While I was lighting the fire to cook lunch today, two ladies turned up in a canoe. I recognised them as two from the Mothers Union group who had come to the Arnavons last month. They had apparently just come round to see how I was and have a chat, but when I mentioned my frustration with the Arnavons conservation area their eyes lit up and I could see that this was what they had really come for; this visit was politics, and I liked it.
The Mothers’ Union visit to the Arnavons had sparked a fire. At the time, I had suggested that they go home and talk sternly to their men about what they wanted to happen in the village. Not only had they done that, they had gone to the house of chiefs and laid out their intentions.
It seems that with the little presentations that Gary and I delivered to the Mothers' Union, we had stoked their maternal instincts and had lit a flame of passion for sustainability. They recognised the importance of the Arnavons project for food security and the future of their children, and they were keen to see the community benefit more directly from it. What’s more, they were as concerned as me about their representatives on the board of (mis)management; “the snakes”; “the octopus men”.
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| Kia Mothers' Union on tour at the Arnavons. |
What they wanted firstly, was to know what was going on within the board of management so they could keep an eye on their representatives. Their second objective was more to the point – they wanted the existing board members replaced. They wanted to see females in positions of power throughout the community, and a position on the Arnavons board was within their sights.
These ladies were planning to do everything that I thought needed doing. They wanted money taken out of the equation of village politics; replaced with morals and family values. And best of all, they wanted to be the ones to do it, they weren’t asking anyone to do it for them. They had already attained the support of the House of Chiefs, they had written a request for education assistance to The World Fish Centre, and once this request had been granted, they had conducted their own campaign to spread this information around the community and raise awareness about sustainability issues; they were threatening to make me redundant, and I was quite fond of the idea.
For a visiting tourist’s take on all of this and some great photos, check out: http://unstucktravel.com/2011/07/18/the-nature-conservancy-arnavon-island-project-and-the-women-of-kia/
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