PROGRAM PRIORITIES of PTS

April 2021 - August 2026

Background: During 2027-2018 proper expenditures and provision of receipts by VVA project leaders were not forthcoming and PTS-donated funds were not spent as budgeted. Years of meetings and efforts were made to resolve the problems. Luke Vaikawi, elected Executive Director of VVA, and Betty Bosi, acting Treasurer of VVa, held meetings at Taumako to discuss the situation. In January 2021 more than 90% of Taumako community made the final decision to register a new charitable organization. In June, 2021 the registration of Holau Vaka Taumako Association was officially completed, and resignations from VVA were tendered by Luke Vaikawi, Pacific Traditions Society, and Mimi George.

The priority programs of HVTA are listed below.

1. Construction of an all-season support, transport, and emergency vessel began in Hawai`i

An escort vessel is legally required for student voyages of the TePuke. PTS found support to build a 38ʻ vessel under construction is an ocean-going proa design in modern materials with a 14hp diesel auxiliary engine. This was an experimental vessel, never before attempted. PTS engaged a builder in Hawaii to build it. The costs doubled during 2020-2022. Sea-trials were made and changes made in rig, steering, and drive train for the small diesel engine. But funds ran out before the craft could be made a seaworthy. PTS and HVTA still seek to build or acquire the vessel needed.

2. Sea-training of students for inter-island voyages. Funding is needed for rations and for school fees for the children of sailors and trainers.

3. Interior and loft accomodations for the permanently-roofed canoe house (Halevaka) at Taumako. This structure accommodates students and visitors of Lata Cultural Voyaging School, and has room for the administrative office, the power system and communications equipment, and for video documentation and editing work. Additionally a leaf-roofed halevaka shelter was built for working on canoes. Equipment is needed to safely archive voyaging library books, cultural resource materials, tools and supplies.

3. Deliver and install editing laptops and software into the computer labs and office of the schools of HVTA at Taumako; Pasana Group at Lumolumo, Baskilaki Island, PNG; Inowon of Polowat, Chuuk State, FSM, and Drua Sailing Experience of Fulaga Island, Lau Group, Fiji. Maintenance and upgrading of solar power and internet systems and support for annual data plans and software trainings are needed. Communications are essential for maintaining charitable organisation status and for coordinating with foreign voyaging students and visitors interested in ancient voyaging knowledge. The MacBook Air laptops donated years ago by Fred Ross (with matching grants by Microsoft and PTS) are now not functional. With proper protection in the halevaka new laptops can be expected to last much longer.

4. Complete part 3 of We, the Voyagers: Lata’s Children documentary film series. The first film, We, the Voyagers: Our Vaka, and the second film We, the Voyagers: Our Moana are both freely available on vaka.org and Vimeo. We also seek donor support for costs of 3 other groups who aim to edit films. All the films will focus on women and children in voyaging and on re-establishing inter-island partnerships and networks, including with new partners internationally. Aspiring HVTA and Pasana Group filmmakers have been recording interviews with women experts, including documentation of ancient methods of food preservation under a grant from the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme of the British Museum.

5. Complete and publish Sailing with Lata, a book by Mimi George and Taumako colleagues telling the story of the Vaka Taumako Project and explaining a wealth of never before reported voyaging knowledge taught by Kaveia, and other women and men masters of Polynesian voyaging arts. We are fundraising for production of diagrams and supplementary video sequences to be included with the book and dvd, and for writeup time for the authors to work together, and for expert work in web publishing and distribution.

6. PTS administrators and their collaborators use communications data, laptops, video software and training. They need modest salaries while they write grant applications, and enact programs and create collaborations with international offices and students.

7. Complete digitization and acquire protective storage boxes for all the video footage, photos, books, and voyaging valuables to be safely archived at the HVTA Halevaka at Taumako.

8. Update WIX website for HVTA with posts from Facebook and archival documents from 55 years of work by M George as associates across Oceania.

*PTS aims to meet these goals during 2026. PTS believes these steps will enable HVTA, Pasana Group, Drua Sailing Experience, Inowon, to become self-supporting.

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