Hey, this is pretty cool: Two Brits are trying to put together a "tribe" of 5,000 people to build a sustainable eco-community on a small island in Fiji. The idea is to create something that the islanders can eventually adopt and steward, all the while keeping big developers at bay.
Through their site, tribewanted.com, they’re allowing people to buy shifts on the island. From an L.A. Times story:
Memberships — Nomad ($220), Hunter ($440) and Warrior ($660) — entitle members to seven, 14 or 21 days on the palm-fringed 200-acre oasis, 100 at a time. Fees cover food, lodging and local airport transfer.
This is not for the five-star hotel crowd. The tribe will be roughing it, especially the early arrivals, who will have only tents and basic shower and toilet facilities.
"The first job for the tribe," [Ben] Keene said, "is to build for those who come later," working alongside paid Fijian laborers to build beach huts. There’s no electricity, but solar energy will provide Internet access.
The Fijan chief whose family populates the island leased it to the Brits for three years.
The objective, Keene said, is threefold: to provide a unique adventure for tribe members, to pioneer a "social experiment" of 5,000 people working together to create something and "to raise awareness about living sustainably and traveling responsibly." All while providing local jobs and invigorating the economy
Several people in the story joke about it being like a reality show — an idea the Brits go to great lengths to shoot down — but I happen to think that this would make a great TV show. It’s nice for people to see that they don’t have to wait on anyone to start making change.
(via BB)
