To ensure traditional skills are not lost a team of traditional canoe builders will attempt to build the biggest canoe in the world measuring over 100ft in size.
The canoe, named “Na Waqa Drua” will have a standing capacity of 180 people.
Na Waqa Drua representative Carson Young said he hopes the project would be completed in 9-12 months despite material sourcing challenges in Fiji.
“We are actually building, what most people would understand is a catamaran, that’s a vessel with two hulls,” Mr Young said.
“This canoe, or waqa will be the biggest in the world— there hasn’t been any canoe built of this size in at least the last 150 years.
“So what we are building, with a little risk and anxiety, is to embark on a project that will allow us to revisit our history.”
Project representative, Kaiafa Ledua, with his experience of navigating across the ocean using ancient techniques and practices, said the project would lead to a vessel that could be used to commercially and positively impact indigenous people.
The traditional canoe is currently being built behind the St Stephen’s building in Suva.
Na Waqa Drua is recipient of a grant award under the Pacific African Caribbean Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU) Cultural and Creative Industries grant scheme which aims to support the national/regional development priorities in the areas of culture and creative industries.
Pacific Community (SPC) Human Rights and Social Development (HRSD) director Miles Young said 12 new projects were awarded in round three of the ACP EU grants, bringing the total number of grants to 20.
In total, five large grants have been awarded along with ten medium grants and five small grants dispersed to grantees from Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Solomon Islands.
European Union (EU) delegate Pedro Velazquez said the EU was committed to supporting and promoting culture in the Pacific.
“I believe it’s important, cultural heritage is a common good, that cannot be replaced or renewed so once we lose cultural heritage is lost forever,” Mr Velazquez said.
“There’s no way it will come back this way we need to take care of it. We (EU) feel that it’s also our responsibility to help to safeguard cultural heritage.”
