In Vanuatu efforts are underway to help cyclone struck Shepherd Islanders start weaving their colourful mats again.
A widow and her granddaughter, in front of what used to be their home, Shepherd Islands. Photo: RNZI / Koroi Hawkins
About 1,500 mat weavers from the six islands of the Shepherds Group depend on selling mats for their livelihood but the pandanus trees which provide the raw materials were destroyed by Cyclone Pam in March.
The United Nations Development Programme has teamed up with the authorities in Shefa Province and the Okeanos Foundation to supply leaves from the north which largely escaped the devastation.
The UNDP's Disaster Response Coordinator, Marc Antoine Morel, says the plan involves buying and shipping more than 9,500 'reels' of pandanus leaves to distribute to the women who do the weaving.
He says it is a 'win-win situation' because the women from Santo and Malekula Islands in the north earn cash from selling their leaves and the women of Shefa will earn money by selling the mats they weave.
The Okeanos Foundation catamaran which has been in Vanuatu helping with cyclone relief is shipping the leaves to the islands.
