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This is contribution is not peer reviewed. Received:25 Jan 2006;Accepted:15 Feb 2006Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social SciencesISSN 1449-7336HeritageFutures International, PO Box 3440, Albury NSW 2640, Australia 605Persistent identifier: http://www.nla.gov.au/nla.arc-65664

MICRONESIANJOURNAL OF THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Vol. 5, n 1/2 Combined Issue November 2006

MICRONESIAN VIEWPOINT

WAAN AELON IN MAJELCultural Development in the Marshall Islands

Dennis F. AlessioWaan Ael in Majel, Republic of the Marshall Islands

Waan Aelon in Majel (Canoes of the MarshallIsland) or WAM is a grassroots non-profitprogram educating young Marshall Islanders,based on the traditions of the Marshallese ca-noe. WAM provides vocational and life skillstraining to youth-at-risk using the medium oftraditional outrigger canoes, boat building andwoodworking. The program links the new gen-eration with the old, working together to keepthis unique aspect of Marshallese culture alive, while simultaneously addressing serious socialproblems affecting youth in Marshallese soci-ety.

WAM has, with support from the interna-tional development community, and intermit-tent support from the RMI Government,evolved in a dynamic manner since its founda-tion in 1989. WAM has introduced a range oftraining and development and cultural re-inforcement programs, built up services, infra-structure, curriculum, and management systemsfor effective delivery of its mission. It has cap-tured the deep respect, enthusiasm and supportof the Marshall Islands community, and ispoised to deepen and widen its contribution tothe social and cultural fabric of the country.

SOCIO-CULTURAL SETTING OF THE MAR-SHALL ISLANDS AND THE ROLE OF THECANOE The first Marshallese are understood to havearrived in canoes from Southeast Asia over2000 years ago. From this time the outriggercanoe has been the backbone upon which thefood-gathering economy and transportation ofthe Marshall Islands depended. Over time mostfamilies across the islands would have severalcanoes, at least one larger sailing canoe andseveral small paddling canoes. Knowledge oftraditional canoe construction was spreadthroughout all atolls, although this knowledge was concentrated in certain families. Theknowledge of navigation was similarly closely

held by master navigators that advised the Iroijor Chief, and was a source of power. Given thevery small areas of land for habitation and foodcultivation, the need to protect scant resources,and dependence upon fishing for survival, theoutrigger became a central part of the Mar-shallese life, and a timeless foundation for Mar-shallese culture. Marshallese culture fosters adeep respect for family, tradition, traditionalauthority, and ancestral ties and spirit. These


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606 Waan Aelon in Majel

attributes are intrinsically built into the processand rituals of building and sailing of canoes.

Traditional canoe building was popular inthe Marshall Islands until World War II whenthere was significant destruction of canoes by

occupying forces. After the war the Islands be-came part of the US Trust Territory of the Pa-cific Islands, where widespread communitydisruption and displacement occurred as a con-sequence of US nuclear testing, and when thecash economy replaced subsistence living. Atthis time American/western consumer culturestarted to erode traditional cultural settings. Inthis context the community developed a per-ception that the old ways were unfashionable

or backward, and impeding progress. Signifi-cant changes occurred, included migration ofyoung job seekers from the outer islands to thecenters of Ebeye and Majuro, a decline in therole of traditional authority and cultural values,and the replacement of the canoe with the out-board motor boat. Coupled with this has beena loss of self-reliance, and a dependency onU.S. support and acceptance that funding fromthe U.S. will continue to provide for the com-

munity. As a consequence, traditional role models(particularly for males) have largely disappearedor were no longer relevant. The high regard forexcellence in boat building, the mystical skillsof the master navigator, the ability to endurelong voyages, bravery in protection of thecommunity, skills in providing food from thesea and land in horticultural food production were all replaced by a malaise among the nowlargely urban dwellers

