It’s Fundraising Time!
We’ve just launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and we could sure use your help. Every donation, no matter how small, helps us reach our goal to build the next canoe and to produce our educational video on vaka construction and navigation.
Click here to view our campaign and donate!
Even if you can’t donate, you can show your support by spreading the word: copy the link to our campaign to your facebook and twitter pages, or email your friends to tell them about us!
Questions? Contact us!Below are the “perks” we have in store for donors to our campaign. Please be aware that the handmade crafts vary in appearance and may not perfectly resemble the pictures here.
$5 Donation – Thank You Note
A postcard thank you note expressing our eternal gratitude, and featuring the iconic image of a voyaging canoe. It doesn’t take much to help us out; a little goes a long way!
$10 Donation – Digital Wallpaper Downloads
We’ll send you a link to download 5 beautiful digital images of the Vaka Taumako Project’s voyaging canoes at sea, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude. These images will make the perfect desktop background for your computer or digital device.
$20 Donation – Music Downloads
We’ll send you a link to download 5 MP3’s of some very lovely music recordings we’ve made in the Solomon Islands. These recordings are currently unavailable anywhere else. We’ll also send you the link to the wallpaper images and a postcard thank you note. Click the link to the right to hear a sample…
$25 Donation – Coconut Necklace or Earrings
Your choice of necklace or earrings, each hand-carved and lacquered with traditional Solomon Islands design, plus 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$25 Donation – Carved Shell Necklace or Earrings
Your choice of hand-carved shell necklace or earrings from the Solomon Islands, plus 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note and our eternal gratitude.
$40 Donation – Shell Inlaid Ebony Earrings or Necklace
Your choice of a beautiful ebony earrings or necklace with pearl shell inlays of traditional Solomon Islands design, plus 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note and our eternal gratitude.
$50 Donation – Shell Money Necklace
Made with colorful and traditional shell money beads, these necklaces are a favorite souvenir from the Solomon Islands. You’ll also receive 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$50 Donation – Traditional Woven Basket
A traditional Solomon Islands style basket woven of natural pandanus leaf, plus 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$60 Donation – Vaka Taumako Project T-shirt
A stylish Vaka Taumako Project T-shirt, plus 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$100 Donation – T-shirt & Shell Jewelry Package
Our stylish t-shirt AND your choice of a handmade shell money necklace or earrings, plus 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$150 Donation – 11″ X 14″ Photo Print
Suitable for framing, a gorgeous 11″x14″ matte print of the vaka at sea, plus 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude. Choose from one of three images.
$200 Donation- Stone or Coral Animal Carving
Hand carved in the Solomon Islands, choose from sea turtle or fish designs. You’ll also receive 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$350 Donation – Temotu-Style Canoe Paddle
Strong and flexible, the most desired paddles in the Solomon Islands come from Taumako. These have a distinctive carved design and are made robustly from Tamanu (Callophylum) root that has grown on the tide line of the ocean. You’ll also receive a VTP t-shirt, 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$800 Donation – Herb Kane Print
A large limited edition print created by the late Hawaiian master painter Herb Kane, featuring a Te Puke voyaging canoe at sea. The print is 24″X36″ giclée on canvas, frame not included. You’ll also receive a VTP t-shirt, 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$3000 Donation – Model Vaka
A detailed scale model of a Te Puke voyaging canoe. These one-of-a-kind models, just over a meter in length, are hand built in the Duff Islands, where they are traditionally used used as teaching aids. Each part of the vaka is made from the actual wood or plant that is used in the full size canoes. These exquisite models are museum quality, and unavailable anywhere else. We’ll also include our stylish T-shirt, 5 mp3 music downloads, 5 wallpaper images, a postcard thank you note, and our eternal gratitude.
$5000 – Sail on a Voyaging Canoe
Spend a day sailing with the Temotu master navigators on a traditional voyaging canoe. You’ll need to provide your own transportation to Santa Cruz, Reef Islands or Duff Islands, and local food and accommodation. In return, you’ll spend a day at sea with the Vaka Taumako crew. Fishing and local cultural festivities are all possibilities, as well. This is a rare and exclusive opportunity, available only through this fundraiser and impossible to do as a tourist. Everything is dependent on weather, timing, and careful logistical planning, but we’ll help you to coordinate. Please Email us with your questions.
Please Note
Many of these perks will only be commissioned to be built once the fundraiser ends. Manufacturing in the Solomon Islands often takes longer than it does in the western world, so we thank you for your patience in delivery of these incentive gifts.