EVE BURNS* Ama Town, Japan – Separated by nearly 2,400 miles, a Marshall Islands program and an American in Japan are working to rebuild and maintain a thousand-year old boat building tradition. Howard Rice is a renowned boat builder and maritime enthusiast known for his dedication to preserving traditional boat-building techniques while embracing innovative designs. […]
Windy and sometimes rainy conditions prevailed during last weekend’s Kwajalein Cup outrigger canoe race. But that didn’t dampen the turnout of canoes, only made it more challenging for the captains to demonstrate their skills. First place canoe was “Nana” built and captained by Clancy Takia, an experienced canoe builder at the Waan Aelon in Majel […]
A year ago Waan Aelon in Majel lost its building to a fire. Last week, WAM broke ground for a new building that will be constructed with the help of Majuro Atoll Local Government, the United States and Australian governments, Council of Indigenous People of Taiwan, K&K Island Pride Supermarket, Iroojlaplap Mike Kabua, MISCo and […]
A well-attended graduation ceremony last week celebrated the completion of three new boats built locally for remote outer atolls. Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) completed its fourth Low Carbon Lagoon Transport Boatbuilding Workshop. Last week’s graduation showed off the work of Timius Torelik (Namu), Waihee Hanchor (Wotje) and Job Jibok (Maloelap) […]
It took four friends four days to learn a new trade and create local coconut graters from scratch. Such is the story behind four classmates from Marshall Islands High School during their practicum program at the Waan Aelon in Majol (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) program earlier this month. The girls, Miram Paul, Sisteria Baso, […]
EVE BURNS Waan Aelon in Majel (WAM) suffered a devastating fire recently that destroyed its office and workshops. In an outpouring of solidarity with WAM, local and international donors from every direction have put up their hands to help with the reconstruction. Monday this week, Australia joined other donors to support WAM rebuilding efforts through […]
GIFF JOHNSON Fires have long been the scourge of Majuro and Sunday’s blaze that destroyed the Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) two-story offices and workshops proved that point.Firefighting equipment and know-how is rarely able to stop a fire in progress. The best that can be hoped for in Majuro is that […]
The US Embassy hosted an art exhibition at the Ambassador’s residence earlier this month, an event that brought together students from four Majuro high schools with NGOs Jo-Jikum and Waan Aelon in Majel. The students viewed both locally made works of art that were displayed in the outdoor ground floor deck area under the main […]
GIFF JOHNSON Marshallese style boats are being designed and built by skilled builders in the Marshall Islands, naturally enough, but also in places that one might not expect, such as Europe. Here in Majuro, Waan Aelon in Majel has designed and built what they call a “carro proa.” The WAM team built it in three […]
GIFF JOHNSONIn the consultant-dependent world of the Marshall Islands, the Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) program stands out.“Everyone who works at WAM is Marshallese,” said Director Alson Kelen in a recent interview. “WAM is about training,” he said. “It’s what we do.” While the program has relied in the past on […]
