see this as a big problem we want to use it as an incentive. The goal is to push on regardless and raise enough money in as short a time as possible to implement a key project – that project being the construction of composting toilet blocks for the school and villages on Mali. As many of you are aware the New Year saw some serious flooding in the Fiji Islands, and this exacerbates the problems of hygiene and cleanliness. Composting toilet blocks would be a big improvement on existing facilities, and have the added benefits of being reasonably cheap and simple to construct, as well as being eco-friendly.

The latest estimated cost-per-loo is estimated at around FJ$1,300. There are at least two villages plus the school that would benefit from these facilities, so we are looking at around FJ$4,000 to complete this work.

A follow-up project for additional fund-raising incentive is the provision of water tanks, and again this is key to hygiene and cleanliness so dovetails quite nicely with the composting toilet project. These are more costly to construct and there are at least two sites which would benefit, so a successful campaign to raise funds for this project would take us safely through the £5,000 mark.

On the non-fundraising front we are looking at putting together a non-executive board of people who want to take an active role in running and advising TWDF. This includes helping co-ordinate volunteers, seeking out possible partnerships and fundraising opportunities through contacts/companies, on-the-ground co-ordination for projects, and generally widening our pool of knowledge and expertise into other areas.

These are the main items we want to focus on right now to push TWDF forward and make a difference in 2009, a year which has started rather badly for the people of Fiji. We know everyone is continually bombarded with requests for donations to help charities in the UK and abroad, and for most Fiji is a long long way away. But, there are around 1,750 of you out there who have joined Tribewanted, or have joined the Tribewanted group on Facebook, plus another 6,250+ who have signed up as Free Members. Around half the paying members have travelled to Vorovoro and have first hand experience meeting the people of Mali. Next time you go to the loo and then turn on the tap to wash your hands, take a minute to think about helping out people you actually have a personal connection with who currently do not have these “luxuries”…..

The simple maths is that with a neglible impact on your lifestyle you can greatly improve that of a great many others. With a pool of 8,000 Tribies out there who have signed up in some form what could we achieve if everyone was to contribute something ?

£5 – Composting toilets for the school and villages plus one water tank
£10 – Two more water tanks
£15 – Toilets, water tanks, plus community hall, plus funding towards initial study for seawall defences
£20 – All the above, plus sponsorship of local co-ordinators, teachers

If you would prefer to volunteer with us your support can help us strengthen the charity, by helping us fundraise, deliver on our projects and build our profile.

So, if you can help out in any way get involved. A little can go a very long way !

Contact the Dream Foundation and DONATE here

recovery.fiji

benkeene — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:17:56 +0000

tribe translated... into Dutch

Watching Obama speak to congress today on CNN whilst waiting for my connection to London I was seriously impressed to hear the amount of investment the US will make into renewable energy in the coming years.

The President referred to a new site that will track the gargantuan amount of spending:

Recovery.gov is a brilliant example in web communication – and the fact that RSS feeds are being used to stream government spending plans is amazing to think considering how new the technology is.

Recovery for Fiji?

Before I left Fiji last night we shared a grog session with tribe and partners in the Skylodge, Nadi. Sara Jane, her beautiful baby Dylan and his Dad, Shane were there, as was Brad, Casey, Ana and Ruben from Feejee Experience, Cecil from Pacific Sun, Amy (having a few well earned days off island) and Ulai.

Also joining us on the matt was Jo Tuomoto, the new boss of Tourism Fiji. Jo shared with us the dismal state of Fijian Tourism with the combination of global downturn and recent flooding seeing a rapid drop in bookings.

I asked Jo about how, even without the kind of budget Obama has, Fiji might also plan for recovery within their most important source of revenue. Jo talked of looking for new ideas in creative and innovative online marketing that were strong on buzz and talanoa (story).

I’ve no doubt that Fijian tourism will recover – it seems that even with Vorovoro only half full, we’re ahead of most of the pack in terms of ‘occupancy’. Feejee Experience is also doing relatively well compared to the main operators.

So I think that shows something – that the kind of tourism that reflects Fiji as it really is – a collection of villages and communities living out their lives in a stunning environment regardless of the drama and changes around the world and even in their own country – is a country and a way of life that people want to visit and be part of.

