The Subsistence Living Plan

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