Va'a Motu project

Julien Girardot is a photographer and passionate about the sea. After having sailed for three months in Polynesian waters aboard the scientific boat, Tara, he decided, with Ato Lissant, a native Polynesian, to launch a project to renew working sailing boats in the Tuamotus.
Here, as elsewhere, traditional sails vanished about fifty years ago, to be replaced by motor boats. The idea of re-launching these boats comes from a meeting between these two men, and Ato's wish to see 'traditional sails on the lagoon'. Va'a Motu will allow part of these islands' heritage to live again, and above all will preserve an expertise which is disappearing.
Then Va’a Motu association (loi 1901) saw the light of day in February 2012, and the project started during 2012 with the construction of prototypes in local ecological materials, as in days gone by… The aim is to build eight pirogues, then to perpetuate traditional sailing in Polynesia. The 'flagship' pirogue, the ambassador for the project, will be 10 to 12 metres long, and will be of course…a proa!
We will of course keep you up to date about the development of this project.

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