Alternative Indicators of Well-being for Melanesia Pilot Study Report 2012

Copyright © 2012 Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs

All rights for commercial, for-profit and not-for-profit reproduction or translation, in any form, rest with the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs at the discretion of the Vanuatu National Statistics Office.

No part of this publication may be adapted, reproduced or translated, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, photocopying or otherwise), except for the purposes of training, private study, review or research. Any reproduction, translation or adaptation or other above mentioned allowed purposes must fully acknowledge the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs and Vanuatu National Statistics Office.

All photos for this publication were obtained from the Vanuatu Cultural Centre Archives and from the project coordinator’s private stock.

Report Produced by the Vanuatu National Statistics Office Private Mail Bag 9019 Port Vila Vanuatu Phone: (678) 22111, 22110 Fax: (678) 24583

Report Published by the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs Private Mail Bag 9047 Port Vila Vanuatu Phone: (678) 22474 Fax: (678) 25292

Foreword

One year ago, in July 2011, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted Resolution 65/309 titled “: towards a holistic approach to development”. The resolution states that happiness is a fundamental human goal and universal aspiration; that GDP by its nature does not reflect that goal; that unsustainable patterns of production and consumption impede ; and that a more inclusive, equitable, and balanced approach is needed to promote , eradicate poverty, and enhance well-being and happiness.

In August 2011, the Conference on Happiness and Economic Development was organized by the Kingdom of Bhutan, hosted by Honorable Prime Minister Thinley and Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs from Columbia University’s Earth Institute. This resulted in the presented in April of this year, 2012, at the first ever UN High Level Meeting on Well- being and Happiness in New York City. The report provides empirical evidence that happiness—as well as being a fundamental human goal—also contributes to greater productivity, better health, faster recovery from adversity, less risky lifestyle choices and more pro-social behavior. It adds up to a convincing argument for changing the governance agenda from one that focuses primarily on economic growth to one that takes all domains of well-being into consideration.

The Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs has completed a pilot study on well-being which measures happiness and considers variables that reflect Melanesian values. The three unique domains of well-being explored in the study—resource access, cultural practice, and community vitality—are intended to modify the existing progressive measures accepted internationally by governments and aid agencies in order to better track the factors that contribute to, specifically, ni-Vanuatu well-being.

It is with great pride we release these findings after two years of preparation, fieldwork, and analysis. Enjoy.

Alicta Vuti Acting CEO, Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Foreword I

Acknowledgements

This report is published under the responsibility of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs—the formal advisory body of chiefs established in 1981 and granted recognition in the constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Government of Vanuatu.

The report was prepared by Mr. Jamie Tanguay, project coordinator, on behalf of the Vanuatu National Statistics Office as the implementing partner organization for this pilot study on ni-Vanuatu well-being. The report has benefited from contributions and comments from staff of the Economic Statistics, Social Statistics, and Statistical Learning and Coordination units at VNSO as well as members of the project technical steering committee.

Members of the technical steering committee include:

Marcelin Abong Vanuatu Cultural Center Noe Vincent Atutur Vanuatu Cultural Center Roy Benyon Secretariat for the Pacific Community Elise Huffer Secretariat for the Pacific Community Simil Johnson Vanuatu National Statistics Office Arthur Jorari Secretariat for the Pacific Community Benuel Lenge Vanuatu National Statistics Office Jimmy Nouna Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat Ralph Regenvanu Honorable Member of Parliament Nancy Wells Asian Development Bank

Technical support for the project was provided by the Vanuatu Cultural Centre and The Secretariat for the Pacific Community. Funding for the report and all project activities including social research, survey instrument design, and data collection was provided by The Christensen Fund.

II Acknowledgements | Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report

Tables and Figures

Tables Page Table 1:HIES Sample Selection 4 Table 2: Well-being HIES Sub-Sample Selection 4 Table 3: Community Sample Selection 6 Table 4: Assessments of personal health, time use, family, and personal finance 16 Table 5: Origin of usage rights of customary lands 23 Table 6: Uses of Customary Lands 25 Table 7: Forest Resource Access 30 Table 8: Marine Resource Access 32 Table 9: Traditional Knowledge 38 Table 10: Traditional Skills 43 Table 11: Access to Traditional Wealth Items 44 Table 12: Voluntary Activities, Last 12 Months 61 Table 13: Family Statement Verifications 69 Table 14: Causes of active land disputes 87 Table 15: Level of respect men show towards women in community 90 Table 16: Average number of events hosted in community, last 12 months 97

Figures Page Figure 1: Ni-Vanuatu Well-being Sample Characteristics 5 Figure 2: Distribution of Subjective Well-being by Region 11 Figure 3: Mean happiness by region and time dimension 11 Figure 4: Mean happiness by sex and region 12 Figure 5: Mean happiness by province 12 Figure 6: Mean happiness by educational attainment 12 Figure 7: Mean happiness by age group 12 Figure 8: Mean happiness by marital status 12 Figure 9: Mean happiness by household size 12 Figure 10: Applied Gallup Well-being Categories 14 Figure 11: Overall 15 Figure 12: Self-Reported Stress Level 17 Figure 13: Self-Reported stress level by age group 17 Figure 14: Self-Reported stress level by marital status 18 Figure 15: Mean happiness by stress level 18 Figure 16: % with access to customary lands 21 Figure 17: % certain of customary land boundaries 22 Figure 18: Assessment of size of customary lands to meet family’s needs 24 Figure 19: % (rural) with access who use customary lands for both housing and subsistence agriculture 25 Figure 20: Number of people housed 26 Figure 21: Number of people fed 27 Figure 22: Number of people earning income 27 Figure 23: Number of people raising livestock 28 Figure 24: Number of people who walk through regularly 28

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Tables and Figures III

Figure 25: Type of lease agreement 29 Figure 26: Long term plans with land currently under lease agreement 29 Figure 27: Distance to firewood (those with access) 31 Figure 28: Access to forest resources 31 Figure 29: Distance to seashore 33 Figure 30: Access to marine resources 33 Figure 31: Mean happiness by access to customary lands 34 Figure 32: Mean happiness by land size assessment 34 Figure 33: Mean happiness by forest resource access 34 Figure 34: Mean happiness by marine resource access 34 Figure 35: First language learned 37 Figure 36: Ability to speak indigenous first language 37 Figure 37: Overall traditional knowledge 39 Figure 38: Strength of knowledge – traditional stories 40 Figure 39: Strength of knowledge – traditional dances 40 Figure 40: Strength of knowledge – traditional songs 41 Figure 41: Strength of knowledge – traditional games 41 Figure 42: Overall traditional wisdom 42 Figure 43: 10 Common Traditional Production Skills 44 Figure 44: 5 Basic Traditional Production Skills 44 Figure 45: Access to traditional wealth items 45 Figure 46: Urban dwellers access to TWIs 45 Figure 47: Urban Demand: Rural dwellers having received request for TWIs from outside community 46 Figure 48: Sources of TWI demand on rural supplies 47 Figure 49: Number of sources of requesting TWIs 47 Figure 50: Participation in marriage ceremonies, last 12 months 48 Figure 51: Participation in death ceremonies, last 12 months 48 Figure 52: Participation in reconciliation ceremonies, last 12 months 48 Figure 53: Participation in circumcision ceremonies, last 12 months 48 Figure 54: Participation in rank or grade ceremonies, last 12 months 49 Figure 55: Participation in community ceremonies, last 12 months 49 Figure 56: Overall ceremonial activity 50 Figure 57: Importance of participation in traditional ceremonies 51 Figure 58: Assessment of traditional ceremonies today 51 Figure 59: Mean happiness by traditional knowledge 52 Figure 60: Mean happiness by traditional wisdom 52 Figure 61: Mean happiness by opinions of ceremonial participation importance 52 Figure 62: Frequency of community meetings 55 Figure 63: Frequency of attendance at meetings 56 Figure 64: Frequency of spoken participation at meetings 57 Figure 65: Strength of community cooperation 58 Figure 66: Presence of support in times of sickness 59 Figure 67: Presence of support in times of financial need 59 Figure 68: % who volunteered time or labor, last 12 months 60 Figure 69: % who received voluntary support, last 12 months 62

IV Tables and Figures | Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report

