Third Day:

Morale is low.

Rations are meager.

We’re on the Oregon Trail.

We came tantalizingly close to catching a chicken with our homemade chicken trap, which was essentially a Rube Goldberg contraption that we hooked up in Tyler’s yard. Film footage of this excruciating event will soon follow.

I’ve attached a picture of the chicken trap. The chicken essentially walks through the gate, baited by some banana, and it releases the ‘twigger’, which causes the ‘gallows to shoot up, and a concealed noose to tighten, presumably, around a chicken’s neck.

Last night, it was tangerines, bananas, copra and oysters again, following an unsuccessful spearfishing expedition and the aforementioned Rube Goldberg Chicken Trap Fiasco of 2009.

Going to try to snag a breadfruit or two today, and we’re going to try and catch a chicken. Again. The first week is the hardest. We may not make it past the first couple of weeks.

Day Two:

School was tough because the entire school got ice cream cones at 4th period break. Imagine, 550 students slathering their faces with vanilla ice cream and you can’t partake. Trying to teach 30 cone-gobbling kids chemistry while other teachers are stopping by just to gloat. The Great Ice Cream Delivery hadn’t happened yet this year, and probably won’t happen again. Woe is me.

We got home, and harvested about 40 tangerines from the jungle behind my house, with the help of my host-brothers. They’re excellent tree climbers, and while we held the branches they’d scurry up and grab the biggest tangerines.

Then, we went to harvest proteins. I went to the pier and dove for about 50 oysters, armed with a hammer, a screwdriver, a snorkel and a mask. Tyler tried fishing nearby, with little luck. Our fishing excursions have so far yielded nothing, and it appears the larger, more appealing fish don’t want much to do with the hermit crabs. So, we’re waiting to catch a chicken. Then, we’re going to use chicken fat. Chicken fat more closely approximates spam, which is essentially the most magical bait of all time.

I came home and shucked some more coconuts with my host-brothers, then cooked the oysters in the oven. I cooked them until they were essentially crispy. Still, they were delicious. Hopefully they don’t make me sick.

In other news, since everyone on Kosrae has a rat tail, I've decided to cultivate a new, more alternative look. The halfbeard had its origins in a bet I made with my students, and I decided to make it a permanent fixture. What other job could you have, where you could have a halfbeard, and no one questions you at all?




I'll leave you with this picturesque shot of a Kosraean sunset, taken from the water during a dusky swim. It's not so bad, living out here.

First Day:

The project began at noontime. We had our final breakfasts this morning, then went to parent-teacher conferences. We decided this day would be a harvest day.

First, we harvested red coconuts and bananas, which we did by foraging in the jungle behind Tyler’s house. Red coconuts are great, because they’re huge, and the copra that lines their insides is packed with calcium and calories. (Over 1500, according to locals). The chilled coconut milk is the slightest bit sweet; it’s basically heaven.

To get the bananas, we chopped down a banana tree. There are over 20 types of edible banana on the island, and we chopped down a cluster of the most useful, known here as boiled bananas. When they’re green, you can boil them—giving you a taste similar to a baked potato and then they ripen to the classic color and taste of a regular banana.

Then, we tried to go fishing, but the tide was too low. We have a tidal chart, but we thought we’d brave it. We collected hermit crabs as bait, then we went out to the surf. We didn’t fish—too choppy and dangerous, but we did see the starfish at right.


At about 5:00 pm, Tyler and I parted ways. I went back to Lelu to comb the slopes of Mt. Mutunte for an orange or tangerine grove. Tyler stayed in Tafunsak to attempt some knife-fishing once the sun went down. On the way home, my trusty purple speedo swim trunks, that I bought at the Salvation Army 7 years ago, ripped completely in half. An unfortunate casualty. These trunks were legendary.

Tomorrow will be a protein day. We’re harvesting oysters, fishing at the pier, and possibly going freshwater shrimping at night.

