About Us

EPINUP VILLAGE

Epinup is one of the smallest villages located on the Northernmost tip of the island of Weno, Chuuk State in Micronesia. It's small population of about 150 farmers, fishermen, and land owners depend on the land and ocean for their livelihood. The village itself is surrounded by fertile soil on the mountain side and protected by a large mangrove growth roughly 45 acres most of which are accessible only through waterways cut through the dense jungle.

Economically, Epinup has one of the poorest population on the island. Although Epinup is within close proximity of the Blue Lagoon Resort & Dive Shop, one of the most successful hotel and resort on island, the economic benefits do not find their way to the villagers. Most of the villagers live on a subsistent economy with most men in the village fishing for a living. Most people have no electricity and depend on their knowledge of survival skills to make it.

Epinup's distance from the main center of Weno protects it from all the social problems that most urban villages encounter. It's not unusual to see the close-knit families celebrating and working together. When there's death in the village, the people gather to mourn and also help bury their member. It is within this culture of people helping each other that has made it ideal for a conservation project of this magnitude to be successful. The culture of community helping each other will lend itself to the project of building the water catchments for each sector in the village.

THE PROBLEM

Over the years, people from the neighboring villages of Wichap on the South and Sapuk to the North have increasingly encroached on the mangrove boundaries cutting down valuable mangroves to sell as firewood in the local markets. Even after repeated warning from landowners, the problem persists. Epinup landowners find acres of mangroves being depleted by unscrupulous thieves. The community leaders have complained to the State for protection to no avail. In a meeting with Micronesians in Conservation in 2005, the Epinup community leaders and landowners plead for help citing instances in which their livelihood and safety are at great risk. The once thick and dense mangrove growth that provided rich nutrients for fishes and safety from typhoons and waves are no longer there. Consequently, the village is exposed to the ocean waves and strong winds.

CONSERVATION

The community needed help and it came through a strategic collaboration with local and external agencies with the Epinup Community Council. These partners include funding agency Seacology through the work of Olivier Wortel, local conservation advisory by Mary Rose Nakayama from the RARE Conservation Project at the College of Micronesia, government infrastructure and personnel training support through the Department of Marine Resources, the fiscal management responsibilities handled through Xavier High School, and the technological web support provided by Vidalino Raatior's social change web design venture Atawe Design.

 

WATER CATCHMENT SYSTEM

The Epinup Community Council decided to utilize the Seacology-funded grant of $30,000 split equally between the construction a community water system and the establishment of the Epinup Mangrove Forest Reserve and Marine Protected Area. Upon completion of the much needed community water system of water catchment tanks, the collaboration will focus on a series of managable conservation projects including the hiring and training of 4 conservation officers with the help of the Department of Marine Resources, the establishment of a Conservation Club at the Epinup Annex School, and various environmental awareness programs.