Welcome to Wallyworld

I emailed Ben Keene ("Chief Benghazi of the khazi") today with some questions and he's answered forthwith.

1/ How much money are you making out of the exercise?

At the moment nothing. The budget for the project was based on potential memberships sold + extra revenue being generated by media opportunities (Tv/book etc...). As a business we aim to make some kind of profit so the business can grow. But realistically this venture is about financial sustainability – if it is a successful project I expect it will provide a platform for us to build a bigger business, but that depends on how effectively we manage the project now.

2/ How much do the Fijians get?

Vorovoro Lease Breakdown (Fijian Dollors – divide by 3 for £)
$60,000 premium of lease
$10,000 yearly rent – 3 years
$5,000 yearly to the education committee – 3 years
$10,000 yearly to the village committee – 3 years
$4,361 stamp duty
$3,150 VAT
$142,511 TOTAL
Government take 15% - landowners (Tui Mali and his family take the premium and rent balance and the rest is community donations and tax)
Family/community also benefit from the fact that this is a short-term project – all infrastructure and island development they own and at the end of 3 years they can decide to extend the lease with us, find a new partner, or run the project themselves.
Local community also benefit from employment the project generates, so far over 50 people have been employed and of course, the economic growth of tourists coming to the area has a trickle down effect. Before us there was only fishing and the local saw mill, so at least there is a new employer in town.

3/ Are they happy with the deal?

Yes, we paid over the odds for a short-term lease (for 3 times the price you could probably get a 50 year lease), but with the membership budget we could afford it and the more that can go into local projects the better.

4/ Will you really be able to leave the site the way you found it after 3 years?

In terms of structures being completely dismantled, yes. The compost toilet, jetty and oven are the only concrete structures so far and none of them have being built without the consent of the local chief. However, if they wanted rid of them, we could break them up and take away. The main thing is pollution/environmental damage – we do not want to have anything more than a neutral impact. This is a challenge but with people like the environmental engineers of UCL, Climate Care, Global Sense, MTT Sustain supporting us and providing expert advice we should be able to achieve it and raise awareness about sustainable development in tourism at the same time.

5/ What about the pier?

Whether we are there or not, this is something the local community have always wanted. As its on the South side of the island it will protect the coral on the north side (less boats) and shelter boats in storms.

6/ Has the coup impacted on membership?

Yes, for three weeks barely anyone signed-up and its frustrating because your sitting in Fiji and really nothing has changed- the only difference is flights are cheaper! But FCO advice has been downgraded now and numbers are picking up again. The Fiji Visitors Bureau are using tribewanted as a case study for tourism in 2007 and STA Travel are pushing us in a big way.

7/ Will it affect the existing agreement with the Fijians?

No – surprisingly, despite 4 coups in 20 years, they don’t have a clause in legal contracts for them! If the political situation deteriorated to the extent that we were not able to continue the project then I expect we would eb able to freeze the lease until the troubled passed. We have a great relationship with the local community.

8/ Is it true one of your partners changed his name so as not to be associated with former failed enterprises?

Mark was advised not to use his surname because of his previous involvement with the Church and he didn’t want people making the assumption that Tribewanted had any religious affiliation. Mark's previous enterprises have never failed.