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October 30, 2024
Connecting Vanuatu communities to solar power by waka
Atereano Mateariki
Posted On October 30, 2024
Download AudioWaka are connecting island communities in Vanuatu with solar energy.
Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr, an expert in waka hourua voyaging, says he has been assisting small coastal communities by transporting solar power equipment to and from the capital, Port Vila.
The equipment supports Vanuatu’s growing solar micro-grid projects, funded by the Government of Austria and aligned with Vanuatu’s National Energy Road Map to expand energy access for rural communities.
Barclay-Kerr says his team has also explored the voyaging kōrero of the coastal communities, enriching their own stories through these interactions.
“I don’t think they had a lot of waka hourua or double hole voyaging canoe stories, but they do have stories of these bigger outrigger canoes with sails that they used to sail quite long distances on and things like that. So really, for us, it’s just having our waka up there, and I’m helping to just, you know, try and do things that they want to do, and so that’s all we’ve been doing,” says Barclay-Kerr
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