YOUTH AT RISK This decline in traditional cultural values hasbeen one of the major contributors to theemergence of a youth crisis in the RMI. Abouttwo-thirds of the Marshall Islands population isunder 24 years old and is growing at one of thehighest rates in the region. Coupled with this,about half of secondary age children are notattending school due to lack of classroom

space and teachers, poor academic perform-ance, inability to pay school-related costs, lackof parental interest and support, and inade-

quate motivation by students. This, combined with a lack of employment opportunities andlack of life- and work-skills, has led to an ex-cessive incidence of youth idleness, increasingcrime, a growing rate of gang related violence,

substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases,teenage pregnancy, depression and suicide.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENTAt 30.9%, total unemployment in the MarshallIslands has almost trebled from the 1988 cen-sus figure of 12.5%. From 1998 to 1999, thenumber of people of working age grew byabout 7,500 but there were only 85 more peo-ple employed in 1999 (a total of 10,141) than in

1988. The Marshall Islands has the highest un-employment rate of any U.S.-affiliated island inthe Pacific. The situation is not likely to im-prove rapidly - in the absence of large changesto the economic environment, the unemploy-ment rate is forecast to continue its historicaltrend of almost doubling every 10 years, antici-pating that by 2014 there will be about 10,000unemployed in a total work force of 26,000(Figure 1). Put simply there are 600 to 1000

Marshallese entering the workforce each year,yet less than half this number of new jobs cre-ated.

The significant feature of this situation isthat it is mostly young people that bear thisburden. The 15-19 year age group is presentlyexperiencing an unemployment rate of over70%, and the 20-24 age group faring little bet-ter at around 55% unemployment (Figure 2).The true situation may be worse than indicatedin the statistics, in that significant numbers ofyoung Marshallese take advantage of a freeright of access to the USA conferred on RMIcitizens to seek better opportunities there.

There are two major causes of this situa-tion. The first is that the generally low level ofeconomic development leads to few employ-ment opportunities. The second factor is thelow level of education of youth, and corre-sponding lack of life skills. The combination issuch that many young job seekers are largely

unemployable.


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Waan Aelon in Majel 607

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Figure 1. Actual and projected labor force and wage and salary earners. Source: Labor Market and NationalTraining Report, NTC, 2000

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entRate(%)

Figure 2. Unemployment by age group RMI, 1999

(Source RMI Statistical Yearbook 2003)

Table 1. Formal Education System Drop Out Rates Source: Ministry of Education Strategic Plan

Criterion 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03

Not completing elementary school 20.2% 19.6% 14.2% 10.9%

Completing elementary school but not transitioning to high school 38.6% 30.3% 30.0% 27.4%

Entering but not completing high school 53.4% 47.5% 46.9% 38.8%

Total students starting in Grade 3 but not progressing to Grade 12 74.1% 68.3% 65.6% 66.6%


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THE EDUCATION SYSTEM The overall dropout rate from the schoolingsystem (number of students entering Grade 3but not progressing to Grade 12) was around

67% in 2003. Given that almost 30% of stu-dents that complete elementary school do notprogress to high school, a large proportion ofyoung job seekers have only the most basic ofeducation.

VOCATIONALTRAININGWith approximately 15,000 students enrolled in2003, this dropout rate indicates that most ofthe approximately 1,000 school leavers per year

entering the job market have a relatively lowlevel of educational attainment. This situationis further compounded by the lack of voca-tional education alternatives outside the secon-dary schooling system, such that youths aretrapped by both limited access to further edu-cation and limited access to paid employment.

