Week #8: off-grid in paradise

Maupihaa has a lot to offer... but no Internet! Our week in Maupihaa was a return to nature and simple human interactions. A blessing !

People of Maupihaa

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have an entire atoll just for your family to live in? Since decades Maupihaa is habited by an extended family, originally from Maupiti. We met 7 of them on the atoll. They are homesteaders in Maupihaa i.e they live on land owned by the government in exchange of their work producing copra. The oldest is Harry (named by a British sailor who was visiting when he was born!) Harry has the sweetest smile and biggest heart. He took us around his house, garden and prepared meals for us. Being an Adventist, On the weekend we saw him in his best shirt after his prayers (who needs a church?!) His wife Norma spends her time between Maupiti and Maupihaa. In her younger days she was one of the best dancers in all of Maupiti!

Just a few 100 mts from Harry lives Adrienne (his sister in law) and her daughter Karina. They are both funny and kind. About 3 km from Harry, lives his cousin Opupu and his wife Isabelle. Their kids live and work in Maupiti and Bora Bora and are not interested in copra production yet. The last house is that of Hina, who has the best beach all to herself. Hina is young and not interested in going to Maupiti or getting married. She is happy in her solitary life with her dogs, work and music. Somewhere between Opupu and Hina lives Pierre also known as Kolanta! He is the only exception as he does not belong to the family, and also doesnt really work much. He lives a simple life hunting and gathering what he needs to eat when he is not meditating or watching movies on his solar powered TV!

A typical day at work

Our “office” for the week was Harrys backyard and our job- copra production. Step one is to collect coconuts. Since Harry starts work at 6 am and we made it to office only by 8 am, 300 coconuts were already collected. The 2 boys were given the task to break open the coconuts with an axe. Not easy, as you need to make a clean cut in the centre, without chopping off your toes in the process.

Harry and the 2 ladies scooped out the hardened flesh. Once again not an easy task. Next step is to rinse the flesh pieces in the ocean to prevent crabs from eating them. Once rinsed, we placed the flesh pieces on a large platform to dry in the sun. It takes about 2 days (without rain) for them to completely dry and become “copra”, after which they can be stored. Incase of rain, there is a roof that can be wheeled over the platform to keep it dry.

300 coconuts lead to about 50 kg of copra - an entire day of work. We were 5 in total, Harry usually does this all by himself! Once 40 tonnes of copra have been collected, which takes about 12-13 months, a collection boat arrives from Tahiti. It cannot enter the lagoon and has to wait outside the pass. The family transports all that copra to the boat braving the strong currents and waves. In Tahiti, the copra goes to factories where it is refined to produce the very famous Tahiti coconut oil - Monoii. We have been using Monoii for years, and it is only now that we realise all the hard work that goes into one little bottle of Monoii.

Yoga in Maupihaa

We are told by the family that Yamini is the first Indian to have made it to Maupihaa! In true Indian style we brought masalas and Yoga to the island. We had the first ever Yoga Class of Maupihaa for Harry in front of his house. Harry is 61 years old and he works Monday - Friday. Copra production is a physically intense job and Harry often suffers from sore back and hip pain. So he was very open to try yoga, though some postures were not his favourite!

The setting was perfect. We set up yoga mats outside Harrys house on the soft white sand facing the beautiful sunset. His cats were watching us with no interest whatsoever and the thousands of hermit crabs were going about their daily evening walks like Indian aunties at the park. The Shavasana at the end was so magical as you could hear the waves and the birds chirping. Maupihaa has so many birds, Seb keeps saying it feels like Jurassic park. After the yoga class, we chatted a bit and asked Harry if he ever has sailors visiting that he doesn’t like. In true yogic philosophy, he said ‘no, only people with good energy visit the island as the Maupihaa pass makes sure only people with good karma can enter!’ How privileged we are.