Once again, I traveled in the craziest place on Earth!
A month ago, I partnered up with VolcanVanuatu and bring some friends to experience Ambrym Island from Vanuatu, a land full of ashes, lava, and incredible people.
Use a headphone for best experience ;)
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FOLLOW ME:
► Instagram: @nicolasdoretti
instagram.com/nicolasdoretti/
► Twitter: @DorettiNicolas
twitter.com/DorettiNicolas
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PARTNERS :
Volcan Vanuatu: volcans-vanuatu.com/
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THANKS:
Manoé, Laura, Laure, Ludmilla, Missel, Damien, Bert
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CREDITS:
Directed by Nicolas Doretti.
There is a bit of a festival atmosphere in Luganville at the moment. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but it seems in the last 10 days there has been a noticeable increase in the hive of activity down main street, people hanging from cranes (see photo), kind of like the feel you get in a small kiwi bach town in the lead up to new years eve. Sadly, this increased hum in not a cause for celebration, and is in fact due to the evacuation of 11,000 people from the island of Ambae because of falling volcanic ash.
While the government has officially supported for the evacuees to relocate to the island of Maewo, it is gradually becoming obvious that the majority are choosing to relocate to Santo. The reasons for this are many and vary depending on who you speak to, but Santo may provide more opportunities, and it seems many have more support here. Many are staying with family in the mid-term until they can establish new communities on land they have purchased. The lynch-pin to these plans of course being, access to water.
The influx of people is also adding pressure to the already stretched capacity of the urban water supply in Luganville, so it’s fair to say that I’ve been injected into a busy in at the Department of Water Resources.
But in reality, I’m sure things are always changing here, being so exposed to elements and changes in the natural environment that they draw their livelihood from. From the people I have spoken to so far, they are still laughing and smiling and pretty at peace to just get on with it and carve out a new life. Pretty admirable and made me wonder how the reaction would be back home, say if the population of Waiheke had to pack whatever they could fit onto small ferry’s and leave without a clear indication of ever being able to return.
So, it seems this will be quite a defining part of my work here in the first wee while, who knows how long. I’m still very much just taking in the new environment and getting to know my team, who are passionate about finding ways to help out. I’m still just sponging it all up to try and find ways I can be support as well. Smiling seems to work for starters.
@ anon who is bugging kai about the lance graphic: Shaming a tumblr blog online over fan art does little to nothing for everyone. All you are is being an ass to someone who unintentionally made a mistake. You are creating a hostile environment for your fandom online. Do something good for a change if you want to actually make an impact on the world like you are so desperately trying to do on tumblr.
As of November 26th the State of Emergency was lifted in regards to the Manaro Voui volcano on Ambae and the evacuation the most recent eruption caused. The government has stated that Ambae is unsafe for human life at the moment. Ambae chiefs are to take responsibility for the hundreds who have gone back in the last two days to check on their belongings and, for some, hopefully reestablish their lives in their homeland. Many more are taking the government’s advice and staying on Maewo (the island I serve on) or Santo. Picture 1: November 30th, View of Ambae from Central Maewo Picture 2: December 1st, a chartered ship getting ready to take evacuees from southern Maewo to Ambae Picture 3: December 1st, Evacuees waiting to get on a boat to go to the ship and back to Ambae Picture 4: December 1st, around 2:15pm local time, the view from Southern Maewo of smoke dwarfing Ambae. #veronicainvanuatu #peacecorpsvanuatu #peacecorps #volcano #ambae #maewo #manarovoui #evacuation #activevolcano #vanuatu #southpacific #ringoffire #naturaldisaster (at Maewo) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq1GzbSFkgz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1nujnj5xq19ip
View of Ambae from Maewo a couple weeks ago. The day when I took the first picture you could hear the echoes of the volcano from all directions and into the night it was lighting up the sky like the brightest lightening I’ve ever seen with every sound. Photo 1: Tuesday, October 16th, 2018 Photo 2: Wednesday, October 17th, 2018 . . . . . . . #veronicainvanuatu #vanuatu #peacecorpsvanuatu #peacecorps #ambae #manarovoui (at Aoba Island) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpxJ6ggFqtL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cob1nqpdne59
The last month and a half has been pretty hectic on Maewo with all the evacuees from the nearby island of Ambae. New blog post about it is now up! Find the link in my bio! Image: Volcanic Smoke release from Ambae’s Manaro Voui Volcano Friday, July 27th, 2018 #vanuatu #ambae #vanuatu #peacecorps #peacecorpsvanuatu #southpacific #evacuation #volcanicevacuation #manarovoui #volcaniceruption #volcano #maewo (at Naoné, Aoba/Maewo, Vanuatu) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnsDZv-niDc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1e335t9jmqah9