Now that we’re established in Fiji and are extending our partnership on Vorovoro with Tui Mali, I look forward to more ways we can support the right kind of development for this beautiful and unchanged country that I – and I know I’m not the only non-Fijian to say this – love.

Sota Tale Viti.

Pacific Connections: tribal partnerships with green shoots

benkeene — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:15:04 +0000

Both Benjamin Katz and I have been meeting various people in and around these islands over the last few months to help build partnerships that can make Vorovoro and its neighboring communities more sustainable, spread our story and integrate tribe members more with the project.

These partnerships are coming about because we are slowly gaining recognition in Fiji as a long-term development and as the story spreads further through social media.

After a busy day running around Suva in February, here’s where we’re up to…

University of the South Pacific School of Marine Studies

The Vorovoro Ark – a holistic sustainability project looking at marine life around Vorovoro, focusing on protecting subsistence living through local knowledge and biodiversity.

After the initial visit of Teddy Wong and his team to Vorovoro, the tribe will now be involved with the documentation of coastal plants – their various names, habitats and uses.

Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development

In partnership we’re looking into applying for grants to help with the sustainable development of Vorovoro – focusing on tourism.

Pacific Voyaging School with Fijian Arts Council & Wai Tui Using Vorovoro as an outpost for a traditional Fijian small sailing school including canoe carving. We will be part of a bigger network of Voyaging Schools that will celebrate traditional sailing and educate locals and visitors to the islands.

Living Human Treasures with Fijian Arts Council
A UNESCO project now being piloted in Fiji to find and protect ‘custodians’ of traditional knowledge and skills.

If willing I will be submitting Pupu Epeli and Ratu Tevita for this programme immediately. In time they should receive certificates for being recognised by Fiji’s president and UNESCO as ‘Living Human Treasures’ for their knowledge and skills.

We will also be inviting other Fijian ‘custodians’ from the Arts Council to come and spend time on Vorovoro to share their knowledge and skills.

Heritage Arts Exhibition Day with Fijian Arts Council

Vorovoro Sculptural Journey with Fijian Arts Council

Organic Clothing with Wai Tui

Sweet smelling tribe with Pure Fiji

Renewable Energy Projects with True Offsets, Ecotricity & Tribe

Solar driers, biofuel technologies

Transparent Offsetting with True Offsets

Tribewanted's Team Fiji are coming to London this July!

benkeene — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:14:48 +0000

Eight of the family and workers of Vorovoro will be heading to London this July to represent Tourism Fiji by taking part in the Legends of Fiji cultural exhibition at the Hampton Court Flower Show .

‘Team Fiji’ will be building bure’s, weaving matts, singing songs, teaching meke and sevusevu and yes there may well be some kava consumption…

The idea is that we create a mini-Vorovoro at Hampton Court – showing off the best of Fijian culture, sustainable building and the Vorovoro story.

There will be plenty of opportunity to catch up with the team at the show and at another event in the UK during their three week visit.

I will be asking tribe members to help with accommodation and will post the specific requests soon.

Team Fiji’s visit ties in perfectly with the end of the initial three year project on Vorovoro, and hopefully repays some of the amazing hospitality they have shown so many of us, and a chance for many of you who have built friendships with them to re-connect again – only this time it will be at a Palace!

On behalf of Tui Mali and Tribewanted, thanks to Jane West and Jo Tuomoto from Tourism Fiji and all at RHS for this amazing opportunity.

Islands as Arks: re-discovering Vorovoro

benkeene — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:07:55 +0000

Captain Api swung the short open fibre boat in a familiar curve around the Western end of Vorovoro. And as he did so channels of late afternoon sun-light re-gathered and cast their rainbow prism on the beach. The foot of the colourful arc tracked as we skimmed parallel to the land before coming to a brief rest as we turned again directly toward the shore. And there at its foot, I saw what lay at the end of the rainbow: A line of seven island girls dressed in sulu’s and coconut palmed skirts welcoming us with a Fijian meke (dance) as we skidded onto the sand. The rainbow ran into the rain-soaked bush, the boys stood up to greet us from where they played and the girls scampered for the umbrella trees. I was home.

I had escaped the English snow storms only to dive into the depths of a tropical ‘rainy season’ which tends to include: an afternoon heavy shower or two, the occasional strong wind, an explosion of growth in the gardens and a significant increase in the bug population (the downside of island living).

