Work was recently completed for a Carolinian traditional canoe. The Rose of Lima, a traditional hand-carved dugout outrigger was launched on December 27, 2012. Its launch marked the second and last traditional canoe completed and launched in the state of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia.
The canoe carving was completed by master carvers and various members of Yap’s youth such from the local high school. The work was done as part of afterschool activities sponsored by Waa’gey, a local community organization. The project was cited as a successful youth extracurricular activity with principles and teachers noting it as a real “game changer” for participating students. They have asked Habele directors, who help fund Waa’gey projects, to expand such programs. Larry Raigetal of the organization says projects such as canoe carving help keep the local tradition alive with “core skills transferred to the younger generation.”
The project not only involved traditional master carvers and Yap’s youth, but also the U.S. Navy Seabees. A month prior to the traditional canoe’s launch, the team helped ferry the massive log, which served as the base of the canoe, from the jungles of Yap to the traditional boat house in the Living Museum. The log took several weeks to cut down and carve out in the jungles of Yap, and when loading it onto the U.S. Navy truck, took 20 men to pull through the dirt as it weighted hundreds of pounds and measured more than 20 feet long.
The Rose of Lima is the second traditional canoe built in the last 12 months by Waa’gey. Waa’gey is a locally chartered community-based organization which actively works at the grassroots and community level to promotes use of traditional knowledge and skills. Some of its current projects aside from canoe carving include learning the skills of traditional weaving of royal fabrics for the girls and fish trap making for the boys.
Funding for this project was made possible by Habele, a U.S. Based Charity organization, Australia’s Small Grant Scheme, with donation for tools from Yapital, a local electronics company.
Copyright 2012. Oceania Television Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.