Micronesian Arts & Crafts on Display in Winter Park, Florida

Twenty minutes northeast of Orlando, the Albin Polasek Museum in Winter Park Florida is hosting “Island Objects,” an exhibit of archaeological materials and historical items from the Pacific Islands of Micronesia.

It showcases traditional culture and illustrate the ways it has adapted to external societal forces through periods of Spanish, German, Japanese, and American occupation. The exhibit was curated by Barbara Wavell, an anthropologist and author of Arts & Crafts of Micronesia.

A broad range of objects are represented in the exhibit including carved wooden figures and storyboards, intricately patterned fans, human statuary, navigation charts, and woven clothing and adornments.

Yap Canoe Festival set for December 2017

Waa'gey Carvers begin work on a new canoe in Colonia, November 2017

Celebrating the rich heritage of traditional seafaring in the Pacific region of Micronesia, the Yap Visitors Bureau, in partnership with the Yap Traditional Navigation Society, has announced that the 8th annual Yap Canoe Festival will be held December 8 & 9, 2017 in Colonia.

The two days of festivities will take place at the Yap Living History Museum and will include a parade of traditional sailing canoes, dances, skills demonstrations and a marketplace offering food and handicrafts for sale.

Micronesian scholar and filmmaker Dr. Eric Metzgar will provide the keynote address and present his video, A Voyaging Odyssey, featuring highlights from the 2010 ocean voyages captained by Pwo Master Navigator Ali Haleyalur and Master Canoe Carver Chief Bruno Tharngan. The ocean crossings “rediscovered” the ancient, traditional sea routes between the islands of Lamotrek, Guam, Yap and Palau.

Micronesian canoe reassembly highlights interwoven FSM-US ties

Reprinted with permission from the Kaselehlie Press

Micronesian citizens living in Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, gathered in South Carolina in mid-May to reassemble a traditional paddling canoe. The boat was crafted in Yap and serves as a symbol of the interwoven history of the American and Micronesian Peoples.

Condition Assessment of Micronesian Canoe

To: Habele Outer Island Education Fund
From: Geoffrey Chambers
Date of Assessment: Friday, April 7, 2017 at 4:00 PM
Location of Assessment: Edisto Island, South Carolina

Abstract and Summary of Conclusions:

This is a condition assessment of a donated 11.5 foot long outrigger canoe built by Larry Raigetal and the Waa'gey Organization of Lamotrek Atoll. The canoe is a solid and well-made vessel of tropical hardwood construction. The canoe is currently in good condition and stored disassembled in a shipping crate. Minor repair of cosmetic outrigger grain separation should be considered prior to assembly. All parts are present for assembly and are structurally sound. The canoe and parts show no evidence of rot or significant deterioration and the paint is in good condition. Authentic coconut hair line was provided for lashing in the assembly of the canoe. Expert assistance is needed for assembly with the coconut hair line because there is insufficient coconut hair line to make mistakes in assembly and / or lashing.

Background and Objectives:
Habele is a non-profit organization benefiting education and cultural preservation in the outer islands of Micronesia. Habele and Burnie Maybank organized the importation of a Micronesian paddling canoe to the United States. The canoe is currently in a shipping container on Edisto Island.

From Stone Money to STEM Olympians: Micronesian students head to International Robotics Competition

The famously traditional Island of Stone Money is sending top students to a high tech global robotics competition.

Students from 153 nations will gather in Washington DC this summer for the international high school robotics Olympics. Few will have traveled as far –geographically or culturally– as the Robo League team from Yap.

The FIRST Global Challenge is a worldwide robotics competition. Small student teams design, build, and compete complex robots from simple parts. The work demands hands-on mastery of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills. Featuring teams from across the planet, it also serves as a forum for students to meet and partner with diverse international peers.

Students in Yap –a remote Micronesian Island most famous for its Stone Money– established their own Robotics League in 2011, holding Micronesia’s first public exhibition in summer of 2012.

Organized by US-based NGO “Habele,” the Yap Robo League remains the only coordinated multi-year robotics program in the Central or Western Pacific. It has grown and thrived through a defining partnership with a robotics team at Chaminade College Preparatory School, in Los Angeles, California. In-kind gifts of time and talent, as well as private donations and local fundraisers entirely finance the league.

Historic Sail showcases Micronesian craftsmanship, navigation

UOG President Dr. Underwood stands with the traditional navigators from the Lamotrek, Yap State, Micronesia at a ceremony celebrating their voyage (link).