Vorovoro was quieter than when I was last here in September, but nonetheless vibrant. Pupu now runs a regular popular coconut accessories workshop, Leavi (aka Crimestopper – Vorovoro’s local law enforcer with guitar and smile as his deterrents) takes tribe members on food forages into the lush undergrowth behind the villages, Save continues to teach meke and language classes to enthusiastic participants, Moya is leading a happy mini-tribe as February chief, the damn project has made great progress under team Fiji and we’re hoping with good weather next week to get near to completion (I have to say I’ve actually enjoyed lugging the sacks of gravel up the hill path first thing in the morning), and there is a welcome increase in tribal engagement in the kitchen where Va and Francis lead a Fijian fusion style menu with support of Amy, Chelly and the gang. And of course there are there are the projects…

University of the South Pacific Ethno bio-diversity study begins

As I am sure you will read on Ben Katz’s blog – our sustainability manager was able to recently persuade a team of five students and lecturers to visit Vorovoro to begin a study of local knowledge of Vorovoro’s reefs. The goal is that after this initial research more students will return to extend the study, building up detailed knowledge of the islands marine environments so that both the knowledge and the reefs can be preserved for future generations. At sevusevu on tuesday (Tui Mali’s weekly visit to Vorovoro) the USP team presented their two day findings to chief, team, tribe members, and the Prisons Commissioner for the South of Fiji (as Tui Mali’s guest). Teddy Fong, the team leader from USP, spoke of ‘islands as arks’, of how we can see the whole cycle of life on and around an island – and how they provide a rare opportunity to see global ecosystems on a micro scale. When we first looked to come to Vorovoro, I remember thinking something not disimilar although not as scientifically put – that on Vorovoro, we can see so easily the full cycle of life and its biodiversity, and that is why it is the ideal place to educate, inspire and make connections. We will post the full report of their survey online when it is complete and I hope that the partnership will grow from here.

Piggy Honeymoon

Piggy is the only survivor of last year’s lovo season, and has consequently been filled to the brim with tribal left-overs. A well rounded sow if ever you saw. In preparation for the busier dry season on Vorovoro, Tui Mali had offered to accommodate piggy at home for a brief honeymoon period with his own pig livestock before returning her pregnant. Lifting a disgruntled piggy out of her pen was both noisy and back-straining for the four men involved. But once outside she trotted along on the end of a rope in an, almost, direct line to the boat. Another heave and she was aboard, ready for her journey to her honeymoon destination, the chief’s house. After a brief swim in the mangroves, Api lured her up onto the main road and there she took the short walk to her new home. I don’t think I will easily forget the sight of Api, Leavi and the pig happily strolling down the Malau road like it something you always do in the late afternoon. Piggy is now safely ensconsed in the chiefly pen and we will pick her up when given the call.

The 11th Hour: a holistic sustainability workshop

After a full meke class on Thursday morning (with Crimestopper even introducing a new head wiggling style), Ben Katz lead a discussion on tribe members attitudes and involvement with sustainable living. Interestingly all those present had been involved through their work at home in some way: Jodie as a sales rep for a recycling company, Louis from Holland knows a lot about liquid nitrogen and even sells CO2, Paula from Italy sells bikini’s (thus saving on extra clothing…), Becky had been involved in Environmental & Energy Law, Moya ran the eco-car fleet for Estee Lauder, Sophie had produced Radio Campaigns on green issues, and our very own Katz had run a sustainable landscaping business.

From Hybrids to Shampoos to Greenwashing to defining sustainability, Re-designing Design itself and becoming re-connected with our environment, we covered a lot of ground. The third compost loo is being re-decorated by the tribe with eco facts for what you can do easily at home. Later in the afternoon, as the showers began, we settled down in the Great Bure with scones and sugared tea to watch The 11th hour, the most compelling environmental documentary I’ve seen – following the insights of the world’s most eminent scientists into the state of planet today and what must be done to prevent catastrophe. The closing comments of the film are made by an indigenous indian chief who speaks very plainly that no matter what, the earth will survive, the question is whether we want to survive with it.

