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2018
31
Aug

Provisions

The supply situation on remote islands is tricky. In the days before supply ships the Polynesians managed to live off the land, but nowadays everybody depends on imported goods. The supply ship from Rarotonga comes by every 2 or 3 months, another ships brings ordered things from Hawaii about twice a year.

You’d think that people would try to be as self-sufficient as possible under such conditions, but apart from a few scrawny banana, papaya and breadfruit trees we haven’t seen many examples for gardening. Chickens roam the island, but instead of building chicken houses and collecting eggs, the locals wait for imported eggs from Rarotonga or take eggs from the seabird colonies.

We are used to depending on our own supplies in remote areas, so we’re still eating as well as usual. The fresh produce we bought 5 weeks ago in Raiatea is coming to an end (just a few carrots and christophines are left), but before leaving Raiatea we extended our herb garden (basil, mint, coriander, parsley, chives, etc.) with a few pots of bok choy (chinese cabbage) and arrugula plants. Both are doing fabulously and we can daily harvest fresh greens.

Beverage-wise we’re also doing fine, with a watermaker that keeps the tanks filled and the second batch of homebrew-beer (from ready-made kits) bubbling along happily ;-)

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