GIFF JOHNSON
There is so much going on at Waan Aelon in Majel that you may be forgiven for wondering if you wandered into a time warp locating you in another country or time period.
On any given day, you may find 25 young people learning and hands-on practicing English and math, carpentry skills, sailing and riding on outrigger canoes, building different types of hand-crafted products including outrigger canoes and coconut graters, and helping the ongoing construction of the canoe organization’s new two-story workshop, office and — soon to include — museum.
Two years ago, WAM’s main canoe workshop and offices burned to the ground. Through its own effort and partnerships with many donor groups, WAM is rising from the ashes stronger than ever.
One of the most important points of emphasis for WAM is engaging young people who for one reason or another dropped out of elementary, middle and high school — though WAM Director Alson Kelen takes pride in pointing out that most of the trainees who are inducted into their six-month life and vocational skills training program are early grade dropouts. WAM is possibly the only organization in RMI that focuses on this marginalized group of young people who, until they get involved with WAM, are well and truly outside government systems and safety nets. The trainees who graduate from the six-month program are able to take a variety of new-found skills and educational ability to feel confident to register for CMI’s Adult Basic Education program — last year’s training saw the majority of graduates migrant to the ABE program, Kelen said — or apply to workplaces for a job. Perhaps most important of all is the life skills learned: time management and personal accountability, using a bank account, and how to get help when needed (WAM has two certified counselors on staff who work with young people as part of the training).
“We change with the times and the needs,” said Kelen, citing the program developing curriculum that helps align trainees with requirements to enter the CMI ABE program.
This training program is currently supported by World Bank funding through the National Training Council.
But this youth training program is only one element of the WAM program.
Over the past several years, with the support of multiple donors including the RMI National Energy Office, WAM launched a specialized program of building sustainable, no-carbon emission boats — canoes, proas, catamarans — to meet needs specific to different outer islands. An essential part of this program was bringing to Majuro one skilled carpenter/boatbuilder from each outer atoll to work with the WAM boat building team. After the boats are finished, they get transported to the outer island for use. The trial of these boats on the outer islands provides feedback from people on the outer islands to WAM, allowing the program an ongoing loop of feedback they use to tweak the program going forward.
Of great significance is that the WAM-designed and built boats are repairable and maintainable on remote outer islands. In contrast, for example, with the Okeanos double hull canoe that could not be fixed in Majuro and ended up being ratholed in storage several years ago never to be seen again, WAM boats use materials that are accessible and repairable locally. The involvement of a skilled carpenter from each of the outer islands involved also ensures a person from the atoll has the skills set for maintenance, said Kelen.
The outer islands boat building project has changed in its focus over the several years it has been in operation. Previously, each of the training/building sessions involved three or four outer islands building one boat for each. “We are working closely with each community (to meet their needs),” said Kelen. This resulted in the case of Namdrik Atoll, for example, in WAM building three boats for the Namdrik community: Two catamarans and a proa. This is the same that is happening for Ebon.
Kelen describes it as “managing the atoll so that the community doesn’t fight over one boat.” As in the past, Ebon sent on builder to work with the WAM team and currently the WAM team is finishing up the three boats. A new element for the Ebon program will be to take the boat building and maintenance training to Ebon, the southern-most atoll in the Marshall Islands. This will involve training 20 people on Ebon to ensure there is a core group of people skilled in boat building and maintenance.
In past iterations of this outer islands boat building program, WAM saw skilled boat builders leaving the RMI soon after. “Some we brought into Majuro (to build boats), we train them and then they migrate to the US,” Kelen said. This new effort for Ebon aims to address the out-migration situation, which is leaving gaps for many NGOs and government agencies.
The Ebon program is supported by the German aid agency GIZ and also by another German aid program with the acronym IKI. Kelen added that WAM is currently looking for funding support to roll out a similar boat building initiative for Aur Atoll.
In addition to this, the program is contributing to knowledge about use of solar-power outboard engines for atoll boat use. WAM has trialed the use of a 25 horsepower engine on its boats over the past two years in an effort to develop data about its use in different conditions and how best to manage a solar powered engine in an island setting.