Locating the traditional economy in Port Vila, Vanuatu: Disaster relief and agrobiodiversity

Abstract

Alternative economic indicators are becoming policy in Vanuatu, particularly focusing on what national policy calls traditional economy. Although this acknowledges livelihoods and customary land in rural areas, urban places receive less attention. This article advances an argument that cities are also home to traditional economies. We draw on concepts of diverse economies and translocality to examine how economic practices typically associated with community activities on customary land are also found in cities where households lack direct access to customary resources. Empirical data come from the authors' fieldwork and participation in community‐based organisations in Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 2017 to 2020. The case study presents surveys of agrobiodiversity in 27 urban backyards and livelihood practices of 24 households; and accounts of co‐authors' participation in community‐based disaster to distribute disaster relief supplies from urban to rural, create urban markets for rural crops and build urban resilience following Ambae Island's Manaro volcano eruptions and COVID‐19‐related unemployment. This study demonstrates how traditional economies are part of everyday urban life.

Surviving well: From diverse economies to community economies in Asia‐Pacific

“…The contributions from Drake, Liunakwalaua and Hango Hango Community Association adds that kinship ties extend the connection to land even for people living far from their customary land. In all these places, our contributors agree that ‘the traditional economy is part of everyday life’ (Drake et al ., 2022). Thus customary land joins other non‐human entities in making up the more‐than‐human economies and livelihoods that feature in this special issue, where traditional practices of attunement co‐exist with contemporary livelihoods and globalised economies.…”

“…The challenge presented to such binaries is also extended by the work of Drake et al . (2022), who challenge the perceived divide between rural and urban. Reporting on community‐based disaster relief in Vanuatu, the authors demonstrate the integrity of traditional agricultural practices across rural and urban settings, and elaborate the human and more‐than‐human relations that link non‐contiguous spaces and places.…”

“…Drake et al . (2022) use diverse economies to show how traditional agriculture is sustaining life and livelihoods well beyond the boundaries of customary lands. McKinnon's (2022) analysis of the international connections of care in a health programme in Laos also offers insights into the commonalities and shared concerns that challenge perceived divides of West/East and developed/underdeveloped.…”

“…Many of these practices of ‘surviving well’ draw on centuries‐old social and environmental relations that have developed in response to long relationships with places and regions. These include: practices of listening to the land and sea (Do and Dombroski, 2022; Vunibola et al ., 2022), formalised traditional modes of sharing applied in new contexts (Drake et al ., 2022; Placino and Gibson, 2022; Sharp et al ., 2022), commoning practices from rural areas reapplied in the city (Alam and Waliuzzaman, 2022), care for people, country, land and sea in good times and bad (Fidali and Larder, 2022; Gibson and Hill, 2022; McKinnon, 2022) and cooperative enterprises for collective well‐being (Vunibola et al ., 2022; Chitranshi and Healy, 2022). In the height of the development era, such ancient practices were often framed by academics as remnants of traditional economies that would naturally die away with modernisation.…”

Rubbish sick and the dancing devil

“…11 Storian is a common term in Bislama, the lingua franca of Vanuatu. While not explicitly taken up in this article, the Indigenous social practice of storian represents an important emerging methodology in social scientific, public health, education, and development‐related research in Vanuatu (e.g., Drake et al., 2022). This methodology is closely linked to the now more firmly established Talanoa Research Framework and related Pacific forms (Vaioleti, 2006).…”