Access to pre-vocational training was untilrecently offered through the Workforce In- vestment Act (WIA). The WIA program pro-vided funding for vocational training programsoperated by government and NGOs insideRMI and overseas, but has now been foldedinto the role of the National Training Council(NTC). NTC is a body established under legis-lation to offer accreditation, and workforceplanning and policy-related services. It is pres-ently allocated funding from an alien workersemployment tax, which it applies to various vocational training needs delivered by serviceproviders in RMI and overseas. Undergoingrestructure with ADB assistance, the NTC hasbeen provided substantial funding from a U.S.Federal Supplementary Education Grant(SEG). When restructured, the NTC is alsoproposed to act as central coordination agencyof Government and international funding foryouth development and has the potential to bea future powerful force in the identification ofyouth needs, the sourcing of funding, and theapplication of this funding against vocational

and life skills training, and the development ofthe RMI training capacity across both Gov-ernment and NGO sectors.

Some vocational services have also beenprovided in the past through secondary-levelprograms, certificate and degree programs of-fered at the College of the Marshall Islands;U.S. grant-funded activities such as the School-

to-Work Program and the Pacific VocationalEducation Improvement Program; as well ascommunity-based skill development projects.A new facility, the National Vocational Train-ing Institute (NVTI) has been established un-der the Ministry of Education with ADBsupport.

However there is nowhere near the capacityin the Government system to accommodate allthe need, and the NGO sector has evolved in-

dependently to provide an important responseto the significant need. It is WAM and anotherNGO, Jdrikdrik an Jkrikdrik Ilo Ejmour, orYouth-to-Youth in Healththat have taken the leadin addressing some of the key gaps in non-formal life skills education and in vocationaleducation, using innovative connections to tra-ditional culture as their base. Poised and readyfor service delivery, it is these and other NGOsand forward-thinking private sector partici-

pants that have the potential to widen anddeepen the impact on youth and address thesecritical youth issues, perhaps more effectivelythan the formal system can accommodate.

THEWAM RESPONSEWAM has developed a powerful program thatsimultaneously addresses the cultural malaiseacross the community as well as empoweringyouth through life skills and vocational skillstraining in this context of cultural reinforce-ment. WAM uses the medium of canoe andboat building and sailing to provide more thanvocational training as preparation for employ-ment, it also addresses the sense of self worththat has all but disappeared from Marshalleseyouth, so that even in the absence of a vibrantlabor market, alumni can still play a worthwhilerole in their families and communities. WAMempowers the youth by teaching them tradi-tional and modern sustainable skills including

outrigger canoe building, maintenance and re-pair, sailing and navigation to ensure that theseunique aspects of Marshallese culture are kept


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alive. With an eye to modern circumstances, WAMs program includes modern boat build-ing and fiberglass training, woodworking andcarpentry and administration in its formal cur-riculum. WAM builds capacity into the trainees

and their trainers in a drug- and alcohol- freesetting and includes counseling while also fo-cusing upon a range of life skills and workskills.

WAM also outreaches to the wider com-munity through participation in schools, bring-ing children to observe boat building andfostering involvement of parents and thecommunity through traditional canoe racingand sailing regattas. WAM fosters community

pride and self-identity in the culture throughparticipation in international events that cele-brate canoe making and traditional Pacific Is-land culture. As of the end of 2004, more than4,800 students in Majuro have been served inthis way since the year 2000.

VALUES AND GUIDING PRINCIPLESThe whole WAM program is anchored in a setof values and guiding principles that have been

core to the organization since its formation: Connection with the canoe.Everythingthat WAM does connects with the canoeand its role in the traditional Marshallese way of life. This respect for traditionalMarshallese culture (manit) is the basisfor reviving the sense of communityamong all Marshallese - enra im lale rara(all share from the same plate).

Learning for life and for posterity.WAMexudes the value training and learning fromthe inside out, through an open sharing ofknowledge and values, and of passing thisdown from elders and mentors to theyouth of today, and to future generations. -jake jabol eo (share the resources).

Training is about generating self-awarenessand self-respect.WAM encourages self-identity and self-respect of youth at riskand seeks to instill in participants a senseof pride in their own capacity, and in the

community they belong to. WAM focusesupon empowering youths through provid-

ing educational alternatives giving disaf-fected youth a second chance at their lives.

An atmosphere of Safety and Sense ofCommunity.WAM is a haven whereyouth can observe and participate in

wholesome, productive activities, eventsand celebrations. It fosters a sense ofcommunity for youth based on traditionalfamily values.

Quality and Professionalism.WAMmaintains high standards of profession-alism including quality of service delivery,accountability to stakeholders, and achiev-ing successful outcomes.

Measured Risk Taking.WAM recognizesthat to make a difference to youth who arethemselves at risk, some measured risk tak-ing is required. WAM continually experi-ments with new ideas, remains proactive inthe face of uncertain funding, and acceptsdifficult challenges.

Inclusivity.WAM is inclusive, encom-passing young men and woman from allwalks of life, from all measure of circum-stances, and reaches out to their parents,

friends and the community. Simplicity - WAM focuses on the sim-

plicity of its message transmitted throughbasic learning skills and techniques.

CANOE- AND BOATBUILDINGIn accordance with the key guiding principle,the central thrust of WAMs work is aroundcanoe making and boat building:

Canoe Building Program

An integrated course on canoe constructionand canoe model making, canoe sailing skillsand canoe maintenance skills developmentform the core of the WAM program. The pro-gram will cater for 14 students in two streamsover a 1-year period, with students graduatingwith a certificate in Canoe Making endorsed bythe NTC. Program output in trainees coulddouble by 2007, after expanding the building workspace outlined in Priority Infrastructure

Development, below. This is the foundation ofthe WAM program with all curriculum materi-als in place, and all instruction able to be car-


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ried out with existing resources. Four addi-tional instructors are being trained to expandthe capacity of the entire program, with twoearmarked for the canoe building courses. The volume of activity is constrained only in the

available physical space to accommodate thetwo training streams. WAM will also have theability to work with Ebeye and outer islands toduplicate the programs training output in orderto reach more of the youth population. WAMsees the urgent need for this especially inEbeye.

Over the five-year period WAM plans togrow from the present sporadic delivery of thisprogram to coordinated delivery of two

streams per year, and to build up capacity foran additional two streams during the secondfive-year planning period. The program can ac-commodate the manufacture of up to four ca-noes per year for sale as part of the trainingprogram, subject to the availability of materials.

Fiberglass Boat Building Program WAM teaches canoe and other boat buildingusing fiberglass technology. With a modern fi-

berglass workshop the program is poised totransfer key vocational skills to students whocan apply these in the workforce on gradua-tion. The facility presently has a full comple-ment of a trainer, a trainee-instructor and hasthe capability to accommodate 8 students peryear for a one-year course. It is planned thatthe facility size will be doubled to expand theprogram to two, two-year courses. The plancalls for achieving this and securing the futureof this program by forging strategic partner-ships with other vocational training serviceproviders in the discipline including NVTI,CMI as well as other schools in the U.S. Theobjective is to strengthen the delivery of thisprogram to capacity through the 5-year period.

Navigation TrainingThe ancient art of canoe navigation is at risk ofextinction, with only a handful of master navi-gators remaining. Traditionally Marshallese

were skilled open ocean navigators who reliedon the stars, wave reflection and refraction,ocean currents and explicit chants to navigate

to and between small atolls over vast ocean dis-tances. This is a new program for WAM neces-sary to ensure the continued passing down ofthis skill so essential to both Marshallese tradi-tion and the effective use of a canoe. WAM has

teamed with a University of Hawaii researcherfunded by the National Science Foundation,the University of Hawaii Sea Grant CollegeProgram and the Wenner-Gren Institute forAnthropological Research to document a mas-ter navigators knowledge. This will be devel-oped into a formal training course in traditionalnon-instrument navigation during the first halfof the planning period. In the second half ofthe planning period it is proposed that the first

canoe navigation training course will be intro-duced with plans for integration into the regu-lar school curriculum.

OUTREACHWAMs objective is for the program to act as anational resource, and to touch all Marshallesein some way. While the most intensive expo-sure is for youth undertaking the individualtraining programs, the WAM outreach program

is aimed at multiplying this through bringingthe program to schools and the general com-munity.

School Outreach ProgramWAM seeks to impact the lives of thousands ofMarshallese by bringing cultural understandingto school children and their families at all lev-els. During the 5-year planning period it is pro-posed that WAM continues to reinforce itsschool outreach program through the follow-ing activities: Working with the Schools and the Ministry

of Education under a formal Memoran-dum of Understanding to include the train-ing program in the school curriculum.Portions of the program will be given associal study and cultural classes, integratingspoken and written Marshallese with theEnglish language.

Presentations including hands-on learningactivities by WAM staff and trainees on thehistory and development of the MarshallIslands canoe to school classes either in


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the classroom or on field trips to theWAM site.

Development of an after-school canoepaddling and sailing, and facilities run byteachers, volunteers and community mem-

bers.

Community Outreach Program The involvement of family and friends in theprogram is a key ingredient to multiplying thebenefits of involvement with WAM and rein-forcing and sustaining the transformationachievable through the program. Communityinvolvement is expanded by: Promoting the sailing of canoes for recrea-

tion, including leading the organization ofraces and community events. Engaging community volunteers to assist

in the running of various aspects of theprogram.

The establishment of after school youthpaddling and sailing programs based at WAM with parental and community sup-port.

Environmental Conservation Project for aShoreline and Underwater Site for Com-munity Education, Demonstration andCapacity Building.

EXPANDED VOCATIONAL SKILLS

AND LIVELIHOODS PROGRAMWhile boat building is an end in itself, the skillsdeveloped in the program, and the employabil-ity of students is significantly enhanced by in-cluding mainstream carpentry, woodworking,furniture and cabinet making in the program. These activities also offer the opportunity toincrease non-donor funding through commer-cial contracts, and allows a greater volume oftrainees to be handled at any one time.

Carpentry and Woodworking ProgramThe carpentry activity has already commencedon a small scale with regard to the constructionof a community youth center in partnership with the Youth-to-Youth- inHealth NGO,

and with the construction of much of WAMsown buildings. The thrust of this activity forthe next five years is for WAM to secure more

building contracts or subcontracts, particularlyin house- or wooden- building constructionthat requires a high degree of carpentry skills. A good avenue of partnership would be withthe USDA and Marshall Islands Development

Bank home loans where trainees could workwith families to construct their homes. The ex-perience will also be used to help trainees todevelop the capacity to generate their own live-lihoods after graduation as contract carpenters,given that this is a skill area that is presentlyheavily imported into RMI. The plan calls forthe development of a steady program of car-pentry training involving basic woodworkingskills taught during contracted building jobs to

support up to 7 carpentry trainees and the development of a carpentry/woodworking shopto support this work.Furniture and Cabinet Making ProgramsThe skills employed in canoe making and car-pentry derives from the same basic woodwork-ing skills taught in all programs. These skillscan be expanded to include the manufacture offurniture and cabinets and a wide range of

other products, including many traditional craftitems, the construction of which both rein-forces traditional skills, and communicatesMarshallese culture and craft to visitors to theislands. Additionally, the making of both furni-ture and tourist artifacts offers potential liveli-hood alternatives for graduates. Furnituremaking and woodworking can also provideboth a source of income to support WAMprograms and reduce dependence upon exter-nal donors. A curriculum has already been de-veloped for furniture making and another is inpreparation for woodworking with the traineeand trainers manuals in concept form. Thestrategic plan is based upon the developmentof parallel programs in each stream of furnituremaking and woodworking for commencementin the mid term of the planning period, entail-ing the engaging of an additional trainer andtrainers assistant, and the development of a woodworking building, a furniture making

building, and acquisition of appropriate toolsand machinery. (See below regarding WAMphysical infrastructure development). This will


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generate the capacity for a program of 7 stu-dents over a period of 1 year in both programs,articulating from the existing basic woodwork-ing training common to all streams, and it isplanned that this intake will commence in 2008

or earlier depending on funding.Geographic ExpansionThe core strategy is based upon training Mar-shallese from outer islands and encouragingthem to return to their communities and trans-fer their knowledge and skills. However thereis strong demand from other communities forsomething more substantive such as a replica-tion of some of the core WAM services and

concepts. WAMs strategy is not to replicatethe functions at Majuro itself, which will re-main open to all Marshallese able to travel toand live in Majuro, but to facilitate and assistthe local communities to set up those elementsof WAM for themselves, and build together anetwork of programs that make use of theground breaking work that WAM has under-taken. It is anticipated that these satellite de- velopments may be the development of basic

canoe building facilities, or setting up paddlingand sailing clubs or more comprehensive, de-pending upon community willingness and ac-cess to resources.

AUTHORBIOGRAPHY AND CONTACTIn the early 80s after returning from extended tripsto Fiji, where he unsuccessfully tried to start a localboatbuilding and fisheries training program, Dennisdecided to get back to the water and boats full time,so he moved to the Puget Sound and met master

boat builder, Robert Prothero, who had just starteda boatbuilding school. Bob, a Welshman, had de-cided to share his family knowledge of buildingboats, which had been held secret for 500 years. Hetaught Dennis the art of economic craftsmanshipthrough the medium of traditional wooden boat-building and lofting and together, they designed aphilosophy of instruction related to international vocational studies with traditional boatbuilding asthe medium of skill exchange. Dennis stayed withBob until he passed away of cancer.

In 1987 Dennis was hired to coordinate andsupervise all joinery woodworking on the Tole Mour, a 156 foot, three-masted topsailschooner to be built as a floating clinic for outer

island heath care in the Republic of the MarshallIslands. Upon commissioning of the vessel, heserved as shipwright and deck crew on the maidenvoyage, down the coast of Washington, Oregon andCalifornia, to Honolulu, where he coordinated theoutfitting of the ships medical facilities before theyran downwind and landed in Majuro on December2, 1988.

Shortly after arriving in the Marshall Islands,Dennis was asked to work with a traditional canoebuilder, Jinarde Leon, who was from Jaluit Atoll.Jinarde had donated his canoe to the Field Museumin Chicago, who used it in a permanent exhibitcalled Traveling the Pacific. In payment, Jinardewanted a replacement canoe, but with the hull builtfrom plywood. Dennis thought this was a great pro-ject but had already agreed to another ship project

in Europe. While there, he began researching aboutthe indigenous canoes of the Pacific. The informa-tion he found was done mostly by scholars, findingno information about the craft documented by aboat builder, which he was especially interested infinding.

While building the canoe and talking with Ji-narde and many others, Dennis realized that theknowledge of building canoes was rapidly disap-pearing, as the skill was not being passed down tothe younger generation for whatever reason. This

gave Dennis the idea of documenting the designsand styles of Marshallese Outrigger Canoes, so hebrought up the idea to Alfred Capelle, who was thecurator of the Alele Museum at the time. Alfredliked the idea and from that, the documentationphase of the Waan Aelon Kein (Canoes of TheseIslands) Project was born. During the 7 years of thedocumentation project more than 160 aspiring ca-noe builders were able to learn canoe building skills.

When the documentation phase of the programended, both Alson and Dennis realized that many

of the youth were interested in learning these skills.They founded the Waan Aelon in Majel Program in1996 and in 1999, they incorporated WAM as anon-profit Non Government Organization.CONTACT: Dennis Alessio, Waan Ael in Majel, Voca-tional Skills Training & Cultural Strengthening; PO Box1453 Majuro, Marshall Islands 96960. E-mail:[email protected]

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