The IVA survey team conducted their survey on Beru Island on the 13 – 15 November 2019. The IVA team is made up of various Government ministries and NGO’s under the Kiribati National Expert Group (KNEG) including the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resource Development (MFMRD), the water division under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy (MISE), the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK), the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS), the Office of Te Beretitenti (OB), the Ministry of Women, Youth, Sports and Social Affairs (MWYSSA) and the UNDP. This is the fifth time that TAK has joined the IVA team in carrying out their survey.
The main purpose of the survey is to identify key issues experienced by the local people in relation to the effects of climate change. The targeted group of the survey are the elderly men (Unimwane), women, youth and people with disabilities from each village.
The team also managed to conduct their own sector activities. All IVA team members were tasked to conduct their own sector activities in order to provide valuable and strong evidence on the effects of climate change experienced by the locals that would help fully equip the final IVA report that will be produced by the Office of Te Beretitenti.
The TAK conducted its Tourism Business & Inventory Survey (TBIS) at the two guesthouses – the catholic parish’s St Joseph’s guesthouse and Rongongo guesthouse, following up on the TBIS survey conducted in February of this year. Other potential tourist sites were plotted using GPS to develop a tourist map of the island.
The Catholic Parish is currently upgrading its guesthouse building, carrying out major renovations, while the Rongorongo guesthouse has its own Wi-Fi (24 hours internet) now. Seeing the two guesthouses and comparing their conditions from the last visit in February, there are improvements seen as there are more kiakia or buia (local open house) provided at the Catholic guesthouse while Rongorongo guesthouse has its own Wi-Fi.
There are also other sites being plotted that holds significant history which includes the old house located at the island council guesthouse compound (Commissioner’s house for the Southern islands during colonial times), the bombed areas at Rongorongo, the original house of Alfred Sadd – the missionary famously known for his bravery when he saluted the Union Jack (national flag of the United Kingdom) and folded it when told by the Japanese to walk on it.
One of Beru’s uniqueness is te bokaboka (literally translated as ‘the mud’), an edible alga that is still eaten today. The myth of te bokaboka is that an old woman by the name of Nei Tebanikarawa first discovered this rare alga. It was during the famine period in Beru, Nei Tebanikarawa dreamt about the edible algae, in her dream she was directed to the site where the algae can be found as well as steps for preparing it to be eaten. It was from her dream that this te bokaboka was first discovered and also found to be the most unique traditional food of the island. Te bokaboka is what distinguishes Beru Island from the rest of the Kiribati Islands as it is only be found in Beru Island at Taboiaki village on the southern part of Beru Island.
The trip was co-financed by the OB and UNDP.
