The Moken are the last indigenous sea nomads who have spent their entire lives on the waves up until “yesterday”.  

Today they are forcefully placed in settlements on land, and have no means to continue a livelihood on their traditional Kabang boats. The children are no longer learning the ancient wisdom of living as one with the ocean.

By providing a vessel on which some Moken once again can make a living on the sea, we can all benefit from their knowledge in our modern day challenges of ocean pollution. 

The Project Moken Team consists of a mix of Moken and people from a variety of different cultures. Read more about us here: http://projectmoken.com/the-team

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Now, more than a decade later, Runar has made several films with the Moken, started an organisation (Project Moken) and found a way to help the Moken get back out onto the waves (Project MAP). Through Runar's work with the Moken we can all benefit from the vast knowledge of the ocean and its ecosystems embedded in the Moken culture for thousands of years. But this winter something devastating happened; the key to Project Moken's past and future success - the Vanya Catamaran, sunk during a Typhoon. 

Having alreday mortgaged his house to ensure Project Moken's future endeavors, the expense of restoring the Vanya Catamaran on top of all the other activities to help make sure we don't loose the Moken knowledge, may crumble next years efforts. And the Moken, now forcefully stuck in slum villages both in Myanmar and Thailand, will not be back on their beloved ocean. More elders will die before their knowledge can be passed on to the younger generations. 

By contributing to make sure the Moken can get back on the waves, you will be part of a unique project which uses ancient knowledge to save the coral reefs and marine ecosystems in our modern times. Read more about one of Project Moken’s future projects here:

http://www.projectmoken.com/project/project-m-a-p-moken-against-plastic/

What We Need & What You Get

Project Moken has been run and funded by Runar and his film projects about the Moken since 2006. First we needed to make sure that the world knew that the Moken knowledge of living on and in the ocean had not vanished with the rest of the crippled marine nomadic cutures, and thanks to our films' numerous awards and special screenings in everything from villages to royal quarters and the UN, to the web-based outreach projects, - this goal has been achieved. 

Unfortunately however, the living conditions of the Moken in the Mergui Archipelago has only gotten worse. Without being able to live on their beloved waves, the elders are dying and the future for the young seems hopeless. This is why Runar wants, yet again, to aid the Moken in their wish to feed their children from marine activities once again, and this he wants to do by enabling them to take part in the much needed coral rejuvenation and plastic clean-up initiatives. 

Some of the most remote islands on the planet - the Moken realm - is being destroyed by plastic and un-ethical over-fishing with dynamite and poison. With Project Moken's  Vanya Catamaran as the mother-ship of a small fleet of Moken canoes, the eco-tourist initiatives in the areas will sponsor the Moken for the first time, and ensure a sustainable lifestyle for them back on the waves. 

But everything stops without the Vanya Catamaran. Because of her unique re-design she is currently the only boat the Moken can use for this purpose. The support you give us now, will go directly to fixing the Vanya Catamaran. The work will be done by Moken from Mu Koh Surin at the Chaipattana marine workshop in the mangroves outside Kuraburi in the Phang Nga region on the border between Myanmar and south Thailand, so all contributions will sustain Moken from day one. And the Vanya Catamaran will become like their own traditional Kabang boats before sailing out to launch the Project MAP initiatives. We will proceed regardless of how much this campaign raises, but the process will be prolonged until we've gathered what is needed. The USD 42000,- will make the Vanya Catamaran ready to sail. As shown in the making of film "Kindred Spirits" and the film for this campaign, we have done this before, and can calculate our costs very accurately.

Based on all the previous work, and the nature of the fantastic Moken culture, we can offer some of the best perks in return for your contribution. You get the films, credits on our next film projects, unique Moken artisan work, training in Moken freediving with a certified instructor, and you are invited to join us on a voyage into the paradise island realm of the Moken. In addition, every contributor has a shot at receiving the top perk of voyaging in the Mergui Archipelago with the Moken, since at the end of the campaign we will randomly pick a contributor regardless of the size of the contribution, to receive the USD 5000,- perk!

To read more about our perks - please follow these links:

Moken Artisan perks: http://www.projectmoken.com/?p=1871

Top Perks: http://www.projectmoken.com/?p=1845

The Impact

When Runar travelled back to one of the off-limit military controlled villages in the Mergui Archipelago last year, he wanted to say hello to some of his friends from making the film "No Word for Worry" two years prior. What he discovered was that since then, two of the people whom had helped with the filming from the village had taken their own lives with dynamite obtained from the fishing industry. Asking why, Runar was told that they had seen no hope for the future. That is when he decided to help make sure the Moken can back on the waves. 

Most other organisations involved with Moken focus on helping them with the challenges of surviving the village life forced upon them by the modern world, but Runar tries to create a way to feed their children and stay healthy by living on the ocean again. The Moken need the ocean lifestyle to preserve their unique knowledge of the sea, and this in turn is something we all need in the tasks ahead of saving the oceans from ourselves. The Moken need the ocean lifestyle to lead meaningful lives. Now their health, both physically and mentally, is dwindling. 

When the Vanya Catamaran can bring the Moken back to their original realm, and Project Moken can continue working on an international level, the beginning of a sustainable future for the Moken, our ocean, and ultimately ourselves, will be possible.You will be part of some of todays most valuable efforts in our collective human initiatives to right some of the wrongs we have caused this planet. We need to heal to survive.

Other Ways You Can Help

There are many other ways of helping us reach our goals. 

If you are unable to contribute to this campaign, please consider some of the following: 

- Learn more about the Moken through Project Moken and join our newsletter

- Sign our "One Tree Can Save A Culture" campaign

- Watch our award-winning feature Documentary

- Like our Facebook and Twitter pages (projectmoken)

- Help us SPREAD THIS CAMPAIGN through the various share tools!

Thank you!

If you have any questions, we would love to hear from you:

info@projectmoken.com