The Tanbok Project began as a collaboration between a fundraising group based in London England with community groups based in Port Vila (capital of Vanuatu) and Tanbok Village (central Pentecost). We have been working to address the unique challenge of building low tech but highly climate resistant buildings in remote parts of Pentecost. Following the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015, we blossomed into the charity we are today, tasked with supporting education, sustainable development, healthcare, climate resilience and disaster relief in the tiny, but wonderful, South Pacific nation. Working predominantly on Pentecost island at present, we hope to one day have the resources to expand our working area to all parts of the country.
In 2019, in collaboration with CAUKIN Studio, we completed a school build project in Ranwas Village, South East Pentecost. With help from the community, we designed and built a multi-purpose, disaster-proof building, that proved it’s credentials by surviving Cyclone Harold, unscathed. This project was important, because:
- The school and community had a say in the scope and design of the project, right from the start.
- The building was more cost-effective than VanGov supplied designs.
- The building uses novel passive techniques to improve the internal ventilation, making it more suitable for storage of paper and books.
- The build process, led by CAUKIN, provided education and training to the local community – including women, who traditionally are not involved in building – in many aspects of design and construction. Feedback from the community regarding this process was exceptionally positive.
- The build was completed, on time, in just 8 weeks – despite the challenging, intensely remote location. Typically, island construction projects take months or years to complete.
Now, after the chaos, devastation and destruction inflicted by Cyclone Harold in April 2020, it’s even more important that we are able to roll out more projects like this. We have raised the funds and confirmed one upcoming project at Tanbok School in Central Pentecost, set to be completed in July-August 2020. However, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, it has been necessary to postpone this project.
Covid-19 makes our task phenomenally difficult. It means our primary source of funds – donations from members of the public – is drier than usual, as people all over the world face financial hardship of their own. It also means there is less international support available to Vanuatu as a whole. For a small NGO like us, looking to ‘fill in the gaps’ of the ‘official’ response, the gaps are too deep and too numerous for us alone. It also means that we are unable to send project leaders from the UK or elsewhere to head up construction projects. An additional complication.
Despite the many challenges, we can nevertheless, get funds to affected communities to purchase the materials they need to rebuild. We can work on developing and supplying more innovative building plans, that local constructors can build. We can listen closely to those in affected areas about what they want and need over the uncertain future ahead. Already, we are hearing two simple requests from communities, over and over again: community evacuation centres, and strong, affordable housing.
If we cannot build, we can foster the development of designs that will help Vanuatu to Build Back Better. For communities who have lost everything, we can try to raise the funds needed to restore – even improve – local infrastructure.
The road ahead is long, and expensive. We desperately require additional funds in order to increase our capacity to deliver essential support. This site is a tool in our toolkit for increasing our funds – and community. It is the sister site of our main website – www.tanbokproject.org, for the purpose of housing the vast amount of research material we have compiled (and are continuing to compile) in the wake of Cyclone Harold. These resources are intended to inform, and they are here to be used. Getting the message out about the extent of the disaster is the first step in securing the aid necessary. Please use them. Please help us to spread the word.