Figure 70: Level of trust in neighbors 63 Figure 71: Level of trust in community leaders 63 Figure 72: % victims of theft, last 12 months 64 Figure 73: % victims of vandalism, last 12 months 65 Figure 74: Average number of incidents of theft and vandalism over 12 months 65 Figure 75: Assessments of chiefs’ performance by area 66 Figure 76: Overall assessment of the work of chiefs 67 Figure 77: Fear of violent attack 68 Figure 78: Fear of black magic, devils, or poison 68 Figure 79: Overall family strength 70 Figure 80: Perception of material equality, household level 71 Figure 81: Frequency of missed or reduced meals, last 12 months 72 Figure 82: Importance of select Melanesian values 73 Figure 83: Relative importance of select Melanesian values 73 Figure 84: Perceived change in faithfulness of all people, last 2-3 years 74 Figure 85: Perceived change in cooperation of all people, last 2-3 years 75 Figure 86: Perceived change in greed and selfishness of all people, last 2-3 years 75 Figure 87: Perceived change in dishonesty of all people, last 2-3 years 76 Figure 88: Perceived change in respectfulness of all people, last 2-3 years 76 Figure 89: Perceived change in family priority of all people, last 2-3 years 77 Figure 90: Mean happiness by meeting participation 77 Figure 91: Mean happiness by overall assessment of chiefs 77 Figure 92: Mean happiness by voluntarism 78 Figure 93: Mean happiness by fear of personal attack 78 Figure 94: Mean happiness by overall family strength 78 Figure 95: Mean happiness by sense of equality 78 Figure 96: Aggregate Collective Happiness 80 Figure 97: Average number of active chiefs in/from a community 81 Figure 98: Chiefs’ perception of respect of youth 82 Figure 99: Chiefs’ perception of respect of adults 82 Figure 100: Number of community meetings, last 4 weeks 83 Figure 101: Number of chiefs’ meetings, last 4 weeks 84 Figure 102: Observation of attendance of youth at meetings 85 Figure 103: Observation of attendance of adults at meetings 85 Figure 104: Number of outstanding fines in community 86 Figure 105: Use of Vatu in assigning fines 86 Figure 106: Number of active land disputes in community 87 Figure 107: Perception of ability to settle land disputes 88 Figure 108: % of communities that settled land disputes, last 12 months 88 Figure 109: Communities with rubbish disposal system 89 Figure 110: Average number of women’s groups in villages 90 Figure 111: Number of pregnancies and births in village out of union, last 12 months 91 Figure 112: Incidents of domestic violence in village, last 6 months 92 Figure 113: Perceived change in domestic violence, last 5 years 92 Figure 114: Incidents of sexual violence in village, last 6 months 93

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Tables and Figures V

Figure 115: Perceived change in sexual violence, last 5 years 93 Figure 116: Number of church denominations accessed by Christian village members 94 Figure 117: Strength of select Christian values 95 Figure 118: Church cooperation within communities 95 Figure 119: Church cooperation by number of denominations accessed 96 Figure 120: Assessment of church buildings, repairs needed 96 Figure 121: Average ceremonial activity, last 12 months 97

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Table of Contents Foreword ...... I Acknowledgements...... II Tables and Figures ...... III Table of Contents ...... VII Map of Vanuatu ...... IX Executive Summary ...... X Summary Table of Findings—Quick Reference ...... XIII Chapter 1: Overview ...... 1 Project Concept...... 2 Overview of the Study ...... 2 Sample methodology ...... 3 Questionnaires ...... 6 Training of Enumerators and Fieldwork...... 7 Data Processing ...... 7 Chapter 2: Subjective Well-being ...... 9 What is subjective well-being? ...... 10 Happiness ...... 11 Satisfaction ...... 15 Stress ...... 16 Chapter 3: Resource Access ...... 19 Why does resource access matter for well-being in Vanuatu? ...... 20 Access to Customary Lands ...... 21 Land Tenure Structure ...... 22 Land Size ...... 23 Land Use ...... 24 Supporting Capacity of Land ...... 26 Leasing of Customary Lands ...... 29 Access to Forest Resources ...... 29 Access to Marine Resources ...... 32 Resource Access and Happiness ...... 34 Chapter 4: Cultural Practice ...... 35 Why does cultural practice matter for well-being in Vanuatu?...... 36 Language ...... 37 Traditional Knowledge & Wisdom ...... 37 Traditional Skills ...... 42 Traditional Wealth Access ...... 44 Ceremonial Practice ...... 47 Cultural Practice and Happiness ...... 52 Chapter 5: Community Vitality ...... 53 Why is community vitality important for well-being in Vanuatu? ...... 54 Community Meeting ...... 55 Community Support ...... 57 Trust ...... 62 Leadership ...... 66

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Safety ...... 67 Family Vitality ...... 69 Values ...... 72 Community Vitality and Happiness ...... 77 Chapter 6: Community Well-being Survey ...... 79 Why is a component on rural community well-being relevant for this study? ...... 80 Collective Subjective Well-being ...... 80 Outlook of Traditional Leaders ...... 81 Respect ...... 81 Meetings ...... 83 Fines ...... 86 Disputes ...... 87 Environmental Protection ...... 88 Outlook of Women’s Leaders ...... 89 Support...... 89 Respect ...... 90 Violence...... 91 Outlook of Church Leaders ...... 94 Presence ...... 94 Christian Values...... 94 Cooperation ...... 95 Infrastructure ...... 96 Ceremonial Activity ...... 97

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Map of Vanuatu

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Map of Vanuatu IX

Executive Summary Key Findings—Ni-Vanuatu Well-being Survey, 2010-2011

Resource Access

The vast majority—92%—of ni-Vanuatu households in rural areas (where 75% of the population reside) have access to customary lands which both house and feed all but 5%. People with access to customary lands are, on average, happier than those without access.

Roughly 10% of those with access to customary lands are admittedly unsure of their boundaries.

Less than 10% of those with access to customary lands have parcels under active formal or informal lease agreement, with roughly half of those with lands under lease agreement reporting no future plans with leased lands once the agreement(s) expires.

When asked the relative size of accessible customary lands, 88% reported it being enough or more than enough to meet their family’s needs.

It was discovered that 93% of households report having full or partial access to forest resources, and 80% reported full or partial access to marine resources.

Culture

Indigenous languages remain widely practiced in Vanuatu. They are the first languages learned for 92% of ni-Vanuatu and, of those indigenous first learners, 94% report strong comprehension as well as ability to speak their indigenous language.

Traditional knowledge, measured through ones understanding of the traditional planting calendar, family history and place, and local flora and fauna, is quite strong with 97% of respondents having a strong or moderate understanding. Traditional wisdom, however, measured through ones understanding of traditional stories, dances, songs, and games passed down for generations, is relatively weak with 47% deficient in all categories.

Traditional production skills are quite prevalent with members of 41% of ni-Vanuatu households able to perform 10 common tasks and 61% able to perform 5 basic tasks, including planting and harvesting crops, roasting food, producing medicines and producing materials used for housing—all skills that reduce dependency on cash for decent livelihoods.

Traditional wealth items, identified as those objects which have traditional exchange value (for purposes of this study, the common TWIs were identified as pigs, yams, mats, and kava), are highly accessible without needing cash. 66% of ni-Vanuatu have free access to all TWIs while an additional 31% have free access to some.

Participation in traditional ceremonial activities, including but not limited to marriage, death, circumcision, status, reconciliation, birth, and harvest ceremonies, is very important

X Executive Summary | Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report

or important for 92% of ni-Vanuatu. Individuals who place higher importance on participation in traditional ceremonial activities are, on average, happier than those who place little or no importance on such activities.

Community Vitality

A majority of communities in Vanuatu have meetings either regularly or as needed, with only 22% of respondents reporting their communities do not meet. Of those whose community meets, a majority, or 56% of respondents, occasionally go to meetings, with an additional 34% reporting regular attendance at community meetings. Individuals who attend and participate in community meetings are, on average, happier than those that do not.

When asked to assess their chiefs’ ability to communicate, settle disputes, manage community assets, and adhere to customs, 67% of ni-Vanuatu provided a fully positive assessment, with only 2% having a fully negative opinion of their chiefs’ abilities.

The rate of voluntarism in the 12 month period prior to the survey was 83%.

Less than 10% of ni-Vanuatu have a low level of trust in their neighbors.

In material terms, 38% of ni-Vanuatu perceive their family as being equal with other families in their community—32% view themselves as worse off, and 11% as better off.

In a prioritization of select Melanesian values, the top three considered by 90% or more ni- Vanuatu as very important or important are: 1) Going to church; 2) Respect for family, and; 3) Respect for chiefs.

Key Findings—Rural Community Well-Being Survey

Chiefs’ Point of View

The chiefs’ perceive a stronger level of respect from adults than from youth, with only 6% reporting low levels of respect received from adults versus 12% reporting low levels of respect received from youth. The results are similar to those of chiefs’ observation of attendance at community meetings, with 5% of chiefs reporting low attendance of adults and 15% reporting low attendance of youth.

Nearly half, or 49%, of chiefs report no outstanding or unpaid fines within the community. It was also uncovered that only 10% assign fines with traditional wealth items, whereas 18% assign fines in cash and the remainder either occasionally using one or the other or assigning a fine in cash values but accepting TWIs as payment should the offender choose not to pay with cash.

Chiefs from 37% of the villages sampled reported having no active land disputes, with another 50% claiming to have five or less, and 42% claim to have settled land disputes in the

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Executive Summary XI

12 month period prior to the survey. More than a quarter, or 28%, of the chiefs surveyed believe their ability to settle land disputes has become stronger over the past five years, though a greater proportion (38%) feel their power to settle disputes has dissipated in the same period.

