The destination:
The two remote islands of Tikopia and Anuta
Tikopia and Anuta belong to the Solomon Islands. In the capital Honiara, 1,000 km to the West, the two islands are called ‘the outer islands’.
Due to their isolation, the traditional way of life has been maintained on the islands, in contrast to other Polynesian islands. (Jared Diamond describes Tikopia’s unique culture in his latest book ‘Collapse’.)
Most of the older people are still tattooed, some still wear Tapa, a traditional cloth made from the bark of the mulberry tree.
There is no electricity, no shops, no official administration. The four chiefs on Tikopia have banned alcohol and outboard motors.
At the end of the voyage the two ethnic catamarans will be presented to the people of Tikopia and Anuta.
With the new catamarans, the islanders can freely visit other islands. They can take their sick to the hospital and their children to the boarding-school in the town of Lata, 300 km away. Having these boats will end an era of being cut off from the surrounding islands and their extended family connections.
The men can start deep-sea fishing again.
The two boats will initiate a new era of seafaring and reinvigorate the traditional boat building on the islands.