organic farming family moving to vanuatu

hi all. we are a vegetarian organic farming family wanting to move to vanuatu. need some connections to organic farmers there. we have 20 years farming experience. lived in the caribbean for 5 years, dominica, lots of knowledge about growing tropical foods. we can get ourselves to vanuatu and have a small amount to invest. any contacts would be greatly appreciated. thanks, the forcinellis

It seems to me that just about all farming in Vanuatu is organic. Just about everyone outside of Port Vila is subsistence farming. I was fascinated at how these amazing people live with and respect their environment.

I wonder about the complexities of acquiring a block of land for farming. All land belongs to the Vanuatu people, however 75 year leasehold is available. I assume you would have to enter into negotiations with the village chief.

I don't have any contacts, but once you get there asking around would probably give you the answers you are seeking.

thanks for the reply. still interested in hearing more about areas and islands that would be open to an immigrating family. thank you for the positive vibes. look forward to more. the forcinellis

I have information about organic farming in Solomon Islands, if you are interested.

forcinelli family leaving for vanuatu expediton on May 28. any interested people in this roots lifestyle are welcome. please respond soon.

All farming in Vanuatu is organic and the natives are excellent gardeners. That's all they know. These people have never heard of GM food or fertiliser or pesticide. Everything is done by ancient methods with the only concession to modernity being the pickup truck that takes the produce to market. Perhaps you don't realise how primitive their system is.

Look for farm sites for sale at any of the real estate agencies in the centre of Vila. I don't know what farm land is currently available but their stock of vacant land is mostly housing sites. You will only need a couple of hectares. It rains every day in summer and every third day in winter meaning less need for land.

If you plan to sell your stuff, the foods that the Vila market needs are lettuce, tomatoes and carrots. For reasons I don't quite get, the local tomatoes are awful and only available in winter. They are AU$18/kilo in summer so if you can produce quality tomatoes year round you can clean up. There is more such as apples and stonefruits but those things can't handle all the heat and rain.

Forget the outer islands. The people there are not going to buy anything from you that they can grow themselves. EVERYONE has a garden. Then again, if you can figure a way to grow decent rice in commercial quantities . . . . well, it's the national dish.

Good luck !

Edited by: uncle_sav

yes friend thanks for the reply...we worked a piece of land in Dominica for 5 years..similar rain fall and land as Vanuatu..thinking that the rain fall is why there are few tomatos..this plant does not like water on it..causes blight..also it wants a long daylight cycle to produce alot...cherry tomatos are better for the area..carrots and greens should be easy to grow though...we are not really market gardeners ....though we cultivated 6 acres of land in DA. all was consumed by our 9 person family and our friends..we lived without money there and found much happiness in that life style..there was lots of herbicide and fertilizer in dominica though..the place is very polluted...we were poked fun of for our organic ways..great to hear about the way its don there in vanuatu..also there are upland varieties of rice that would do great.feeling that we would not like to get involved with buying land..we have a nest egg to live off off and seeing that ,for us, that most people don't benifit when the earth is bought and sold..hoping we can find our way this time without land papers..thanks for the info and your time..needing to hear all we can befor our depature on the 28th..if you are a vanuatu resident please contact us at forcinellifamily@hotmail.com...would like to say hello when i am there...frank f

Can't help it. I like my tomatoes. Anyway there is money to be made by someone who can supply tomatoes and lettuce (any kind) to Vila all year. The natives don't understand drainage and staking. They leave their tomatoes on the ground. All lettuce needs to grow there is some shade cloth to be pulled out each afternoon when the rain is heaviest. The natives are best with traditional tropical foods like pawpaw, mango, banana, pineapple, pamplemousse, avocado, coconut, chili, manioc, sweet potato, taro, watercress, lime, peanuts and island cabbage (like spinnach).

Maybe you would like to rent one of the old plantation houses on the edge of town. Talk to the real estate guys who are all in the main street. I have no idea of prices. It could be run down but you might get about 1 acre of land. There isn't much demand for that kind of thing. If you want more land further out of Vila you will have to talk to the chiefs. The coconut biz is down so there are abandoned plantations all over but that is no guarantee of availability. The Ni Vanuatu prize their land very highly. If you can persuade him to rent some of it the chief will want CASH. No trading for produce as he will already have plenty of his own. Every chief would trade for rice because nobody grows it, but anyway . . . Pity you aren't into cows because the organic beef biz is booming. Vanuatu beef is excellent and the cows eat nothing but old fashioned grass.

Look for a church and ask the minister what is going on with empty farm houses in the local area. Those guys always know local gossip and will tell you which chief or family owns that area. Every square inch of Efate is owned by someone.

I'm just outside town past the cruise ship wharf but won't be back for 3 weeks. Too sandy for farming anything but bananas and coconuts there, and too expensive as well.

Good luck.

Pamela, you might be interested in the Kastom Gaden site from Solomon Islands. They have connections in Vanuatu and other parts of the Pacific. Incidentally, Solomon Islands has been quite safe since 2004 - some recent news clips in Australia showing militants were at least years old.
However, you can't migrate there unless you have a job or money to invest.
Vanuatu is a little less restrictive, I think.
(Uncle Sav, do you need to refer to the local people as "natives"? it is demeaning).

If I were to write "Ni Vans" instead, what percentage of readers do you think would understand ?

I would have, but like uncle_sav, in my posts I don't refer to the people of Vanuatu as Ni-Vans as I assume most won't know the term. I don't see anything wrong with the term "natives". They are the native people of their country.

You could call them the "locals".

intentions mean alot.we are all native earthlings..thank you all for posting info..it has helped my family alot..the more we hear about vanuatu the better it sounds..i will be there as a scout for the family over the next few months and i am feeling very blessed...peace frank f

Not too much more I can say. I'm not a farmer - well, except for tomatoes. Be sure to take a look at Santo which has way more farm land than Efate. Here is a link to the local newspaper which might be interesting for you.

http://www.dailypost.vu/

Most people reading this Forum are interested in Vanuatu and so would know what Ni Van meant-if not they'd appreciate your using the proper term and thus informing them.

I just got back tonight from Santo and in my travels I heard the locals on a number of occasions refer to themselves as 'natives'.