Women’s Leaders’ Point of View

Women’s leaders perceive respect among men for women lowest for their own wives, followed by higher levels for their own mothers and highest for other men’s wives.

Sexual violence was found to be less prevalent in communities than domestic violence with 70% of women’s leaders reporting no sexual violence within the community in the six months prior to the survey, as opposed to only 41% reporting no domestic violence in the community for the same period. A majority of women’s leaders indicated that both sexual and domestic violence rates have decreased in the past five years, though a greater proportion indicated a decrease in sexual violence (69% reported decrease in sexual violence versus 50% reporting a decrease in domestic violence for the same period).

Just 23% of women’s leaders reported no non-union pregnancies or births in the 12 month period prior to the survey. 42% of leaders in SHEFA Province reported more than 5, the highest of any province.

Church Leaders’ Point of View

Four of the seven selected Christian principles were perceived as either very strong or strong by over 90% of church leaders interviewed. These include: 1) Generosity; 2) Kindness; 3) Obedience, and; 4) Faithfulness.

A vast majority of church leaders, 84%, believe that cooperation between church and community is either good or very good with only 16% reporting poor cooperation. Communities with more than five denominations or places of worship accessed by their members had a higher proportion of church leaders reporting poor cooperation (42%) than those with two to five (15%) or single denomination communities (6%).

88% of church leaders reported major or minor repairs needed for their church structure.

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Summary Table of Findings—Quick Reference Ni-Vanuatu Well-being Survey Topics Indicator Value Subjective Well-being Mean present happiness 6.26 out of 10 Mean expected happiness, +5 years 7.71 out of 10 Proportion "thriving" 38 percent Proportion "suffering" 3 percent Stress-free population 27 percent Resource Access Proportion with access to customary lands 79 percent Certain of customary land boundaries 90 percent Feel accessible lands enough to meet basic needs 88 percent Full access to forest resources 64 percent Full access to marine resources 59 percent Cultural Practice First language learned indigenous 92 percent Overall traditional knowledge strong 51 percent Overall traditional wisdom strong 26 percent Households with all 10 common traditional production skills 41 percent Households with all 5 basic traditional production skills 61 percent Full access to traditional wealth 66 percent Ceremonially active 97 percent Community Vitality Regular attendance at community meetings 34 percent Rate of voluntarism 83 percent High level of trust in neighbors 30 percent Fully positive assessment of traditional leaders 66 percent Not afraid of violent attack 39 percent Very strong family perception 72 percent Sense of material equality in community 38 percent Never misses or reduces meals for lack of food 77 percent

Rural Community Well-being Survey Topics Indicator Value Collective Subjective Well-being Aggregate collective happiness 19.8 out of 30 Chiefs Positive perception of respect of adults in community 94 percent Positive perception of respect of youth in community 88 percent Positive perception of attendance of adults at meetings 95 percent Positive perception of attendance of youth at meetings 85 percent Five or fewer outstanding fines in community 80 percent Five or fewer active land disputes in community 86 percent

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Community rubbish disposal system in place 30 percent Women Leaders No non-union pregnancies or births 23 percent No incidents of domestic violence 41 percent No incidents of sexual violence 70 percent Church Leaders Church-community cooperation very good 42 percent Minimal or no repairs perceived as needed for church house 53 percent Ceremonial Activity Average yearly number of traditional exchanges in community 12 exchanges

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Chapter 1: Overview

The collection and use of contextually specific indicators of well-being is long overdue

Project Concept In 2006, the UK-based New Foundation published The Happy Planet Index: An index of human well-being and environmental impact in which countries were ranked in relation to three indicators of well-being: life satisfaction, , and . These three indicators were chosen by the Foundation to represent the ecological efficiency of delivering human well-being within the constraints of equitable and responsible resource consumption. The report declared Vanuatu to be the “happiest country in the world.”

Vanuatu was and still is worthy of such a title. However, Vanuatu is currently classified by the United Nations as one of the world’s most impoverished countries and is labeled by the organization as “economically handicapped”. The Happy Planet Index brought forth awareness in the region of the need for new indicators to be developed that take into account the income-neutral factors contributing to Melanesian well-being, rather than continuing to rely solely on GDP growth to measure success or .

Vanuatu presented a paper entitled “Enhancing our Traditional Systems and Values for a Stronger and More Integrated Melanesia in Addressing Global Challenges” at the 2008 Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders Summit Trade and Economic Officials Meeting (TEOM). The leaders agreed that MSG governments should indeed be better able to account for and measure the substantial non-cash values that contribute to their peoples’ . In considering the paper, TEOM endorsed Vanuatu’s initiative to host a regional workshop in order to begin development of well-being indicators within a Melanesian context.

Overview of the Study The first stakeholder meeting of the Alternative Indicators of Well-Being for Melanesia project, hosted in Mele Village on the island of Efate in Vanuatu in June 2010, brought together specialists in statistical measurement and representatives from organizations with a vested interest in redefining poverty in the region. Participants came from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. The two day conference provided rich insight into the meaning of Melanesian well-being and uncovered a number of unique concerns regarding the development, collection, and use of indicators in Melanesia. From the input collected through various informational panels, group discussion sessions and presentations, and periods of open dialogue, the process of developing individual and community-based indicators of well-being began.

Survey instruments were designed by Vanuatu National Statistics Office (VNSO) and checked thoroughly by key informants at MNCC, Vanuatu Cultural Centre (VKS), as well as project steering committee members. The individual well-being survey considered variables of resource access, culture, and community, as well as subjective well-being. It was designed to look more closely at individual and household-level factors of well-being inclusive of economic, health, and education factors taken through the Household Income and

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Expenditure Survey (HIES) for which it was administered to a sub-sample. The rural community well-being survey—the second component to the study—was designed to measure collective well-being at the broader community level and considered variables of traditional governance, safety, respect, cooperation, cultural participation, environmental protection, and church cooperation.

The objective of this pilot study on well-being in Vanuatu is to open dialogue on well-being at a national level to inform the indicators and formalize them into national and local-level governance procedures. It follows that the results of the pilot study reported here will not serve as an official baseline for ni-Vanuatu well-being. Rather, they will serve to cement the need for collection of such data at the national and provincial levels by demonstrating the value added to our understanding of well-being through such data collection.

Once people are familiar with the new measures, the alternative indicators will have a practical effect on consumer and citizen behavior. Appropriate indicators direct attention towards both the causes of problems and the manner in which behavior and decisions can prevent and solve those problems. The potential behavior-modifying function of these indicators is valuable. For example, certain indicators for Melanesia will track perceived levels of trust, reciprocity, and safety. Published and disseminated information on their prevalence rates will begin to influence behavior as individuals weigh their own traits and values against the national and provincial trends.

Sample methodology Ni-Vanuatu Well-being Survey, 2010-2011 – Sample Design and Characteristics

The individual well-being survey, financed by The Christensen Fund, was administered to a sub-sample of the HIES in order to link the new variables of well-being with those of income, health, and education collected at the national level. To qualify for the interview, respondents had to be 18 years old or older and ethnic Melanesian ni-Vanuatu. The ethnicity qualification was due to the nature of the study.

Two households were selected within each HIES Enumeration Area (EA) at random in which a man was purposively selected from one household and a woman from the other for the interview. The purposive gender selection criterion was necessary to ensure women participated in this survey, as HIES surveys are administered to heads of households which are typically male. This could be considered “quota sampling”, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Statistical Terms (2003), whereby the population is first segmented into mutually exclusive sub-groups as in stratified sampling, and judgment is then used to select the subjects from each segment based on a specified proportion.

To qualify for HIES selection, an EA must exist on an island with at least 50 households. Following this qualification, only EAs that were deemed readily accessible were included. Following this qualification, EAs were selected at random from those in scope, as were the

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 1: Overview 3

10 households selected within each EA. Table 1 shows the HIES sample selection from total households, households in scope, and finally the total number of households selected for the survey.

