The Uto ni Yalo trust is now building 100 traditional canoes which will not only be environmentally friendly but a cheaper form of transportation.

Trust Vice President Dwain Qalovaki says these traditionally built canoes will also revive Fiji’s ancient seafaring culture.

“In total these 100 traditionally designed sailing canoes, each canoe is 6 meters long and can hold about 4-6 people in each canoe. These canoes are not powered by diesel fuel which by the time reaches our families in the maritime communities, is quite costly and is low-grade fuel.”

Qalovaki says the cost to construct four canoes is equivalent to purchasing one fiberglass boat with a 40 horsepower engine.

“So these are some of the innovations we are looking at that are inspired from the community side to look back at what our ancestors had practiced in the past and bring it back as their descendants and not just a novelty or as a token of tourist item but to look at ways in which we can contribute to decarbonizing the national economy.”

The Trust has plans to build bigger vessels that use traditional methods blended with modern day renewable energy technology for sailing in the future.

25 canoes will be ready by the end of this month and the aim is to finish work on the remaining canoes by Christmas.