The Indigenous Peoples of the World Must Survive

Tribal Link has been invited by our colleague, Rev. Tafue Lusama, a member of the Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN) to assist in designing and building a Center for Environmental Education and an Eco-House- a completely sustainable model home.  To complement the nation’s master plan for sustainability, this project will tackle pertinent issues of access to fresh water, renewable energy, local food production and composting waste as well as increased awareness about climate change, and employment generation.

A team of experts in the fields of sustainable architecture and environmental justice have offered to volunteer their time and expertise in the initial phase to travel to Tuvalu from January 8-18, 2011 to visit the project site and meet our counterparts- TuCAN and the local community.

During the site visit, the team will collect critical information that cannot be done halfway around the world.  For instance, TuCAN requests solutions to the massive amounts of non-biodegradable rubbish from imported food and water packaging, as there are no recycling facilities on the islands.  We think this waste can be transformed into building materials, so it will be necessary to take inventory of its’ sizes, shapes and quantity.  It will also be important to investigate the current typical, western-style, Tuvaluan house, compared with traditional Polynesian architecture, in order to design with sensitivity to local styles and customs.

Our team is composed of committed professionals and students who genuinely believe in the powerful message the Eco-House and Center will send to the world and Tuvaluan population.  Respected Professor of Architecture at New York Institute of Technology, Thomas Rochon, AIA, has experience working with traditional cultures while he served as an architect in Tunisia.  At NYIT, he was principle investigator and faculty advisor for Solar Decathlon 2005 and 2007 competitions in which students designed and built houses completely powered by the sun and were displayed on the National Mall in Washington DC.  An Architecture alumnus of NYIT, and current graduate student of Urban Design at City College, Heather Korb was Architecture team leader for the 2005 Solar Decathlon.  She has traveled on a fellowship to Bangladesh to witness the effects of climate change on livelihoods and the landscape, with a focus on water. Heather is a LEED certified professional. An Environmental Justice student-researcher of the University of Connecticut, Kristiane Huber, is currently studying resettlement and its affects on indigenous communities. Working on this project, she will have a significant opportunity to perform field work with a community that is under threat of resettlement and be part of crucial interactions with government officials and NGOs while in Tuvalu.

While they are in Tuvalu, Heather have posted updates to our website called ‘On the Ground’. Please read about their experiences and meetings with community members and government officials, learning what they island needs to make this project happen.