Table 1: HIES Sample Selection TOTAL HH HH IN SCOPE TOTAL SELECTED TORBA 1,619 997 488 SANMA RURAL 5,912 4,564 614 LUGANVILLE 2,496 2,496 523 PENAMA 7,215 5,539 613 MALAMPA 7,976 5,422 635 SHEFA RURAL 6,240 5,991 617 PORT VILA 7,493 7,493 646 TAFEA 6,641 5,089 601 TOTAL 45,592 37,591 4,737

A total of 816 individuals from 816 households from the HIES sample frame were administered the ni-Vanuatu Well-being Survey. Selection errors and difficulties in linking the data with the corresponding HIES data resulted in a loss of 19 surveys, bringing the total analyzed sample to 797 individuals from 797 households represented proportionally by province and area. This remains within the range of the target sample of 800 individuals from 800 households. Selection for the HIES sub-sample administered the ni-Vanuatu Well- being Survey is shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Well-being HIES Sub-Sample Selection MEN WOMEN Total MEN WOMEN Total TORBA 46 28 74 URBAN 110 89 199 SANMA 124 92 216 RURAL 344 257 601 PENAMA 61 48 109 Total 454 346 800 MALAMPA 60 50 110 SHEFA 106 81 187 TAFEA 57 47 104 Total 454 346 800

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Figure 1: Ni-Vanuatu Well-being Sample Characteristics

% surveyed by sex % surveyed by area

Urban Female 25% 44% Male 56% Rural 75%

% surveyed by age % surveyed by marital status

18-24 15% 8% Never Married 25-29 5% 9% 9% 13% 30-34 Married 9% 35-39 Separated 40-44 De Facto 11% 16% 45-49 76% Divorced 50-54 Widowed 13% 15% 55+

% surveyed by hh size % respondents by main occupation

Government Employee

10% 5% Private Employee Single Member HH 12% 8% 24% 2-3 Member HH Self-Employed 20% 13% 4-5 Member HH 14% Voluntary/Unpaid 6-7 Member HH 13% Subsistence > 7 Member HH 3% 41% 35% Household Work

Unemployed

Out of Labor Force

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Rural Community Well-Being Survey, 2011-2012 – Sample Design

The rural community well-being survey, also financed by The Christensen Fund, was administered to a culturally representative stratified sample of communities in order to account for variances in cultural practice. Cultural representation was achieved by sampling language families proportional by province—provinces with more linguistic diversity had more language families selected. Language families were identified with the help of contributions by eight linguists’ contributions to maps published on ethnologue.com. To qualify for survey selection, a language family had to have at least five villages identified in the Population and Housing Census with at least five households. The target number of language families within each province was selected at random.

Four villages were randomly selected within each selected language family to allow for stratification by village size, with small villages having ten or fewer households, mid-size villages having between ten and fifty households, and large villages having fifty or more households. A total of 108 rural communities from 27 language families were administered the Rural Community Well-Being Survey. Surveys for three language families—12 communities—were lost in the mail, bringing the total analyzed sample to 96 communities from 24 language families represented proportionally by province.

Table 3: Community Sample Selection Language Total in TOTAL Village Size TOTAL Families scope SELECTED Selected TORBA 13 5 2 LARGE 22 SANMA 28 16 7 MEDIUM 63 PENAMA 10 8 4 SMALL 23 MALAMPA 34 16 7 TOTAL 108 SHEFA 13 7 3 TAFEA 9 8 4 TOTAL 107 60 27

Questionnaires Both survey instruments were written and administered in Bislama, the only unifying language in Vanuatu. The Bislama was checked by key informants and tested in the field prior to finalization to ensure the questions were accurate and understandable.

The individual well-being survey instrument consisted of five sections: subjective well-being; resource access; culture; community, and; time use. The questionnaire was linked with the HIES Person Form. The rural community well-being survey consisted of four sections. The first was a key informant interview with a big chief or chief’s representative of the village. The second and third were key informant interviews with a women’s leader and church leader, respectively. The last section was a group interview administered during a community meeting to access information on participation in ceremonial activities.

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Training of Enumerators and Fieldwork Training of enumerators for the individual well-being survey took place during the HIES Enumerator Training workshops held at the provincial level in September 2010. Training focused on how to ask questions designed for subjective response, as enumerators had no prior experience with such questioning.

Training of enumerators for the rural community well-being survey took place in September-October 2011 in the two urban centers of Port Vila for the southern provinces, and Luganville for the northern provinces. Experienced ni-Vanuatu enumerators were chosen that could speak the language of the enumeration areas they were selected to work in. The training introduced skills for key informant interviews and focused on approach, sensitivity, and attention to detail.

Data Processing Two data entry officers were contracted for three months at the start of 2011 by VNSO upon completion of fieldwork for the individual well-being survey. Double-entry of the data made data cleaning and editing much smoother. Data linked to HIES questionnaires was complicated due to scanning of forms for the HIES, and as a result a number of surveys had to be eliminated from the study entirely, reducing the sample slightly.

The project coordinator entered data manually for the rural community well-being survey.

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Chapter 2: Subjective Well-being

People are the best judges of how their own lives are going

What is subjective well-being? Subjective well-being refers to how people understand the quality of their own lives. Measuring subjective well-being provides information on individuals’ perceived happiness and satisfaction and can serve to supplement objective measures of well-being which can otherwise be misleading as incomplete measures of one’s condition.

Concepts of “happiness” and “welfare” have a long tradition of use in the lexicon of discourse on well- being. They capture the notion that what matters to a good life is the impact of a specific set of circumstances on how people feel about their life, and rely on the view that people are the best judges of how their life is going.

Measures of subjective well-being are finding their way in the world of official statistics. Statistics Canada has collected information on subjective well-being since 1985, with probably the longest record of continuous official statistical releases on life satisfaction. New Zealand also collects data on life satisfaction through the New Zealand General Social Survey, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics included subjective measures of well-being in the 2009 publication of Measures of Australia’s Progress. The UK has just released their first set of measures on national well- being combining objective and subjective measures this year.

Information on subjective well-being can inform monitoring and evaluation of policy efficacy as well as policy formulation by exposing more vulnerable groups within the general population. This study focuses on evaluative well-being which measures judgments of well- being on a given scale. Future studies of well-being in Vanuatu will include experienced well-being which explores experiences of positive and negative emotions.

This section looks more closely at happiness and life satisfaction data collected from the Ni- Vanuatu Well-Being Survey.

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Happiness The most widely used measure of subjective well-being, referred to here as happiness, uses the Self-Anchoring Striving Scale (Cantril, 1965), which asks respondents to rate their life on a scale of 0-10 whereby the lowest score is the worst possible life they can imagine and the highest score is the best possible life they can imagine. For this study the question was adjusted to a 10-point scale and asked three times in order to obtain information on subjective well-being in the present, past (- 5 years), and future (+ 5 years). Figure 2 shows the variance in distribution of subjective well-being responses by region, indicating a higher average happiness score for rural dwellers. Figure 2: Distribution of Subjective Well-being by Region 25%

20% 22% 20% 19% 20% 15% 16% 17%16% 13% 10% 11% 12% 8%

Percentage ofresponses 5% 5% 6% 4% 4% 1% 0% 2% 1% 4% 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Subjective well-being on a 1-10 scale Urban Rural

A common finding of subjective well-being in studies conducted elsewhere is that people have a tendency to think of themselves as happier at the present than in the past, with an optimistic outlook for their future. This held true for ni-Vanuatu as well, shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Mean happiness by region and time dimension

10) 7

- 7.77 7.69 7.71 5 5.96 6.35 6.26 4.51 4.85 4.77 3

1

Happiness (1 Scale PRESENT PAST FUTURE

Urban Rural National

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 2: Subjective Well-being 11

Figure 4: Mean happiness by sex Figure 5: Mean happiness by and region Province

7

7

10)

- 10)

- 7.07 6.37 6.33 6.61 6.56 6.14 6.18 5 5.81 5 6.13 5.88

3 3 Happiness (1 Scale

Happiness (1 Scale 1 1 URBAN RURAL

Men Women

Figure 6: Mean happiness by Figure 7: Mean happiness by age educational attainment group

7

7

10) -

6.78 10)

- 6.51 6.48 6.33 6.25 6.33 6.24 6.19 6.22 5 6.05 6.07 6.16 5.98 5

3 3

1

Happiness (1 Scale Happiness (1 Scale 1

Highest level of qualification obtained Age Group

Figure 8: Mean happiness by Figure 9: Mean happiness by

marital status household size

7 10)

10) 6.39 6.45 - - 6.15 6.16 6.21 6.43 6.24 6.14 6.48 5 5 5.71 6.00 3 3 1

1

Happiness (1 Scale Happiness (1 Scale

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Differences in mean happiness are difficult to analyze due to their subjectivity. What does the difference indicate? A difference in objective scales is easily understood—yesterday was two degrees cooler than today, or this year I am three centimeters taller, or kilograms lighter, than last year. A difference of 0.56 in average happiness of urban and rural men means what exactly? The only conclusion that can be made is that men in rural areas are, on average, happier than those in urban areas. Rural dwellers are, on average, happier than urban dwellers; people of TORBA Province are, on average, the happiest people in Vanuatu; people living in households with seven members or more are, on average, happier than those in smaller households; and so on, as shown in Figures 4 through 9.

The Gallup Organization based in the leads the way in subjective well-being data collection and analysis. They have developed a classification system with their Gallup- Healthways Well-being Index that places respondents of the Self- Anchoring Striving Scale into one of three categories. An individual is considered “thriving” if their present well-being score is a 7 or higher and they have a future outlook over five years of 8 or higher. An individual is considered “suffering” if their present well-being and future outlook is 4 or lower. Individuals who are neither thriving nor suffering are considered “struggling”. In the United States the thriving population tends to have higher incomes, more education, good health, and social support, whereas the suffering population tends to have lower income, less education, and less access to basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare.

