hawaiistar.com
The Pacific Voyagers are a community of people exploring the oceans their ancestors sailed, and working to raise awareness of the effects of westernization on ocean life. This group of pacific islanders have thoroughly studied the ways of their ancestors and live today by traveling the sea, reintroducing old Polynesian traditions of survival, without disrupting our eco system.
The original sea travel started out in 1976 when a Polynesian man wished to reconnect with his ancestral roots by traveling the sea with nothing to guide him but the stars. Since traveling in large ships causes noise pollution and disrupts migration periods and ecosystems just below the water, the Okeanos: Foundation for the Sea was started to honor the great men that spent years exploring the oceans in search of a new world. What began in Taiwan ended up stretching as far as Hawaii!
The foundation was adopted by a man named Dieter Paulmann, who turned it into a community project. Voyages are set up year round, making stops along all different coast lines. Recently the group just ended a short trip along the west coast and docked at San Diego until January, when they will pick up again and travel to the Polynesian Islands.
The project now also works with remote island communities to build large double canoes called Vaka Motu. Everyone in the community participates in the building of these canoes, providing jobs and community networking across waters. The islands that contribute build boats for their villages and use those for travel, fishing and trade instead of having to rely on expensive ferry boats that only come around once every few months.
The Pacific Voyagers is a great foundation that builds on renewable resources and clean living. Their mission is that through voyaging they will strengthen their “tie with the sea, renew a commitment to healthy ecosystems for future generations, and honor ancestors who have sailed” before them. What a great cause!
References:
http://www.pacificvoyagers.org/about-project/goal/