For centuries, the people of the central Caroline Islands have relied heavily on their voyaging canoes as their primary means of transport. They made voyages to islands near and afar to obtain necessities including food, tools, and other valuables. In some instances, following devastating natural calamities, their canoes are used to relocate to a different island as was the case for the “Carolinians” now residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI). 

Today, the art of canoe building and traditional celestial navigations, continues in these remote islands of the Federated States of Micronesia. Although at a smaller scale than what it used to be, the important knowledge of their ancestors is being passed on to younger generations. Waa’gey is a community-based organization that is working with their island communities to promote traditional skills and knowledge transfer.

Adze Blades for Moch, Chuuk Canoe Carvers

Waa'gey sending adze blades to their fellow carvers on Moch, in Chuuk, Micronesia.

Special thanks to Peace Corps Kaylin Dilbeck for cordinating!

Historic Micronesian Canoes Make Landfall on Guam

(Hagåtña Harbor, Guam) This week, three hand-carved sailing canoes landed on Guam, completing a five-day voyage across the open ocean from Yap State. This arduous five day trek highlights the ongoing success of Waa’gey, a Yap-based mentorship program that trains island youth in traditional canoe carving and navigation. The voyage between Yap State and Guam served to bridge both time and cultures.

“Waa’gey students are trained to see the value in the traditions of our ancestors,” said Larry Raigetal of Lamotrek Atoll, the group’s Program Director. “They learned to build a large sailing canoe with their own two hands, and put traditional navigation into practice on a real voyage. The old ways still work.”

The canoes used were “Carolina Proas,” complex all wood outriggers designed, perfected, and made famous by Micronesians over centuries. Larry oversaw the project, captaining one of the sleek vessels that early Spanish missionaries called, “flying proas.” Designing, building and navigating traditional canoes requires tremendous expertise.

Small Cost, Big Impact: DONATE NOW!

For a decade, we've served ambitious students from the most remote Micronesian Islands.

This past year presented new challenges to Habele. Super Typhoon Maysak uprooted many of the communities and schools we support. A new category of educationally-displaced students emerged.

Outer Island schools remain in disarray. Most families lack the resources for alternatives. Habele continues to receive scholarship applications from these displaced students, as well as families across Micronesia seeking the best classroom for their child. As in years past, demand greatly exceeds our limited resources.

For under $600, Habele can place ambitious students in top schools in the state capitals for an entire school year. Our goal is to award twenty, K12 student scholarships in 2016. With your help we can make it happen.

In addition to funding scholarships, money raised now sustains the only high school robotics league in the Central Pacific, a vibrant traditional skills mentorship program, and direct-to-schools library donations.

This yearly plea is the only time Habele raises money. As an all-volunteer nonprofit, we channel contributions to our locally-defined programs, not aggressive fundraising efforts. By contributing, and urging friends and family to get involved, you empower ambitious Micronesian students to define and pursue their own futures.

Please make a donation to Habele today. We are an IRS-recognized nonprofit, so you may be eligible for a tax deduction.

Thank you for your continued support!

or send check or money order to  Habele, 701 Gervais St, STE 150-244, Columbia, SC 29201.

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Habele Partner Prepares for Historic Canoe Voyage

Larry Raigetal - www.waagey.org from Douglas on Vimeo.

Larry Raigetal is preparing for a voyage that few living people have accomplished. Using navigation techniques passed down by generations of traditional navigators, Larry will lead a fleet of four, hand-carved Micronesian canoes across 500 miles of open ocean. On May 10, the canoes will embark from the tiny island of Yap, with the intent of landfall on Guam in time for the Pacific Festival, which begins on May 22nd. 

Larry serves as Project Director for Waa’gey, a cultural mentorship program teaching traditional skills to young people on Micronesia’s remote islands. Instruction in canoe carving and traditional navigation are a central component of Waa’gey’s work. Some of the young people who have spent years honing these practices will have the unique opportunity to put them to the test on this historic voyage. Over the years, Habele has been proud to partner with Waa’gey’s efforts to train local students. In fact, the custom adze blades used in carving voyaging canoes and traditional paddles were provided by Habele!

The voyage from Yap to Guam in a carved canoe is - fortunately - being documented from start to finish. You can go here and watch footage of Larry and the Waa’gey team carving canoes, fashioning paddles, and even discussing the impact of climate change on traditional navigation. You may not have a seat in a canoe, but these videos provide a rare look into techniques and skills that have been passed down for generations on islands at the end of the world. 

or send check or money order to  Habele, 701 Gervais St, STE 150-244, Columbia, SC 29201.

Habele is a tax exempt, all-volunteer, US based nonprofit with a proud history of high impact support for our partners in Micronesia.

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