The Vaka Taumako Project (VTP)
The Pacific Traditions Society (PTS) is a small U.S.-based non-profit organization dedicated to education and cultural preservation. The Vaka Taumako Project (VTP) was initiated by Te Aliki Koloso Kaveia of Taumako, who sought external support and partnered with researcher Mimi George to bring his vision to life. In 1996, the VTP officially launched as a research initiative approved by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources of the Solomon Islands. PTS served as the sponsoring NGO, with Mimi George as Principal Investigator, while leadership of the project remained with Koloso Kaveia, supported by PTS. Following Te Aliki Kaveia’s passing in 2009, Te Aliki Jonas Holani continued the mission, guiding the Vaka Valo Group in training young people in traditional voyaging skills, with ongoing support from the VTP under PTS. In 2021, Luke Vaikawi and approximately 98% of the Taumako community founded the Holau Vaka Taumako Association Trustees, Inc. (HVTA)—a fully independent charitable organization registered in the Solomon Islands, with Vaikawi as Executive Director. HVTA carries forward the original mission and goals of the VTP, while operating autonomously as a local NGO. Although PTS concluded its direct involvement with the VTP in the Solomon Islands in 2017, it continues to exist as a 501(c)(3) organization in the U.S. and supports HVTA’s educational voyaging programs under the banner of the VTP. The Mission of the Vaka Taumako Projekt ist o support the Holau Vaka Taumako Association in their efforts to train new generations in the building, sailing, and navigation of voyaging canoes using ancestral designs, methods, materials, and tools, document and publish ancient knowledge and become a self-sustaining organization by September 2022