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| FABLE OF THE FERRY-FOLKS II
Importing problems: Tokelau
Vaka making Idle Vaka
| Cola can-ing: Thailand |
  Till 1980s, the Moken
people (also known as Sea
Gypsies) lived on
Moken Kabang (a
boat) all through
the year, stopping
at islands in
Thailand and
Myanmar to
collect water or food. They now
live in a village on the Surin Islands in Thailand.
Their diet includes rice, fish
paste, chilli, sea cucumber
and sea worms.
Influences of
modernity and
commercialisation
can be seen as
toddlers walk
around with cans of Coke and cups of instant
noodles.
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| Importing problems: Tokelau |
 The three atolls of Tokelau
are protectorate of New
Zealand. Until recently, people
subsisted on raw fish, coconuts
and breadfruit. But now, a
supply boat comes every two
weeks, flooding them with
imported goods and... all the accompanying problems,
such as trash and diseases like obesity and diabetes.
A change has taken place in their boats as well.
Although, the Vaka (handmade Tokelauan outrigger
canoe) can last for  numerous years, the fisherfolk use
aluminum dinghies now, which last for merely 7-10
years. This in spite of the fact that they need to jump
out of the boats to catch fish, as the slapping of water
against the metal dinghies scare the fish away.
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| Expedition excess: Bolivia |
 Three families living in the small town of Huatajata, Bolivia
– the Estebans, the Limachis and the Cataris – have
maintained the reed boat building tradition.
There has been an influx of money and interest from
expeditions like  those of
Thor Heyerdahl (Norwegian
adventurer). He
employed the Limachi
family to build Ra II, a 12-
meter reed vessel, to sail
from Morocco to the
Barbados.
Since then, these families have built boats for nearly
20 large-scale expeditions, including Abora III for setting
sail from New York in July of 2007.
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