Our Samoa Village Get Hired to Build Canoes!
As you recall, we did a project in Samoa (2012) where we built 16 canoes—one for each family in the village of Matafa’a—to replace those...
Destruction, Death, and Exile in the Village
Coming over the mountains to the south side of the island is like entering a different world. Whereas the rest of Samoa is waterlogged...
Samoa Gets Hit Again
With so much tragedy in the news last week, you may not have seen that a category 3 cyclone (“sustained hurricane winds of 120 mph and...
And Now: a Word from our Sponsors
Cash donations make the MicroAid work possible—helping victims of disasters return to self-sufficiency. But there are some things that...
MicroAid Builds Canoes for the Village of Matafa’a — 2012
In Matafa’a, one of the most remote villages in Samoa, all their canoes were destroyed or washed away by the tidal wave. For Matafa’a...
MicroAid replaces Fishing Kits in the Village of Salea’a’umua — 2012
When we think of fishing we usually imagine someone casting a line into the water and reeling in their catch. In Samoa, fishing means...
Cavalcade of Canoes
The canoes are done! Sixteen beautiful hand-carved works of art. Now all the kids of the village can get to school in Falese’ela across...
Me, Myself, Matai
It turns out that receiving a chief title, becoming a matai, is a much bigger deal than I thought. If you do not inherit your title, it...
Canoe Collage
An unexpected benefit of the project is that the older craftsmen are able to teach all the skills necessary to the next entire...
Samoa Update
All trees chopped down and moved to the finishing area in the village. (Canoe total: 16) Six canoes finished, awaiting outriggers and...