Dinner Tonight:

Fruit Salad
Boiled Bananas (4)
Chilled Oranges (1)
Chilled Tangerines (2)



Breakfast/Lunch Tomorrow:

Red Coconut Milk
Copra
Boiled Bananas

The Rules

Bylaws of the Sustainable Living Plan:

Article I: Permissible Non-sustainable objects:
1. Pots and pans
2. String, fishing line
3. Machetes, Spears, Knives, et al.
4. Electricity
5. Refrigeration and Freezing

Article Ib: A Note on Refrigeration
We have decided to allow refrigeration for the following reasons. 1) We are very used to eating un-refrigerated items here. Mayonnaise, eggs, and other “refrigerables” generally are not refrigerated in Kosrae. Fish sits out for a day or two before it’s cooked, then may remain sitting out for a day or two after that.

Because of this patent lack of refrigeration, we’ve often found ourselves sick. Nate, particularly, got a tapeworm, either from unclean food or from unclean water. Nate’s tapeworm affected his ability to teach, so we are going to guard against health-related issues wherever possible. We are first and foremost volunteer teachers, and our first duty is to our students. Moreover, we feel that we could do without refrigeration, as our host families generally do without.

Thus, we will maintain refrigeration rights in attempt to stay healthy.

Article II: Water Collection
All water will be collected from one of two rain catchments, located at Tyler’s house and Nate’s house. Water will be boiled, since Tyler’s catchment, in particular, is fohkfohk, the Kosraean word for dirty. We consider rain catchments the most sustainable way to get water, as the fresh water sources are generally considered to be private property here on the island.

Article III: Cultural Activities
We will be responsible to complete the following cultural activities, to enhance our knowledge of traditional Kosraean methods of subsistence and ethnobotanical practices.

1. The making of two traditional ums. (A ceremonial oven made with palm fronds, rocks, and coconut husks)
2. One palm-frond basket weaving session (see picture at right)
3. [Optional] Brewing of tuba, a local homemade alcohol.
4. [Optional] Killing and cleaning of a pig
5. Special Surprise Hallowe'en Sustainability Event entitled "Betwixt the Birthdays" TBA

Article IV: Fish
The following types of fishing will be permitted:
1. Spear fishing
2. Machete fishing
3. Rod fishing
4. Hand-line fishing
We will be permitted to use a fishing rod, but the bait must be either hunted or gathered. As there are few worms on this island, we will likely be using hermit crabs, fish heads, and chicken fat.

Article V: Fowl
The island has one type of fowl, known scientifically as “Red Jungle Fowl”. Basically, it is a type of wild chicken. The wild chicken are the property of whoever’s land they find themselves on, and Tyler and I have prepared by feeding a few mature hens at his place. They will be allowed to be eaten, but they must be caught using a homemade chicken trap, using only permissible, sustainable objects. It is exceedingly difficult to create said traps, and all attempts to even understand these traps have been met with bewilderment. Attempts to trap jungle fowl will be recorded for your enjoyment.

Article VI: Swine
Each family has livestock and normally slaughters pigs for major island celebrations. Fortunately, on Nov. 6th, the Lelu Congregational Church celebrates its 50th anniversary. Nate’s host family will be killing three or four pigs for the event. As Nate has helped feed, kill, and clean pigs in the past, the pigs slaughtered for the Lelu celebration will be permissible, provided that both Tyler and Nate assist in the killing, cleaning, and butchering of the pigs. Total amount of pork is not to exceed two (2) dinner portions.

Article VII: Outside Help
Outside help will be permissible at certain times. For example, when spearfishing, we may spearfish with other, more competent individuals, but we may only harvest what we ourselves spear. If a local consents to take us on his fishing boat, we may go, but we may not use any artificial lures, making it nearly impossible to land any sizeable fish, such as tuna.
We may not accept food as a gift, under any circumstances, from any person. We may not under any circumstances barter with our catches (for example, a freshwater eel for a reef fish of comparable size/quality), and no gifts are allowed.

Article VIII: Fruits
Fruits and vegetables may be harvested from Tyler’s place, Tyler’s landlord’s place, and places to be named later. We cannot take food that is cultivated, such as taro or basil, if we did not ourselves plant or care for said plants. We can only eat wild fruits and vegetables.

Article IX: Completion
Upon completion we will be showered with gifts and given a party by our friends here on the island. The party will be financed by said friends. Wine will flow as water, and the nourishment will be succulent and filling.

Article X: Dates
The sustainability project will run uninterrupted from October 12th to November 12th. Both Tyler and Nate will be celebrating our birthdays within the month. Birthdays are not exemptions, and will be approached just as every other day.