A thriving individual in Vanuatu may have very different qualifications than those used in the Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index in the United States. TORBA Province, the northern most province with the least access to markets and lowest incomes, has by far the highest proportion of thriving individuals in Vanuatu shown in Figure 10.

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Figure 10: Applied Gallup Well-being Categories 3% 100% 80% Thriving 58% 57% 38% 60% Struggling 40% Suffering 59% 20% 39% 40% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 34% 65% SHEFA 38% 61% MALAMPA 31% 65% 4% PENAMA 39% 58% 4% SANMA 37% 59% 4% TORBA 58% 42%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Thriving Struggling Suffering

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Satisfaction The 5-point scale used for life satisfaction asks respondents to assess their entire life inclusive of the present. Every province had a majority of respondents reporting positive overall life satisfaction, as shown in Figure 11, with TORBA Province having the highest proportion—79%—of satisfied or very satisfied individuals.

Figure 11: Overall Life Satisfaction

3% 100% 14% 5% 13% 14% Very unsatisfied 80% 51% 52% Unsatisfied 26% 60% Neutral Satisfied 40% 52% Very satisfied 20% 26% 27% 8% 0% 5% Urban Rural

TAFEA 4% 4% 29% 54% 9% SHEFA 4% 7% 23% 57% 10% MALAMPA 5% 6% 25% 48% 17% PENAMA 4% 37% 39% 19% SANMA 5% 25% 55% 13% TORBA 3% 18% 64% 15%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Bad Bad Neutral Good Very Good

Four supplementary 3-point scale questions explored satisfaction levels in areas of importance including personal health, time use, family, and personal finance. Table 4 looks at assessments of these four areas by sex, region, province, age group, educational attainment, and monthly household income per capita. Respondents were most satisfied with their families and least satisfied with personal finances.

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 2: Subjective Well-being 15

Table 4: Assessments of personal health, time use, family, and personal finance Assessment of: Personal Health Time Use Family Personal Finance Great Satis. Bad Great Satis. Bad Great Satis. Bad Great Satis. Bad Sex Male 46.8% 48.3% 2.9% 39.4% 45.7% 8.9% 68.6% 24.5% 2.2% 19.4% 53.2% 18.7% Female 45.4% 50.9% 2.3% 39.9% 42.0% 9.2% 68.1% 23.3% 2.6% 19.8% 53.2% 17.5% Region Urban 46.7% 48.7% 0.5% 38.7% 44.2% 12.6% 70.4% 23.6% 2.0% 19.1% 54.8% 20.6% Rural 46.0% 49.7% 3.3% 40.0% 44.0% 7.9% 67.7% 24.1% 2.5% 19.7% 52.7% 17.4% Province TORBA 37.8% 60.8% 1.4% 45.9% 35.1% 16.2% 78.4% 16.2% 1.4% 25.7% 50.0% 17.6% SANMA Rural 42.9% 52.1% 4.2% 33.6% 54.6% 5.9% 60.5% 30.3% 4.2% 20.2% 51.3% 21.8% PENAMA 55.0% 42.2% 2.8% 43.1% 41.3% 6.4% 71.6% 17.4% 2.8% 27.5% 48.6% 13.8% MALAMPA 54.1% 41.3% 3.7% 40.4% 48.6% 5.5% 73.4% 20.2% 2.8% 23.9% 49.5% 15.6% SHEFA Rural 48.8% 44.0% 6.0% 41.7% 39.3% 11.9% 70.2% 20.2% 2.4% 9.5% 58.3% 21.4% TAFEA 35.0% 60.2% 1.9% 37.9% 39.8% 4.9% 56.3% 36.9% 1.0% 10.7% 59.2% 14.6% Age 18-24 43.9% 48.5% 1.5% 45.5% 33.3% 9.1% 53.0% 33.3% 1.5% 18.2% 57.6% 13.6% 25-29 42.5% 54.7% 2.8% 37.7% 50.0% 7.5% 69.8% 22.6% 1.9% 17.0% 44.3% 27.4% 30-34 54.8% 40.3% 2.4% 45.2% 44.4% 5.6% 72.6% 23.4% 1.6% 19.4% 59.7% 15.3% 35-39 50.0% 48.3% 0.0% 45.7% 37.9% 6.9% 75.0% 18.1% 1.7% 21.6% 50.9% 16.4% 40-44 49.1% 44.4% 3.7% 28.7% 50.9% 16.7% 63.0% 27.8% 5.6% 19.4% 49.1% 22.2% 45-49 43.5% 52.2% 4.3% 38.0% 40.2% 9.8% 69.6% 23.9% 0.0% 22.8% 50.0% 18.5% 50-54 49.3% 47.8% 1.4% 42.0% 44.9% 4.3% 62.3% 29.0% 0.0% 21.7% 55.1% 11.6% 55+ 35.3% 59.5% 4.3% 36.2% 46.6% 11.2% 72.4% 19.8% 5.2% 17.2% 59.5% 17.2% Educational None 42.6% 52.0% 4.1% 40.2% 43.0% 9.8% 66.8% 27.5% 2.0% 17.2% 56.6% 16.0% Attainment Primary 47.2% 49.0% 2.6% 41.2% 42.3% 8.1% 68.7% 22.0% 3.2% 22.6% 50.4% 19.1% Secondary 50.0% 46.2% 1.3% 34.2% 51.3% 8.9% 69.6% 22.2% 1.9% 16.5% 55.7% 17.1% Post Secondary 47.2% 44.4% 0.0% 50.0% 30.6% 11.1% 66.7% 27.8% 0.0% 25.0% 44.4% 25.0% Other 35.7% 64.3% 0.0% 28.6% 57.1% 14.3% 78.6% 21.4% 0.0% 7.1% 57.1% 28.6% Monthly <10,000 Vatu 46.5% 49.8% 2.9% 38.0% 46.5% 9.0% 66.5% 24.9% 3.3% 14.7% 56.3% 18.8% Household 10-20,000 Vatu 47.6% 48.8% 2.4% 38.7% 44.9% 8.3% 70.5% 22.6% 0.9% 19.6% 52.4% 18.8% Income Per Capita 21-30,000 Vatu 36.5% 56.7% 1.9% 43.3% 36.5% 9.6% 68.3% 22.1% 3.8% 24.0% 51.9% 15.4% >30,000 Vatu 50.0% 43.8% 3.6% 42.9% 42.9% 10.7% 66.1% 27.7% 3.6% 25.9% 50.0% 17.9% National 46.2% 49.4% 2.6% 39.6% 44.0% 9.0% 68.4% 24.0% 2.4% 19.6% 53.2% 18.2%

Stress A free-listing of causes of stress in the study revealed the top five most frequently cited sources as: 1) Finance; 2) Health; 3) Family; 4) Education, and; 5) Land. The codes were applied post-collection. Those responses coded as “Finance” included worries about school fees, living expenses, debts, and not having enough money to meet the needs of the family. Those responses coded as “Health” were concerns of illnesses, those coded as “Family” were concerns of familial relations and childlessness, and those coded as “Education” were concerns of studying, not enough education, and quality of education available. Responses concerning land disputes, not enough land, and politics of land were coded “Land”. Other response codes for sources of stress with smaller frequencies of response include water, housing, death, and magic.

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Figure 12: Self-Reported Stress Level 3% 100% 13% Very Stressed 80% 24% 29% 27% Moderately Stressed 60% Not Stressed 40% 60% 56% Don't Know 57% 20% 14% 0% 12% Urban Rural

TAFEA 17% 50% 24% 9% SHEFA Rural 13% 58% 23% 6% MALAMPA 7% 63% 28% PENAMA 11% 61% 27% SANMA Rural 12% 59% 29% TORBA 11% 42% 46%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Stressed Moderately Stressed Not Stressed Don't Know

TORBA Province stands out as having the highest proportion of respondents reportedly not stressed at all (see Figure 12). Further analysis of stress shows that younger individuals are less stressed (see Figure 13), and individuals who are separated, divorced, or widowed are more stressed (see Figure 14). Unsurprisingly, individuals who do not feel stress are, on average, happier than those with high levels of stress (see Figure 15).

Figure 13: Self-Reported Stress Level by Age Group

55+ 16% 55% 29% 50-54 10% 55% 33% 45-49 18% 51% 27% 3% 40-44 14% 63% 23% 35-39 10% 60% 26% 3% 30-34 12% 58% 25% 5% 25-29 8% 59% 28% 4% 18-24 9% 53% 30% 8%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Stressed Moderately Stressed Not Stressed Don't Know

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 2: Subjective Well-being 17

Figure 14: Self-Reported Stress Level by Marital Status

Never Married 6% 63% 28% 3% Married/De facto 12% 57% 28% 3% Separated/Divorced 44% 56% Widowed 21% 52% 21% 5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Stressed Moderately Stressed Not Stressed Don't Know

Figure 15: Mean happiness by stress level 7

6.67

10) 6.39

- 6.27 5 5.25

3 Happiness (1 Scale

1 Very Stressed Moderately Stressed Not Stressed Don't Know Self-report stress levels

18 Chapter 2: Subjective Well-being | Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report

Chapter 3: Resource Access

Acknowledging the contributions to ni-Vanuatu livelihoods

Why does resource access matter for well-being in Vanuatu? Ni-Vanuatu livelihoods continue to depend on access to land and forest and marine resources to remain self- reliant. Customary lands play a central role in most ni-Vanuatu cultural and spiritual identity and provide the vast majority of ni- Vanuatu with free shelter, medicine, and other essential elements of life. Most importantly, those with access to customary lands have the means to care for large family units through the tremendous contribution of shelter and food security. The self-reliance of the Melanesian family is maintained, according to historian Bernard Narokobi, only when power and control over the land and its resources rests in the hands of clan or tribal leaders. Consequently, the gains to quality of life obtained through this self-reliance are diminished if access to customary lands becomes costly or is inhibited in some way.

