Anitelu, Beraina, Aana, Ibrahim, Sulu, Ratita, Dan and Moutu in front of an A-frame chalet

A-Frame Chalets @ Mokutu has recently enjoyed the company of 12 extraordinary people from islands across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  Their homelands were diverse, including the Comoros Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Tonga, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands and they were on Norfolk Island to participate in the Sustainable Islands Program, hosted by the Econorfolk Foundation and funded by the University of Sydney and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).  This special group of islanders loved the island vibe at Mokutu and took advantage of the gardens and pool area to relax and chill out after each information-packed day of their intensive program.  Mokutu was like a little international village while they were here.  Each morning they enjoyed a generous buffet breakfast at the Sublime Lounge Café before field trips to Farmer Lou’s, the electricity generation plant, the Waste Management Centre, Bigg Fresh Farm and others as well as attending lectures and workshops at Governor’s Lodge.The final barbeque hosted for the many friends the group had made during their stay, showed just how many people contributed to this successful program.  The barbeque was held in the Mokutu garden with local musician, Yoyo, playing guitar by the pool, joined by Anitelu from Tonga on the ukulele and Mafalu from Tuvalu on the drum.  The meat and fish had been generously donated by a number of different locals and Lou Evans was on hand to cook it all, in addition to the scores of bananas he brought with him.  Shari Bates, of Sublime Café supplied the salads and coconut bread that seemed to have no end.

Econorfolk Foundation, led by Denise Quintal, has hosted two other successful Sustainable Islands Programs on Norfolk Island and after the great response to this year’s program, it is hoped that next year will be even bigger.  All here at Mokutu certainly hope that we will be able to offer a home away from home to another group of enthusiastic program delegates in 2015.

The Sustainable Islands group with their Econorfolk Foundation hosts and program members at the Norfolk Island airport. Farmer Lou (far right) is there so there are more bananas!