Building Project Phase 1 Begins

This is the first dwelling, a fale hunuki hafekasi, designed by Vaiokema and me, and built out of salvaged lumber from Nuku'alofa as well as coconut lumber milled from the land.  (We didn't end up using the beam that washed ashore as it had some damage to it from being in the ocean). 
 Clearning the lot with Vaiokema and and our cuzzo Muli Kinikini:

It's not done yet, and we're waiting until Vaiokema returns in September. In the meantime, Salesi and Havea are cutting more lumber from coconut for the next project, a traditional  fale tonga.

Vaiokema & Mayone Come to 'Uiha

 My Mom, Mayone, and Dad, Vaiokema, came for the first 6 months of 2010 to begin building the first of the project's sustainable dwellings, and their retirement dream home.  The Motuha Project is based on Vaiokema's 8-acre land, which is called Motuha, after an ancient warrior who used to live here.  The more contemporary name is "Monuia Point".

 The fale hunuki hafekasi was built using salvaged lumber from shipping crates sourced from a local construction company in Nuku'alofa (see next blog).  In addition, we were lucky to have an expert chainsaw master on the island, our cousin Havea (Grandma Ane's grandson), who cut coconut lumber from the land.  Its amazing what this guy can do! We used coconut trees on the lot:

We also watched Salesi's uncle, Kisi show us how to weave thin bamboo into wall coverings: