The Moana Tasi Project is a non-profit organization committed to co-creating dignified pathways with, and for, climate-affected Pasifika communities. Moana Tasi (One Ocean) enshrines the principle of unity as our collective humanity grapples with the deleterious effects of climate change. We know that together we are stronger.
Moana Tasi holds spaces for all to meaningfully collaborate, connect, and engage in discourses about cultural connection and preservation amidst community climate displacement, resilience-building, effective policy work and advocacy, and environmental stewardship.
The Moana Tasi Project is committed to co-creating dignified pathways with and for climate-affected Pasifika communities.
Tuakoi carries with it the care and responsibility to look after one another as compassionate neighbours do. Moana Tasi is committed to nurturing meaningful and reciprocal relationships with individuals and communities and breaking damaging cycles of exploitation and extractive practices.
Fakatasi denotes our collective oneness as Pasifika, underscoring the importance of a unified vision as we (and all) grapple with the climate crisis. Resonant with the concept of te moana, fakatasi releases new lines of limitless opportunities, and emboldens us to look beyond the horizons of our artificial, man-made borders.
Patipatiiga speaks to a rich and loving process of collective investigation and consultation in which all voices are heard and understood. Moana Tasi believes in the power of process. The purpose of consultation need not always be to arrive at a final decision. Often, the aim may simply be to engage in an exchange of views to bring clarity and unity of thought.
In addition to its other damaging effects, the impact of climate change on cultural rights and cultural heritage is an urgent human rights crisis and must be understood and responded to as such. As an initial project, Moana Tasi has been holding special talanoa (conversations) with members of the Tuvaluan community across the Pacific — from Aotearoa and the Marshall Islands to Hawaiʻi and Tuvalu — to amplify their voices and attitudes about climate change, culture and identity, and potential statelessness. Those who participate in these spaces comprise of mothers, fathers, elders, youth, and children. Their powerful stories are grounding as our Pacific community navigates unprecedented challenges.
This project is particularly designed to honor and memorialize the lived experiences and traditional ecological wisdom of Tuvaluan peoples who currently face permanent displacement and loss of statehood because of anthropogenic climate change. By collecting their stories and viewpoints about climate-induced displacement, culture, and identity, the Moana Tasi Project provides opportunities for individual and collective needs and human rights to be meaningfully considered, understood, and addressed if these communities are received and accommodated by other populations. Through this project, Moana Tasi strives to move beyond transactional engagements to build sincere and lasting relationships with all those it engages with.
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Your donation will contribute to The Moana Tasi Project’s programs, which focus on fostering and preserving Pasifika culture and connections, climate resilience and policy work, and supporting environmental and subsistence needs within the Pasifika community.