1996-1997 Statewide Sail Activities
Activity 2: Provisioning
Concept: Planning carefully is important to sustain life, maintain good health and ensure survival.
Focusing Questions: What would you take with you to sustain life and ensure survival for 30 days at sea? What are the limits of what you can take? Why are the Hawaiian values of Lokomaika‘i (to share) and Olakino Maika‘i (to live healthily) important to the canoe and its crew?
Objectives:
- Distinguish between necessities and luxuries, essential and non-essential provisions in maintaining health and insuring survival.
- Recognize the importance of Lokomaika‘i (to share) and Olakino Maika‘i (to live healthily).
- Recognize the importance of planning for survival, on land and at sea.
Activity:
Divide students into 4 groups. Give each group a set of 64 provisioning cards, each with a provision. (See a sample list below; it could be updated and improved.) If you don't have time to make cards, a simple checklist will work.
Have students select 15 items (or fewer) that they would take with them on a 30-day voyage. Have each group discuss WHY. Have one group then volunteer to present and discuss why they have chosen their items. Paste cards on a board or write the list on a board. As the other groups listen, have them quietly choose the items that have not already been mentioned and be prepared to share these items with the rest of the group and their reasons for choosing them instead of items the first group chose.
Guidelines for Selection of Provisions:
- The lighter the canoe is, the safer it is. Heavy supplies make the canoe dangerously heavy.
- Space is limited on the canoe. The less space an item takes up, the better. The deck of the canoe is the size of a single room in a house.
- The canoe does not have any electrical outlets. Its solar panels power two batteries that are used to run essential safety equipment like marine radios and lights.
- The canoe does not have an engine. It runs only on wind power.
- Hokule‘a, like a traditional canoe, is lashed together with rope.
- There is no refrigeration. What the crew takes to eat should be healthy, tasty, stored properly, and non-perishable.
Follow-up Discussion: How is living on an island like living on a canoe? What resources do we need to sustain life and ensure survival? Which of our possessions are necessities, which are luxuries?
What limits, if any, do we have on what we own and consume? How successfully are we living on our islands and sustaining our resources? Will future generations be able to sustain life living as we do? If not, what would need to change to make life sustainable?
PROVISION CARDS
What Would You Take With You to Survive on a 30-40 day Voyage on Hokule‘a, from Hawai‘i to Tahiti?
Guidelines for Selection
- The lighter the canoe is, the safer it is. Heavy things make the canoe heavy.
- Space is limited on the canoe. The less space an item takes up, the better. The deck of the canoe is the size of a single room in a house.
- The canoe does not have any electrical outlets. Its solar panels power two batteries that are used to run essential safety equipment like marine radios and lights.
- The canoe does not have an engine. It runs only on wind power.
- Høküleça, like a traditional canoe, is lashed together with rope.
- Food and Water
Sample list of possible provisions to give to students.
A Sample List of Provision Cards. The list can be easily modified. (We made cards with pictures of the items on them, with the English names on one side and the Hawaiian names on the other.)
Food
- Dried Food
- Canned Food
- Water
- Ice Cream
- Milk
- Fresh Meat
- Vegetables / Fruits
- Coke
Cloth
- Clothing (Shorts, Shirts)
- Jacket
- Foul Weather Gear (e.g., Heavy Wind-Rain Proof Jackets)
- Hat
Safety
- Life Vest
- Man overboard Pole
- Fire Extinguisher
- Anchor
- Life Raft
- Harness
- Whistle
- Flashlight
- Flares
Equipment
- Ropes
- Fishing Line & Hook
- Utensils
- Knife
- Matches
- Buckets
- Radio
Sports & Recreation (161-4)
- Volleyball
- Fins and Goggles
- Barbells
- Football
- Wind Surfing Board
- Darts
- Cards
- Toys
- Guitar
- Piano
- Books
Electronics
- TV
- VCR
- Stereo
- Boom Box
- CD Player
- Computer
- Phone
Furniture and Appliances
- Bed
- Couch
- Chair
- Stove
- Refrigerator
- Washer / Dryer
- Water Heater
- Vacuum Cleaner
- Microwave
- Air Conditioner
- Fan
- Toaster
- Sleeping Bag
- Tent
Miscellaneous
- Blow Dryer
- Camera
- Gun
- Power Tools
- Video Camera
- Electric Toothbrush
- Binoculars
- Ladder
- Jewelry
- Make-up
- Pet Dog
- Bicycle
- Skateboard
- Umbrella