Ni-Vanuatu society treats land not as a personal commodity, but as a public good. According to Joel Simo of the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, “research throughout Vanuatu has clearly demonstrated that [customary] land does not belong to individual men or women, and that there is no concept of [individual] ‘ownership’. Land belongs to a family, clan or tribe and is considered ‘ours’ [or the group’s]” Indeed, the argument is often made by ni-Vanuatu cultural experts that no one ‘owns’ land in Vanuatu and that families and the individuals within the family unit are better described as custodians of the land. The complexity and sensitivity of land tenure required the focus for this study to be on accessibility of customary lands and the scope of use and supportive capacity of said land.

Current indicators of land and forest and marine resources, such as those collected through the Agriculture Census, focus primarily on productive activities related to the cash economy and overlook nearly all other contributing factors of land access to ni-Vanuatu well-being. The data collected for this study presents in statistical terms those income-neutral contributions to well-being of free access to customary lands and forest and marine resources. They account for these contributions by further acknowledging the vast survival, spiritual, and cultural value of these resources to individuals and communities alike.

This section looks more closely at data on access and use of customary lands, as well as access to select forest and marine resources, collected from the Ni-Vanuatu Well-being Survey.

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Access to Customary Lands Respondents were asked if they had access to customary lands they could use freely, without having to pay for usage rights with money. A dramatic difference in accessibility of customary lands is seen when disaggregating by region—more than twice the proportion of rural residents have access compared to their urban counterparts (see Figure 16). When looking only at rural populations which represent the majority of ni-Vanuatu, SHEFA Province had the lowest proportion with access. This finding corresponds to the fact that roughly 44% of rural Efate and 14% of Epi is currently under lease according to the World Bank Group’s recently published Vanuatu National Leasing Profile as part of their “Jastis Blong Evriwan” initiative.

Figure 16: % with access to customary lands 100% 8% 21% 80% 59% 60% Access 92% No access 40%

79% 20% 41% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 98% 2% SHEFA Rural 79% 21% MALAMPA 98% 2% PENAMA 96% 4% SANMA Rural 88% 12% TORBA 91% 9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Access No access

A follow up question was asked to gauge the level of certainty on boundaries of accessible customary lands. A great majority of ni-Vanuatu are reportedly certain of their boundaries (see Figure 17), though it should be noted that not everyone with usage rights is responsible for that knowledge. Certainty of boundaries is only slightly lower among urban dwellers with accessible customary lands, 14% of whom are admittedly unsure of the boundaries.

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 3: Resource Access 21

Figure 17: % certain of customary land boundaries

10%

Yes No

90%

Land Tenure Structure Land in Vanuatu has passed from generation to generation through a variety of traditional tenure systems for millennia. Respondents were asked where they obtained the usage rights for the customary lands they have access to—or, to whom the land belongs. They were allowed multiple answers as the majority of ni-Vanuatu have usage rights to non- continuous parcels of land obtained in different manners. Table 5 shows a greater proportion of males, older individuals, people with lower income, and people of TORBA and TAFEA Provinces with access to customary lands of which they are the sole custodian.

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Table 5: Origin of usage rights of customary lands Themselves Spouse Family A TRUST Sex Male 56.6% 42.5% 47.7% 14.7% Female 34.5% 52.3% 49.1% 13.8% Region Urban 22.1% 20.6% 16.1% 7.0% Rural 55.2% 55.5% 59.0% 16.7% Province Torba 60.8% 71.6% 48.6% 14.9% Sanma Rural 52.9% 39.5% 58.0% 15.1% Penama 56.9% 65.1% 72.5% 30.3% Malampa 51.4% 53.2% 62.4% 11.9% Shefa Rural 41.7% 41.7% 41.7% 11.9% Tafea 67.0% 66.0% 64.1% 14.6% Age 18-24 45.5% 50.0% 54.5% 16.7% 25-29 37.7% 40.6% 51.9% 7.5% 30-34 46.8% 46.8% 42.7% 12.1% 35-39 46.6% 46.6% 53.4% 19.0% 40-44 45.4% 46.3% 43.5% 13.9% 45-49 41.3% 47.8% 48.9% 15.2% 50-54 59.4% 52.2% 42.0% 14.5% 55+ 55.2% 47.4% 50.0% 16.4% Educational Attainment None 56.6% 51.6% 55.3% 16.4% Primary 45.5% 51.0% 49.9% 14.8% Secondary 39.9% 34.2% 36.7% 9.5% Post Secondary 33.3% 25.0% 44.4% 11.1% Other 28.6% 57.1% 28.6% 28.6% Monthly Household Income Per <10,000 Vatu 50.2% 59.6% 53.5% 13.5% Capita 10-20,000 Vatu 47.6% 42.3% 47.3% 16.7% 21-30,000 Vatu 45.2% 38.5% 48.1% 16.3% >30,000 Vatu 39.3% 40.2% 40.2% 7.1% National 46.9% 46.8% 48.3% 14.3%

Land Size The complicated and sensitive nature of land tenure systems, coupled with the fact that most people have access to many non-continuous land parcels, prevents an accurate measure of the size of accessible lands for this study. However, respecting this fact, subjective assessments of land size to meet the needs of the family unit were obtained. Figure 18 shows an overwhelming majority, 88%, of respondents with access to customary lands find it to be enough or more than enough to meet their family’s needs. This information can be tracked over time to see the effects of population growth and land alienation. Those with the view that their accessible lands are not enough to meet the needs of their family could be deemed “poor”, creating a unique subjective indicator of poverty for Vanuatu.

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Figure 18: Assessment of size of customary lands to meet family's needs 3%

9%

38% More than enough Enough Not enough Don't know 50%

TAFEA 38% 50% 7% 5% SHEFA 24% 56% 12% 7% MALAMPA 43% 52% 3%2% PENAMA 60% 32% 8% SANMA 28% 52% 20% 1% TORBA 40% 58% 1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

More than enough Enough Not enough Don't know

Land Use Respondents were asked questions on the use of their accessible customary lands for purposes common in Vanuatu. Table 6 shows the lowest priority for customary land use is for income generation, though it remains a prominent use of said lands. A significant majority of ni-Vanuatu in rural areas—constituting 75% of the total population as of 2009— use their accessible lands for both housing and subsistence agriculture as shown in Figure 19. In this light access to land in Vanuatu acts as an indicator of food security.

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Table 6: Uses of Customary Lands Food for Income Livestock Housing Burial family generation ground Sex Male 97.81% 84.43% 84.43% 95.63% 82.24% Female 98.50% 80.15% 88.01% 95.51% 84.27% Region Urban 91.46% 56.10% 56.10% 79.27% 34.15% Rural 99.09% 86.57% 90.38% 98.00% 90.38% Province Torba 97.01% 74.63% 86.57% 95.52% 77.61% Sanma Rural 99.05% 88.57% 94.29% 100.00% 98.10% Penama 98.10% 90.48% 94.29% 99.05% 98.10% Malampa 100.00% 86.92% 98.13% 100.00% 94.39% Shefa Rural 100.00% 86.36% 66.67% 89.39% 57.58% Tafea 100.00% 88.12% 92.08% 100.00% 100.00% Age 18-24 98.18% 81.82% 81.82% 96.36% 85.45% 25-29 98.75% 91.25% 90.00% 96.25% 85.00% 30-34 97.96% 78.57% 80.61% 95.92% 83.67% 35-39 95.74% 77.66% 82.98% 93.62% 81.91% 40-44 98.80% 86.75% 84.34% 92.77% 74.70% 45-49 100.00% 81.16% 92.75% 97.10% 85.51% 50-54 98.33% 80.00% 81.67% 96.67% 81.67% 55+ 97.87% 84.04% 92.55% 96.81% 87.23% Household Size Single Member HH 100.00% 85.71% 80.00% 100.00% 82.86% 2-3 Member HH 97.42% 83.23% 81.94% 94.84% 79.35% 4-5 Member HH 97.66% 82.03% 86.33% 95.31% 84.38% 6-7 Member HH 98.39% 82.26% 89.52% 95.97% 84.68% >7 Member HH 100.00% 82.54% 90.48% 95.24% 84.13% Educational None 98.60% 88.32% 91.12% 98.13% 89.25% Attainment Primary 97.53% 79.15% 83.04% 94.35% 82.33% Secondary 99.03% 80.58% 84.47% 96.12% 79.61% Post Secondary 95.45% 77.27% 77.27% 81.82% 59.09% Other 100.00% 90.91% 90.91% 100.00% 63.64% Monthly <10,000 Vatu 99.53% 85.05% 90.65% 95.79% 89.72% Household 10-20,000 Vatu 98.10% 84.41% 88.59% 96.58% 82.89% Income Per 21-30,000 Vatu 93.83% 79.01% 77.78% 90.12% 75.31% Capita >30,000 Vatu 98.67% 73.33% 72.00% 97.33% 73.33% National 98.1% 82.6% 85.9% 95.6% 83.1%