A community in mourning

News came early in the week that Mosese’s (one of our boat captains) younger brother had tragically passed away at the age of 31. Peni was a fit young man, who met his lovely wife whilst visiting Vorovoro one afternoon last year, and since begun a new life in Nakawaga village. No one seems to know why he dropped down so suddenly last week – all the villagers can say is that his wife had been saying that Peni had told her in the days before his death that he “would soon be going to a far off place.” Marau left early in the week to start helping the village prepare for the significant funeral. I travelled with the family on Friday morning and arrived to a village full of people quietly preparing for a heavy day. The two hour service was followed by the short pilgrimage to the village grave site on the hill, and there in the midday heat, 150 gathered – wailing, singing hymns and shoveling thick heavy mud into Peni’s final resting place. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of something like that – where you can feel the communal shift in emotion for a man who passed too soon to one of quiet acceptance for all except the immediate family, as the flowers were placed on his mud and rock make-shift grave.

Pictured: Pupu Epeli selling is coconut jewelry

Life – and death – on these beautiful islands, a story we’re fortunate to be part of.

Fiji, Peru, UK, schools, universities...it's all happening in 2009

benkeene — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:24:02 +0000

Now we’re well over our festive hibernation and have welcomed what feels like a new World President, it seems like the right time to look forward.

So, in our little world of Tribewanted, here is what I am working on for the year ahead…

FIJI
We’ve had a tough month – bad weather has prevented some tribe members arriving and some even from leaving and not much project work going on, but at least unlike many villages in Fiji, we’ve not been seriously affected. I thought the tribe’s weather report was brilliant.

This combined with the cut-backs we have had to make because of the currency dropping and prices going up means that development resources have been more limited – Team Fiji are rotating their time on Vorovoro, rather than anyone losing their job and Kaivulagi team have all taken voluntary 20% paycuts. I am very grateful to all the Tribewanted team, and especially Jim, for managing this so well.

Jan-Aug 09: Goal is to keep island full and happy and complete as many of the sustainability and community projects as possible. If you are thinking of visiting Vorovoro during this time book soon as August already pretty full. We’ll also be running VITIKA trips from March when its a bit drier.

Sept 2009 onwards (the future of Vorovoro): Aim to start a proper discussion on this in February when Ulai and I will outline our hopes and ideas for the longer-term partnership between Vorovoro and Tribewanted and what might be achieved. Tribe members input into this discussion will be vital. Island lease provisionally agreed for extension pending Fijian bureacracy.

ANDINA
We already have tribe members booked onto this summers challenge : to visit the majestic Cordillera Blanca in Northern Peru and challenge and engage yourself with its stunning snow-capped scenery and its fascinating indigenous Q’echua culture.

LIVE EVENTS UK
Some great news in the pipeline for a unique summer event in the UK which I should be able to confirm by mid February. All I can say now is that I know it will cause much excitement…

Also hope we can have some more LIVE style events May-July in UK. If anyone would like to run an event in the UK or elsewhere or have ideas for them then please get in touch.

Tribewanted On Tour are also organising an alternative three year Vorovoro celebration at the end of August here in the UK. More info on facebook.

SCHOOLS
I have teamed up with David McQueen who runs leadership and enterprise workshops to kick-start Tribewanted: Schools will be unique one day social enterprise programmes for 14-19 year olds in the UK, sharing the story of a cross-cultural, on-line and on-island tribe and inspiring students to create their own tribe. I hope once we’ve trialled this, tribe members can get involved running these events in their local schools.

UNIVERSITIES
This week I am sharing the Tribewanted story with Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) at Kings College London who are going to help the tribe with some sustainable design challenges. I hope this can progress to other universities. If you are in London on Friday 23rd Jan please come along.

INCENTIVES
I have teamed up with Fiona Pelham at Organise This , the UK corporate events industry sustainable events specialists, to look into a new approach to corporate incentives. Watch this space.

SPEAKING & PROMOTIONAL EVENTS
The Autumn was a busy time for sharing the Tribewanted story. Upcoming events I’ll be at include: Furness Young Professionals 6th Feb, Broadcast Video Expo 18th Feb, One Life Live 13-15 March, Adventure Travel Show 20-22 March

DIGITAL & MARKETPLACE
Kaz and Sue are doing some great back-end research into building the online Tribewanted Marketplace and we’re looking to shake up our digital architecture and clean up the site in the coming months.

RUNNING FOR SURVIVAL & DREAM FOUNDATION
Giles and I will be running the London Marathon for Survival International on 26 April – any support financial or at the roadside would be much appreciated. The Tribewanted Dream Foundation meets at the end of this month so hopefully we can do some fundraises for Fiji as well this year.

TRIBEWANTED II…
Finally I am keeping in touch with all kinds of interesting projects and opportunities around the world that have shown interest in what were doing. Nothing is set in stone yet but when the time is right I’d love to look at getting a second major project off the ground.

If you would like to help develop any of these projects or programmes then please get in touch.

ben@tribewanted.com

Vina’a va’alevu for your energy

Ben

2008: a lot can happen from a small Fijian Island...

benkeene — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:52:42 +0000

What a year! From Paradise or Bust on the BBC to celebrating a win at the broadcast digital awards to Alan’s brilliant home made turbine and our second anniversary celebration on Vorovoro when Tui Mali asked us to stay on beyond the three years and renew the lease.

A year in tribal numbers: Close on 800 people have now visited Vorovoro for an average of 10 days, we have 1750 full members and an online tribal network of over 10,000; $1million fj has been invested into the local economy in Northern Fiji, and an average of 1.5 million watched Paradise or Bust on BBC2, and 3564 bundles of kava have been presented on Vorovoro (actually I’ve no idea but there’s been plenty of the muddy root pounded)

My top 5 moments of 2008:

1. The Paradise or Bust parties in London, Fijian sunshine lights up winter.

2. The inpromtu anniversary breakfast celebrations & secret beach grog session, Vorovoro at its spontaneous best.

3. The recording of the Vorovoro Sessions, a magical night with a legacy.

4. Completing the inaugral Vorovoro Ironman with Jale and being able to support the brilliant Survival International, in 2009 its the London Marathon

5. Winning a digital media broadcast award when we never thought we had a chance, oh and getting to publish the book, that was pretty cool.

My hopes for 2009? The continued evolution of Vorovoro inspite of the downtown and a measured conclusion of the initial three year project, the plan for beyond year three, the birth of the online marketplace, more live events including tribe members, schools and corporate incentives, Andina challenge in Peru, Vitika in Fiji and perhaps even a second Tribewanted headline project….

Until then – happy new year to you all & talo na yaqona!

Ben

Keeping the tribe growing as the world slows

benkeene — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:22:49 +0000

I’m sure most of you are being impacted in some way or another by the global economic slow down, and we certainly have been in the last three months.

Island bookings have dropped by 30% (not nearly as much as elsewhere) and cost of running project in Fiji has increased by 20% (fuel, food, materials, increased staff wages/tax, exchange rates). We’re certainly not in as bad a position as a lot of tourism companies – but it is going to be very tough unless we act now. The next three months will be the hardest as local travel usually picks up from March.

Along with team, I am instigating the following so that the future of Tribewanted and Vorovoro is secured:

1. Cut costs in Fiji

From Jan 09 all Tribewanted team members (22 altogether on payroll including non-fijian team) are taking the equivalent of 20% pay-cuts (voluntary and through team rotation) and I am also proposing freezing the chief’s legacy budget from January to make the additional saving of $1750fj a month we need to. Chief’s budget of $5000fj a month will not be cut so development can continue.

We will review the situation after three months. Currently outside Fiji the business has very little expense.

Anymore more partnerships we can form that are going to save on up front development costs will be of great help.

Tui Mali understands and supports the actions we need to take in order to save money.

Jim Kerridge, the project director, Ratu Tevita, community manager, and Ulai Baya, landowner (Tui Mali’s nephew) and Fijian company director, are implementing this.

jim@tribewanted.com
ulai@tribewanted.com

2. Focus on local promotion of project

We have been doing a lot more of this already in the last six months and with reasonable success both in terms of island bookings and how these last minute tribe members have fitted into the project. The long-term success of Vorovoro will depend on this.

