Kylie DellaBarca Steel (left), and Mary Charrington of Fruit of the Pacific were re-united with Te Puke seasonal workers Marcel Nalau and Thompson Job.
Kylie DellaBarca Steel (left), and Mary Charrington of Fruit of the Pacific were re-united with Te Puke seasonal workers Marcel Nalau and Thompson Job.
Kylie DellaBarca Steel spent the duration of Cyclone Pam holed up in her room in Vanuatu wondering if the locals would survive and is now determined to do something to help the nation rebuild.
"I was never afraid for myself and the colleagues that I was there with as we were in a safe place. What was scary was getting up in the morning and just wondering who we were going to find alive," the Bay woman said.
Thankfully she woke to find all the locals she knew had survived.
Marcel Nalau in front of his house in Vanuatu which he built with money earned as a seasonal worker in New Zealand. It was badly damaged during Cyclone Pam.
Just days after the cyclone which destroyed much of the island nation, Ms Steel boarded a plane with about 60 seasonal workers to make the trip to Te Puke where they are now working picking and packing Kiwifruit.
Some arrived with only a backpack as the rest of their belongings were gone, said Ms Steel, director of Fruit of the Pacific. Fruit of the Pacific is a trust which aims to educate and mentor seasonal workers who come to the Bay for work so they have transferable skills they can take home to their communities.
A half-completed Earthship hut that was built by Earthship Biotecture in the Philippines in response to Typhoon Haiyan. Photo / Supplied
"Coming to New Zealand and earning this money is their only option to rebuild," she said.
Now she has arranged for two Te Puke men to head to Fiji to learn how to build a low-cost stormproof shelter to safeguard people from cyclones and typhoons such as the recent Cyclone Pam.
Zane Holloway and Sam Charrington volunteered to support Fruit of the Pacific's earthship build in Te Puke by going to Fiji to film and be part of the training process offered by Earthship Biotecture, the designers of the Earthship concept.
When they arrive back in Te Puke they will build an Earthship at Branns Farm in mid-June with help from the seasonal workers to pass on their knowledge - particularly to those from Vanuatu.
"Long-term they have to rebuild their lives. This is something they can actually build. It's really low-cost. It will give them something they can protect their families in next time," Ms Steel said.
The Earthship they are making is a mix of earth filled tyres and bamboo, covered in sod on the exterior. It will have its own rainwater collection system and participants will learn how to make their own handpumps, as well as the carpentry finishing for doors, windows and skylights.
Mr Charrington, a producer and director, will film the Fiji project to help with the Te Puke build and also as part of a step-by-step DVD they hope to send back with the seasonal workers in their own languages while Mr Holloway will get his hands dirty building.
Mr Holloway said he was determined to be part of the project as soon as he heard about it.
"I've worked with people from Tanna Island before and they are really nice people. They are just so open and honest and giving. To hear that pretty much all the houses on Tanna were destroyed is just so terrible. This sounds like such a practical way of teaching people," he said.
Joe Iatutu, a seasonal worker from Vanuatu, said he would take part in the Te Puke project as he was planning to build an Earthship in his village in Tanna which people could shelter in during major storms. He owns a tyre shop on Tanna and said it would be a great way to recycle used tyres instead of burying or burning them.
What is an Earthship?
An Earthship is typically made up of an external wall of rammed-earth tyres, with a fully glazed, equatorially facing frontage to maximise the passive solar gain from the suns rays.
The sides of the Earthship are surrounded by banked earth, creating a large thermal capacitor with which to store the thermal energy.
Throughout the day, when the air is warmer than the earth, thermal energy is absorbed into the tyre walls. When the air cools, especially at night, the thermal energy is released by the tyre walls, equalising the temperature and providing a consistent ambient temperature throughout the year.