Figure 19: % (rural) with access who use customary lands for both housing and subsistence agriculture 5%

Yes No 95%

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 3: Resource Access 25

Supporting Capacity of Land In most cases, the land for which ni-Vanuatu have usage rights provides for more than a single family unit. Figures 20 through 24 provide estimates on the number of individuals who are supported by accessible customary lands in various ways. The data was analyzed in ranges to provide information on the capacity of various means of support customary lands provide for people. The study finds the greatest supporting capacity of customary lands to be freedom of mobility (see Figure 24) and subsistence agriculture (see Figure 21). These two means of support have the highest proportion of respondents claiming that the support extends to more than 20 people. To illustrate, 32% of respondents nationwide claim that the food planted on their accessible customary lands feeds more than 20 people.

Figure 20: Number of people housed

10% Less than 10 19% Between 10 and 20 51% More than 20 None 20%

TAFEA 56% 21% 17% 6% SHEFA 50% 15% 16% 19% MALAMPA 45% 23% 21% 11% PENAMA 41% 23% 31% 5% SANMA 61% 10% 14% 14% TORBA 45% 36% 16% 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Less than 10 Between 10 and 20 More than 20 None

26 Chapter 3: Resource Access | Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report

Figure 21: Number of people fed

8%

34% Less than 10 32% Between 10 and 20 More than 20 None 26%

TAFEA 33% 40% 21% 7% SHEFA 32% 15% 34% 19% MALAMPA 33% 28% 34% 6% PENAMA 32% 21% 44% 3% SANMA 45% 22% 25% 8% TORBA 25% 36% 37% 1% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Less than 10 Between 10 and 20 More than 20 None

Figure 22: Number of people earning income

29% Less than 10 42% Between 10 and 20 More than 20 None 13% 16%

TAFEA 30% 12% 9% 50% SHEFA 19% 7% 12% 61% MALAMPA 24% 16% 21% 39% PENAMA 30% 19% 19% 32% SANMA 42% 10% 15% 32% TORBA 25% 13% 19% 42% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Less than 10 Between 10 and 20 More than 20 None

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 3: Resource Access 27

Figure 23: Number of people raising livestock

18% Less than 10 43% Between 10 and 20 More than 20 19% None

20%

TAFEA 43% 29% 14% 15% SHEFA 27% 13% 9% 51% MALAMPA 38% 26% 31% 5% PENAMA 52% 15% 28% 5% SANMA 48% 21% 16% 16% TORBA 57% 16% 12% 15% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Less than 10 Between 10 and 20 More than 20 None

Figure 24: Number of people who walk through regularly

7% 24% Less than 10 Between 10 and 20 More than 20 15% None 54%

TAFEA 22% 19% 54% 5% SHEFA 27% 12% 44% 18% MALAMPA 20% 9% 70% 1% PENAMA 25% 10% 63% 2% SANMA 29% 19% 41% 11% TORBA 16% 19% 57% 7%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Less than 10 Between 10 and 20 More than 20 None

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Leasing of Customary Lands Of those with access to customary lands, only 8% reported having active lease agreements with a third party on some or all of their customary lands. A follow-up question revealed 35% of those with lands under lease agreement have leased out more than half of their accessible customary lands. This study chose to focus on the particulars of type of land lease and future plans with leased land upon lease expiration. Two types of leases were specified: formal, referring to signed legal documents exchanged, and; informal, referring to non- registered agreements between two parties inclusive of traditional land lease practices through local customs. Figure 25 shows the most common type of lease captured in the study to be informal. Disturbingly, nearly half of those with active lease agreements have no long term plans with said lands (see Figure 26).

Figure 25: Type of lease Fig. 26:Long term plans with land agreements currently under lease agreement

13% Formal 23% Extend Lease 37% Informal 48% Recover Land Both Don't Know

50% 29%

Access to Forest Resources Ni-Vanuatu are able to produce many useful things with the land accessible to them. The land also produces many useful things for ni-Vanuatu that help support healthy livelihoods with resources used for housing, transportation, sanitation, fuel, medicine, and dietary supplements. Access to forest resources acts as an indicator of wealth in that access to such items reduces dependence on cash for much of life’s necessities. Table 7 shows the percentage of ni-Vanuatu with access to eight forest resources—selected for their utility value—which they would not have to pay money to use.

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Table 7: Forest Resource Access Bamboo Natangura Coconut Pandanas Fruits Firewood Timber Medicine Leaves and Nuts Sex Male 81.2% 70.4% 86.9% 82.4% 88.2% 89.1% 82.9% 87.8% Female 76.0% 67.5% 84.5% 79.9% 85.9% 87.6% 81.3% 85.3% Region Urban 36.2% 22.6% 50.8% 42.7% 57.3% 57.3% 37.7% 55.8% Rural 93.0% 84.6% 97.5% 94.1% 97.2% 98.8% 97.0% 97.0% Province Torba 97.3% 98.6% 98.6% 94.6% 97.3% 98.6% 98.6% 97.3% Sanma Rural 93.3% 94.1% 99.2% 94.1% 98.3% 99.2% 96.6% 98.3% Penama 92.7% 97.2% 99.1% 99.1% 100.0% 100.0% 99.1% 98.2% Malampa 98.2% 96.3% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 99.1% Shefa Rural 80.7% 64.3% 86.9% 76.2% 86.9% 94.0% 86.9% 89.3% Tafea 94.2% 54.4% 99.0% 97.1% 98.1% 100.0% 99.0% 98.1% Age 18-24 83.3% 68.2% 89.4% 84.8% 95.5% 92.4% 86.4% 87.9% 25-29 73.3% 67.9% 79.2% 76.4% 80.2% 82.1% 77.4% 84.0% 30-34 74.0% 66.1% 83.9% 76.6% 84.7% 86.3% 80.6% 86.3% 35-39 81.9% 71.6% 90.5% 84.5% 89.7% 92.2% 84.5% 88.8% 40-44 74.8% 63.9% 80.6% 75.0% 83.3% 85.2% 76.9% 81.5% 45-49 78.0% 71.7% 83.7% 80.4% 83.7% 83.7% 81.5% 82.6% 50-54 87.0% 71.0% 88.4% 88.4% 88.4% 94.2% 87.0% 92.8% 55+ 83.6% 73.3% 92.2% 87.9% 94.8% 94.0% 86.2% 91.4% Household Single Family HH 87.5% 70.7% 85.4% 87.8% 87.8% 87.8% 82.9% 87.8% Size 2-3 Member HH 78.4% 72.6% 84.7% 82.6% 86.8% 88.4% 83.7% 89.5% 4-5 Member HH 76.0% 68.7% 86.1% 81.1% 87.6% 88.2% 83.0% 84.5% 6-7 Member HH 83.0% 65.0% 86.3% 80.0% 87.5% 89.4% 79.4% 86.3% >7 Member HH 79.5% 69.9% 86.7% 78.3% 85.5% 88.0% 80.7% 89.2% Educational None 85.2% 74.2% 91.4% 88.9% 92.2% 93.0% 88.9% 91.4% Attainment Primary 82.5% 74.2% 89.6% 84.3% 90.4% 91.3% 87.0% 87.2% Secondary 68.2% 58.2% 75.3% 71.5% 77.8% 79.7% 69.0% 81.6% Post Secondary 52.8% 36.1% 55.6% 44.4% 66.7% 69.4% 50.0% 66.7% Other 71.4% 64.3% 92.9% 78.6% 78.6% 85.7% 78.6% 100.0% Monthly <10,000 Vatu 90.6% 78.0% 93.9% 93.9% 94.7% 93.9% 92.7% 93.1% Household 10-20,000 Vatu 76.0% 67.0% 85.7% 78.3% 86.0% 88.7% 81.0% 87.8% Income Per Capita 21-30,000 Vatu 68.9% 60.6% 79.8% 75.0% 81.7% 86.5% 76.0% 79.8% >30,000 Vatu 71.2% 64.3% 74.1% 68.8% 79.5% 77.7% 68.8% 75.9% National 78.9% 69.1% 85.8% 81.3% 87.2% 88.5% 82.2% 86.7%

Ease of access to these resources was measured as the distance it takes to reach firewood— the main source of cooking fuel in rural areas. A great majority of those with access to firewood walk less than one hour to reach their source, as seen in Figure 27.