Paul Sloggett, Vitika co-ordinator and promotion of Tribewanted in Fiji, & Sara Jane, on-line tribe manager, are implementing this.

sloggs@tribewanted.com
sarajane@tribewanted.com

3. Building online marketplace for sustainable products

This is something Kaz Brecher, a seriously committed tribe member, and I have been developing a strategy for over the past couple of months. There are still set-up costs involved which we’re looking for partners to help with.

kaz@tribewanted.com

Kaz is selling ‘Zaishu’s’ to raise money for Mali School

The ‘Vorovoro Sessions’ , our first digital musical download is not far from completion and I hope will be online by end of the year and will certainly support the local team in Fiji if it sells well.

2009

Apart from working through these issues weekly with the team in Fiji I have spent the last three months networking, speaking (at schools, universities, charities and corporates), and planning for 2009 and beyond.

There are some great developments in the pipeline which I’ll share with you all in the new year once they’re confirmed. There’s still a remarkable amount of interest in Tribewanted from all kinds of areas.

Ulai (Vorovoro landowners) and I are still waiting on the Fijian government for the formal offer of land lease of Vorovoro even though it has been agreed between ourselves.

2009 will be a challenging year for all organisations in the UK, Fiji and elsewhere but we will thrive as we have a great core of energy (our members + our team in Fiji) and we are still young (as a tribe), mobile and are free to create.

2009 is also a good opportunity to ignite and invest in more sustainable lifestyles for our tribes and communities. Tribe member Alan Kelly’s recently installed home-made wind-turbine project – now standing proudly on Vorovoro in Poasa’s garden – is a great example of what can be achieved across the online and offline, local and global dynamics.

In the meantime if you would like a daily dose of ideas inspiration outside of Tribewanted, I recommend TED , my favourite other digital pastime.

Keep sharing your ideas and networks and our tribe shall continue to grow. Vina’a va’alevu for all your support on the journey so far. I’ll be out for a Christmas drink London on the 18th December at the Windosr Castle pub , West London, from 7pm if anyone is in town it would be great to see you.

happy holidays

ben

speed-networking bubbles, younoodle + the doubling of optimism: it must global enterprise week

benkeene — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:17:39 +0000

“The global economy will double in the next 20 years,” Gordon Brown said with the conviction of a headmaster looking forward to his summer holidays, by which I mean it sounded like it would happen because ‘I am wise and old skool, but I won’t be around to help you achieve it’.

It was global enterprise week , an impressive network of cross-continental events, the first in the world….ever, part three, volume 4, triple disc set…and here we were at the centre of it: young (check), enterprising (check), optimistic (check), inspired (er..) and taking part in the flag-ship debate with no less than the first minister of our fair isle hopping from his front bench to tell us “we need you.”
Like signing-up for duty, it is now up to the entrepreneurs of this country, apparantly, especially those with little or no experience, to play their part in innovating our way out of the mire, of marketing without spending, of delivering without compromising. Stirring stuff and slightly mad? But, of course.

Now, speed-networking my way across central London this week (including a fun hour with the Sun Newspaper on the London Eye where you hope that your dream connection is not behind the glass of the next bubble) I don’t think anyone can deny the entrepreneurial spirit is burning strong and in an understated way, is actually optimistic – but there also seems to be two quite different trains of thought towards ‘enterprise’ which was illustrated well in the only real moment of ‘debate’ that the PM opened.

Dragon’s Den star James Caan was advocating the Bill Gates approach to entrepreneurship – make your money and then you can give back more. Tim Smit , founder of the Eden Project, begged to differ. Tim, quite rightly in my opinion, said that we should focus on good profit from day one and that the millions that Eden has created for the 2400+ suppliers of its project and communities in Cornwall wouldn’t have happened with the old model.

Enterprise shouldn’t be about restricting profit, Tim continued, its about making lots of good money and using it well. Yes sir. And what about ‘your horrible moment during the development of Eden’, the host asked…”there wasn’t one,” Tim replied, “the biggest mistake I’ve made was managing Motorhead.” Fair enough.

I also took part in the ‘Enterprising Young Brits’ network, the ‘Future 100’ event, and spoke today at an enterprise event at the impressive Leeds Met . And in these networks of speed and hope and creativity one message became more clear than any politician or dragon could articulate… in a mixture of Obama, South Park and Coldplay rhetoric the young optimists are shouting with their megaphones… our marketplace is instant and global and yes we can bloody do it. We must. Will it be easy? Will it heck.

My start-up discovery of the week is YOUNOODLE . You’ll love it.