Krishna Nahow aKa KastomK

Hello and welKam to my blog. I am an Australian South Sea Islander,a visual artist, mother of two boys, Vanuatu lover and Koveuteur of evrisamting K. I was inspired to create this blog after spending much of 2011 living in Mwotlap (Motalava), Vanuatu with my children. I was an artist in residence there and worked from Telhei School, the anglophone language speaking school as an art teacher. Mwotlap is an island that is strong in living the Kastom way but also has the highest amount of Christian churches on any of the islands that make up the archipelago nation of Vanuatu. As a teacher a topic of conversation often brought up from the community was school fees. Which i thought were ridiculously high and I couldn't understand why education is not free in Vanuatu? So sadly what happens is that a lot of people are leaving the island to find work for the reason of paying for school fees. That means Kastom breaks down. People are chasing cash to pay school fee. It was not until I return to Australia that I found out that school fees can be paid kastom way that is with shell money, pigs, tusks, mats. It was not something publicly known in Mwotlap and I never saw any promotional campaigns coming from the Vanuatu government. As an observer of Kastom I fully support it. I think it is amazing sustainable way to live. I am a strong advoKat for Kastom and will promote and proteKt Kastom to the best of my ability outside of Vanuatu ~ Krishna Nahow aKa KastomK