Fiji community holiday
| country: | Fiji |
| departures: | Project is on-going and there is currently availability for every week of the project |
| price: | From £195 (8 days) - £585 (22 days) excluding flights. Stays of up to 12 weeks can be arranged. Price includes online community club membership |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Fiji community holiday
The project is a unique cross-cultural community tourism project on Vorovoro Island, Fiji and a global online social network.
As well as being an adventure of a lifetime, the aim of the project is that the evolving island community becomes a model for cross-cultural sustainable living that positively impacts and inspires both locally in northern Fiji and globally online to improving the way we live.
The tribe members and the local team have built the community from scratch, fusing traditional Fijian customs and ways of living with international ideas for sustainability and innovation. On-line, the project has built an award-winning social network of 10,000 members who participate with and follow the island project.
You can join the project online for free and begin to take part and follow the evolution of the tribe. Better still you can visit Vorovoro and spend anytime from a week or more living alongside up to 30 other tribe members and the Fijian community and taking part in all aspects of the project.
How does it work?
On-island:
Starting in September 2006 and running initially for 3 years, the project has been living alongside the small indigenous Mali community on Vorovoro to build a simple, sustainable village. Visiting tribe members participate in island life during their one to twelve week stay. On the second anniversary of the project Tui Mali opened his arms to the tribe and invited them to stay. The lease has been extended and the project is ongoing beyond August 2009.
On-line:
Starting in April 2006, thousands of members from 35 countries have now joined the Tribewanted social network. Members have debated and voted on how the on-line and on island communities should be structured. Each month a tribe member is elected to be the tribe’s chief on Vorovoro. The chief works alongside the team and FIjian community on Vorovoro to make sure the project progresses.
Does the project have specific goals?
Yes! This is a sustainable development project, an adventure holiday, and a cultural journey with three main aims:
Community Building: On Vorovoro this means embracing and celebrating the local Fijian culture and traditions and becoming a unique focal point for responsible tourism in the region. On-line this means giving a social network a purpose – a real-space and project in the South Pacific.
Sustainable Living: Build local (in Northern Fiji) and global awareness (online) of our impact on the planet through the realisation that even on a tropical island every action has a consequence well beyond the beach. Use Vorovoro as a ‘test-bed’ for small-scale sustainable projects and education that visiting tribe members and local Fijians can contribute to and be part of. Inspire local community and tribe members to take their Vorovoro experience home with them.
Adventurous Experience: To bring like-minded people together online and in a magical place for an unforgettable journey.
And if I make it to Vorovoro what can I expect?
Tribe members can do as much as they like on Vorovoro. The only thing we ask is that you respect the local culture and community, and wash up your plate. Vinaka!
By boat: Take the boat + bus, save $ & CO2
By plane: In a hurry? There’s a short hour flight from Nadi to Labasa
Membership includes pick-up and drop-off from Labasa airport or bus station.
As well as being an adventure of a lifetime, the aim of the project is that the evolving island community becomes a model for cross-cultural sustainable living that positively impacts and inspires both locally in northern Fiji and globally online to improving the way we live.
The tribe members and the local team have built the community from scratch, fusing traditional Fijian customs and ways of living with international ideas for sustainability and innovation. On-line, the project has built an award-winning social network of 10,000 members who participate with and follow the island project.
You can join the project online for free and begin to take part and follow the evolution of the tribe. Better still you can visit Vorovoro and spend anytime from a week or more living alongside up to 30 other tribe members and the Fijian community and taking part in all aspects of the project.
How does it work?
On-island:
Starting in September 2006 and running initially for 3 years, the project has been living alongside the small indigenous Mali community on Vorovoro to build a simple, sustainable village. Visiting tribe members participate in island life during their one to twelve week stay. On the second anniversary of the project Tui Mali opened his arms to the tribe and invited them to stay. The lease has been extended and the project is ongoing beyond August 2009.
On-line:
Starting in April 2006, thousands of members from 35 countries have now joined the Tribewanted social network. Members have debated and voted on how the on-line and on island communities should be structured. Each month a tribe member is elected to be the tribe’s chief on Vorovoro. The chief works alongside the team and FIjian community on Vorovoro to make sure the project progresses.
Does the project have specific goals?
Yes! This is a sustainable development project, an adventure holiday, and a cultural journey with three main aims:
Community Building: On Vorovoro this means embracing and celebrating the local Fijian culture and traditions and becoming a unique focal point for responsible tourism in the region. On-line this means giving a social network a purpose – a real-space and project in the South Pacific.
