Tradition and Modernisation in Tokelau

Tokelau has changed a lot over the years. The villagers now are buying and eating most of the imported food instead of eating the plantations and seafood straight from the sea. If the people of Tokelau start eating the imported food then they’d, start to get fat and can’t be able to move and be active like they use to be. Back then they use to eat coconuts, taro, breadfruit, fish and clams, but now it’s starting to become plangi food often. They used bones and shells as tools, because how the atolls are made out of coral they basically didn’t have any rocks to use. To get fresh water they’d dig underneath the sand and build wells there for the fresh water, every time it rained it filled the wells up. Tokelau use to use diesel oil as a way of getting power, they now have solar panels on all three islands of Tokelau. New Zealand has paid 7 million dollars towards the solar panels for Tokelau. When they were using diesel the smell wasn’t really decent, they now have solar panels so the bad smell is gone. They receive their news through the FM community radio station, which is also one of Tokelau’s main sources. Back in the 2000s the three atolls only had one computer each, they paid $10 a month for the internet in the United States is costed up to about $2000 to provide in Tokelau. The internet was so slow that it could only be used for sending emails, without attachments. Tokelau has made some changes to the island, some good and some bad.

Entry story- Tokelau

I was off to Fiji tomorrow. While I was packing my luggage, I was sitting there thinking about my family and what would happen if I leave them by themselves. So many things could happen while I was gone, so I told my grand-mother that I was going to stay. But after a long motivation talk I was so convinced by my grandma's words, that I told her I was definitely going. My family helped me pack my bags into the boat and I was off. It has been 2 years since I left Tokelau, so proud of myself. I left university after 2 years and received my Certificate In Pre-Police Proficiency. I got back home and my family was standing there waiting for me, I give it all to my grandma for encouraging me to go. If I didn't go then I wouldn't have been here right now.