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When the devastating Tropical Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu in 2015, it was estimated up to 90 percent of buildings across the country were affected, with profound damage to public infrastructure including water supplies, government buildings, hospitals, schools and also hotels and resorts in Vanuatu. For Merian Numake, the owner of Tanna Evergreen Resort (also destroyed by Cyclone Pam), the challenge was an opportunity to rebuild the resort. “I needed to rebuild but how will I start; it took me two weeks to think and I said, let’s turn this... read more

Merian Numake is the owner-proprietor of  Tanna Evergreen Resort and Tours, on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. Merien says she and her husband Samuel “started from scratch” 20 years ago with two workers. Today the resort now employs 57 people. Increasingly they are targeting tourists from Asia – mostly China – particularly in the off-season, when tourism from nearby countries slows down.  Samuel owned the customary land on which they built the resort. To make it more secure, in 2003, the pair registered the land and made a proper lease for... read more