Sustainable Living: Build local (in Northern Fiji) and global awareness (online) of our impact on the planet through the realisation that even on a tropical island every action has a consequence well beyond the beach. Use Vorovoro as a ‘test-bed’ for small-scale sustainable projects and education that visiting tribe members and local Fijians can contribute to and be part of. Inspire local community and tribe members to take their Vorovoro experience home with them.
Adventurous Experience: To bring like-minded people together online and in a magical place for an unforgettable journey.
And if I make it to Vorovoro what can I expect?
Tribe members can do as much as they like on Vorovoro. The only thing we ask is that you respect the local culture and community, and wash up your plate. Vinaka!
- Sweat - Participate in the sustainability and cultural projects – plant and tend the island gardens, feed the pigs and chickens, collect firewood and help the local ladies in the kitchen, get a sweat on with the Fiji boys with village construction and maintenance projects, take part in sustainability workshops, join local community projects and events, debate in forums, star and produce webcasts, and blog from the beach. Learn how to present ‘sevusevu’ to the chief, and then do it, perfect your meke (traditional dancing), weave mats, learn Fijian songs and take language lessons.
- Chill - Swing with the Hammock Society and read from the tribe’s library (all books have been donated by past tribe members), shower in the waterfall (during rainy season) or bath in the sea, cuddle in the tree-house, watch spectacular sunsets from the rock or around the beach-side campfires, eat fresh fish, vegetables and fruit, and sleep soundly in the bure’s (thatched Fijian homes) or vale’s (tribe dorms). Drink kava and sing with team Fiji under the stars.
- Play - Snorkel & spearfish on the world’s third largest barrier reef, teach and play sports weekly in the local primary school, take on the 4-peaks challenge, swim the island, compete in the coconut olympics, paint signs and craft coconut jewelry, play footy in Tanoa Park and volleyball on the beach.
how to find us
Fiji is now a regular stop-off for round the world tickets and then... By boat: Take the boat + bus, save $ & CO2
By plane: In a hurry? There’s a short hour flight from Nadi to Labasa
Membership includes pick-up and drop-off from Labasa airport or bus station.
traveller reviews for Fiji community holiday
The island is a great concept, no where else in Fiji can you learn about the culture and the language from the Fijians themselves, partake in the ritual of Kava (the Fijian National Drink), learn the ancient craft of spear-fishing, meet the chief of the island and learn to do many other activities. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
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Environment
We offset all our company flights and transport, and all local carbon emissions (taxis/boats) through Climate Care and encourage members to do the same. We are looking at ways of introducing carbon rationing for the tribe. On the island we use compost toilets, recycle, use renewable energy only, conduct regular clean-ups of rubbish deposited on the beach, use all waste and grey water on the gardens and use natural cleaning products. The local community is already following our sustainable lead. Our company uses two lap-tops and 4 mobile phones which we charge via solar. We have no office anywhere else in the world! Community We have employed over 100 people from the local communities on Mali, with an average of 15 working on the island at any one time, hired local boats and taxis for transport rather than purchasing our own and we buy fish, craft and materials from the neighboring village and market. We've donated to community projects in Mali (part of the island lease agreement includes an annual $15,000 or £5000 donation to the education and village committees on top of the payment to the landowners), such as supplementing school fees and wiring the generator to the computers. Our foundation has already raised £3000.  You can visit Vorovoro and spend anytime from a week or more living alongside up to 30 other tribe members, the Fijian community and taking part in all aspects of the project. Beginning in September 2006 and with the lease being renewed in 2009 at the land-owners request, the project is ongoing. The project members are living alongside the small indigenous Mali community on Vorovoro to build a simple, sustainable village. We work in partnership with Chief Tui Mali and local fishing villages, considering the impact of each and every one of the tribe’s actions on these communities. We also support local community projects with both finance and volunteers, with guidance from sustainability experts. We rotate the villages (4) for different projects, so that different individuals get the chance to work on Vorovoro and earn a wage. We also employ women from rotating villages to help in the kitchen. This rotation system aids the relationship between the two islands and communities. The online community ensures people learn a lot about the place they are going to before they go and stay involved after they have gone. We promote and raise awareness for sustainable and eco-friendly living and travel as a real option for both tourists and communities. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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