Storian blong Gudfala Laef

Vanuatu is now supplying more labor via seasonal worker programs in Australia and New Zealand than any other Pacific Island country, and has grown a dependence on these regional labor programs. Ni-Vanuatu are attracted to the income potential as well as an opportunity to experience something different and new. For many, the labor programs are their best or only opportunity for decent pay. Thousands have returned with savings that have enabled them to acquire land, build a home, pay for school fees, or start a business of their own. But for some, the benefits come at a high cost, with many families fracturing and many domestic businesses and even government agencies finding it difficult to retain staff. Domestic agricultural production has slowed making families more dependent on imported foods, and the lack of younger able bodied men and women has also impeded community works and shrunk the services industry. The storyteller in this episode speaks of his experience - the good AND the bad - for continued dialogue on the merits and demerits of seasonal work programs in Vanuatu.

Do you know youth that are willing yet unable to find work? This episode delves into youth unemployment in Vanuatu with a storyteller that shows unemployment as a phenomenon for those that have completed formal education, as well those that may have left the system at earlier ages. Data on youth unemployment in this episode is taken from the period prior to Covid-19 lockdowns and the associated impacts on the local economy in Vanuatu, therefore the story illustrate unemployment relates their experience to said impacts. It is a story of adversity and at the same time a story of enduring spirit, family and kinship support, and overcoming challenges to achieve goals.

In honor of the Provincial School Games underway in Port Vila this week, this episode features a young woman from the island of Pentecost tell her story of how her family supported her pursuits in sport to where she is now, studying on a full scholarship and representing the nation at international competitions while continuing to train in the sport that brings her joy.

In this episode, the storyteller describes traditional housing and the advantages it has over housing that uses foreign materials such as concrete and corrugated iron. The perception that traditional housing is somehow inferior to other housing is incorrect. Traditional housing is sustainable, clean, and safe. Moreover, it's affordable for those with free access to land and natural resources. A majority of housing in Vanuatu is built using local natural resources.

In this episode we hear the traditional marriage story of a young man and young woman in modern Port Vila. Both storytellers are from SHEFA Province. Cultural rituals require Traditional Wealth Items that hold value in ritual exchange. These items include pigs, mats, yams, kava, and other items as determined by the rules of a particular group. The young couple were supported by their extended families on the islands for them to get married in custom in Port Vila. This episode explores themes of access to traditional moneys, availability and sources of traditional moneys, support value of kinship networks, importance of participation in traditional rituals as part of ones identity, and more.

The storyteller in this episode is a woman that lost her husband, leaving her with young children to raise as a single parent. Her husband's family, of different island origins, became estranged over time, threatening her son's future access to his ancestral lands passed down through his late father. The story emphasizes the pronounced vulnerability of women in Vanuatu when it comes to indigenous lands as discovered in official statistics on housing and food production. As important as it is to wellbeing, indigenous land access is fragile and dependent on several factors, including type of traditional tenure system used to transfer land rights, marriage status, adoption status, amount of time spent on the land, knowledge of boundaries, and how well the surrounding community associates an individual with their lands, to name a few.

Storyteller hemi talem aot impotens blong kastom graon long laef blong hem mo ol man ples blong hem. Kastom graon hemi sapotem bigfala majoriti blong olgeta pipol long Vanuatu bitim 1,000 yia i kam kasem tede. Identiti blong olgeta man mo woman Vanuatu i joen wetem graon. Majoriti blong olgeta pipol long Vanuatu i kontiniu blong yusum kastom graon blong olgeta blong fidim famle, haosem famle, mo long fulap narafala samting we yumi nidim vatu blong pem sipos graon i no gat.