From Kiribati to Chelmsford: Climate crisis, culture, and coconut cuisine in the “sinking islands”
Even though most people seem not to have heard of Kiribati, and even less know that it is pronounced Kiribas, thanks to meme culture, many are aware that its main towns are London, Poland and Banana. Thanks to ex-President Anate Tong climate-followers also know that it is drowning due to the human induced climate crisis. He has travelled the world showing footage of its sinking islands and the previously unheard of storms that are destroying homes and livelihoods. Sadly, his audience seems to have dismissed the plight of the only country in the world with territory in all four hemispheres, and the fate of its Chelmsford-sized population. If I had to give up The Chelm or Kiribati, I know which one I would lose, but according to this week’s film, Anote’s Ark, President Tong would probably like to keep them both. For he has devoted his life to raising awareness of the plight of the powerless, and who are more helpless than the Chelmsfordians? So please watch this film of hope in the midst of tragedy and of a statesperson not afraid to talk science to those who need to hear it. Though prepare yourself for a depressing end when Tong retires and is replaced with the Trump-like Mauamau who has declared that only divine intervention can harm Kiribati. Science-based policy has been swapped for a cosy Chinese relationship, as he renounced acceptance of Taiwan in return for hope that China will offer billions to help them “raise the height of the islands”.
It must be admitted, though, that he is popular, I can’t imagine a song like this being written about Keir Starmer! It is a truly awful tropical pop reggae song which seems to be indicative of the Kiribati music I could find. Their national anthem, is similarly unexciting, which is a shame as Wikipedia promises that Kiribati folk music is generally based on chanting or other forms of vocalizing, accompanied by body percussion. And so I offer you, instead of a playlist, this lovely video of traditional songs and dance.
This kind of singing would have greeted Robert Louis Stevenson when he visited back in 1889 when they were the Gilbert Islands. This week’s book In Search of Tusitala, is the story of Gavin Bell’s attempt to revisit Stevenson’s (known by locals as Tusitala — the storyteller) adventures and see how much has changed. It’s a light-hearted trip across Polynesia which lays bare the challenges associated with globalisation. The rich variety of cultures that met a traveller only 100-years ago is rapidly shrinking and the long-standing horrors and knock-on effects of colonialism are still not fully understood. Kiribatians are leaving, changing, drinking and, like the rest of us, devoting more of their time to screens and distractions. As the climate and distraction crises ratchet up, what will Kiribati look like 100-years from now? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
As with the Cook islands, Kiribatian food is very, very coconut based! And very, very delicious. It is also, not surprisingly, mainly fish-based and so, once more I bought vegan fish from the Chinese supermarket and produced my first ever mahi mahi! You basically make a glaze, bake the fish and eat it with coconut rice. The trick, for sure, is to make more glaze than they suggest, as you can never have too much! For starter we went all out on the coconut with this pumpkin coconut soup. A simple solution for what to do with the carved out pumpkin insides which are the detritus of Halloween joy.
The trickiest part this month was finding a drink. The internet pointed me towards Karewe — a palm wine made from coconut sap. But while I could source Ghanaian palm wine, it did not seem to be coconut based, so instead I Googled the menus of the various beach cafes dotted across Kiribati and found the offered Pine Orange and Pine Mango drinks. Simple. I combined some juices and created delicious, healthy treats. Pine Mango is particularly recommended.
And that’s it, we’re heading back north to less-tropical North Korea!