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Figure 27: Distance to firewood (those with access) 4% 1%

17% Less than 1 hour 1-2 hours More than 2 hours Don't Know

78%

A composite indicator of forest resource access shows more general levels of access to the eight forest resources selected for this study. Figure 28 looks at the combined access to forest resources. The study finds that nearly two-thirds of all ni-Vanuatu have full access to all of the eight forest resources inquired. TAFEA Province and SHEFA rural areas vary in this respect, possibly due to non-availability of certain resources in their environments. Correcting for these two provinces would see the percentage with full access in northern Vanuatu jump to 90%.

Figure 28: Access to forest resources

7%

All 29% Some None 64%

TAFEA 53% 47% SHEFA rural 56% 38% 6% MALAMPA 95% 5% PENAMA 88% 12% SANMA rural 87% 12% 1% TORBA 93% 7%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

All Some None

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Access to Marine Resources Just as the land produces resources of critical value to the livelihoods of ni-Vanuatu, coastal resources are bountiful in what they provide. Ni-Vanuatu living in coastal areas make use of the resources found, harvested, or hunted in marine environments and in some areas exchange these resources with people living inland. Table 8 shows the percentage of ni- Vanuatu with access to five marine resources which they would not have to pay money for in order to use. Table 8: Access to Marine Resources Sand Shellfish Dead Coral Crabs Fish Sex Male 68.15% 74.39% 64.14% 73.72% 77.95% Female 66.09% 68.97% 62.93% 70.11% 73.56% Region Urban 24.62% 36.68% 23.62% 35.18% 44.72% Rural 81.44% 83.78% 76.92% 84.45% 86.45% Province Torba 93.24% 89.19% 87.84% 95.95% 94.59% Sanma Rural 77.31% 77.31% 71.43% 73.11% 78.15% Penama 85.32% 95.41% 84.40% 97.25% 96.33% Malampa 88.99% 88.99% 87.16% 89.91% 91.74% Shefa Rural 66.67% 66.67% 57.14% 71.43% 75.00% Tafea 77.67% 83.50% 72.82% 80.58% 83.50% Age 18-24 72.73% 74.24% 69.70% 72.73% 75.76% 25-29 66.98% 70.75% 60.38% 69.81% 69.81% 30-34 58.06% 70.16% 58.06% 70.16% 73.39% 35-39 70.69% 74.14% 65.52% 75.00% 77.59% 40-44 61.11% 62.04% 55.56% 63.89% 67.59% 45-49 67.39% 69.57% 60.87% 67.39% 73.91% 50-54 69.57% 76.81% 69.57% 78.26% 86.96% 55+ 75.00% 80.17% 73.28% 81.03% 86.21% Household Size Single Family HH 60.98% 70.73% 60.98% 73.17% 75.61% 2-3 Member HH 67.89% 70.00% 63.68% 72.63% 76.84% 4-5 Member HH 66.25% 72.45% 63.47% 73.07% 75.23% 6-7 Member HH 73.13% 72.50% 66.25% 70.63% 75.63% >7 Member HH 61.45% 74.70% 60.24% 69.88% 78.31% Educational None 75.82% 79.10% 69.67% 79.51% 81.97% Attainment Primary 69.86% 73.62% 66.96% 73.04% 77.68% Secondary 52.53% 60.13% 50.63% 62.03% 65.82% Post Secondary 47.22% 55.56% 47.22% 58.33% 58.33% Other 71.43% 85.71% 64.29% 71.43% 92.86% Monthly <10,000 Vatu 76.73% 82.86% 73.06% 81.63% 83.67% Household 10-20,000 Vatu 66.37% 69.64% 62.80% 70.83% 75.89% Income Per 21-30,000 Vatu 65.38% 67.31% 63.46% 67.31% 70.19% Capita >30,000 Vatu 50.89% 59.82% 45.54% 59.82% 65.18% National 67.3% 72.0% 63.6% 72.2% 76.0%

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Ease of access to these resources was measured as the distance to the seashore. Figure 29 shows that nearly half of those interviewed for the study are less than a 15 minute walk to the beach, and a large majority—83%—live within an hour walking distance.

Figure 29: Distance to seashore 3%

14% Less than 15 minutes 47% 15-30 minutes 13% 30-60 minutes More than 1 hour 23% Don't know

A composite indicator of marine resource access shows more general levels of access to these selected resources. Figure 30 looks at the combined access to marine resources. A majority of ni-Vanuatu have full access to all five selected resources. The percentage of those with no access roughly corresponds to the percentage of those living more than an hour walking distance away. The three provinces with the highest proportion having full access to marine resources are PENAMA, MALAMPA, and TORBA.

Figure 30: Access to marine resources

20% All Some 21% 59% None

TAFEA 69% 18% 13% SHEFA rural 52% 27% 20% MALAMPA 83% 12% 6% PENAMA 83% 15% 3% SANMA rural 65% 22% 13% TORBA 78% 19% 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

All Some None

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Resource Access and Happiness The study reveals a correlation between customary land access and happiness (see Figure 31). It was also revealed that those who perceive their accessible customary lands as enough or more than enough to meet their needs are, on average, happier than those who consider the size of their land not enough (see Figure 32).

Figure 31: Mean happiness by Figure 32: Mean happiness by

access to customary lands land size assessment

7 7

10) 10) - - 6.32 6.48 6.23 5 6.02 5 5.93

3 3

1 Happiness (1 Scale Happiness (1 Scale 1 More than Enough Not enough Access No access enough

In the same light, the study reveals correlations between resource access and happiness: those with full or partial access to forest and marine resources are, on average, happier than those with no access (see Figures 33-34).

Figure 33: Mean happiness by Figure 34:Mean happiness by

forest resource access marine resource access

7 7

10) 10) - - 6.24 6.32 6.24 6.51 5 5.75 5 5.53

3 3 Happiness (1 Scale Happiness (1 Scale 1 1 No Access Some access Full access No access Some access Full access

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Chapter 4: Cultural Practice

Granting value to traditional customs

Why does cultural practice matter for well-being in Vanuatu? The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted in 2001, represents the first international instrument aimed at promoting cultural diversity. Article 3 of the declaration states that, “cultural diversity widens the range of options open to everyone; it is one of the roots of development, understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral, and spiritual existence”.

Developing cultural resilience is also given importance in the declaration, which can be understood as the culture’s capacity to maintain and develop cultural identity, knowledge and practices, as well as its ability to overcome challenges and difficulties it faces from other outside norms and ideals.

Culture is a concept that cannot be easily expressed, let alone quantified. As such, not all variables of culture are included in this study; priority was given to those that are believed by ni- Vanuatu to have a strong relation to one’s sense of well-being and those that are common throughout the archipelago. The data collected for the study is based on existing cultural practices, values, and norms as traditionally laid out in Vanuatu. This study attempts to assess the strength and significance of various aspects of culture in Vanuatu through the perceptions of respondents towards basic cultural elements such as language; sense of identity; core values, change in values and customs; status of traditional skill sets; access to traditional wealth, and; participation in various cultural ceremonies.

Measures for some intangible features of Vanuatu culture, such as traditional knowledge and wisdom, were developed for the study as well. Vanuatu, one of the countries to have ratified the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Paris in 2003, has a vested interest in how those intangible variables are changing over time.

This section looks more closely at cultural practice data collected from the Ni-Vanuatu Well- Being Survey.

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Language Indigenous languages, as major vessels of cultural exchange, remain widely practiced in Vanuatu. Respondents in the study were asked what language they first learned, and to gauge their comprehension and ability to speak that first language. Figure 35 shows a slight disparity between urban and rural dwellers in the proportion of indigenous first language learners in Vanuatu. Ni-Vanautu perceive their ability to speak indigenous languages (those whose first language learned was indigenous) as predominantly strong as shown in Figure 36. This does not speak to the loss of vocabulary within indigenous languages in Vanuatu as a result of Bislama, English, or French influence.

Figure 35: First language learned

1% 100% 13% 6% 7% 80%

Indigenous 60% 94% Bislama 40% 86% English/French 20%

92% 0% Urban Rural

Figure 36: Ability to speak indigenous first language 1% 100% 5% 5% 5% 80%

60% Strong 93% 94% Moderate 40% Weak 20%

94% 0% URBAN RURAL

Traditional Knowledge & Wisdom A set of questions on traditional knowledge of family history and place, local flora and fauna, and planting and harvesting periods was posed to respondents (see Table 9). A composite indicator was then created that combines the four knowledge areas, with those knowledgeable in all categories deemed having strong traditional knowledge; those knowledgeable in some but not all categories deemed having moderate traditional knowledge, and; those not knowledgeable in any category deemed as having weak traditional knowledge. Figure 37 shows roughly half of all ni-Vanuatu as having strong traditional knowledge.

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Table 9: Traditional Knowledge Percentage with knowledge of: Name of Family Traditional Names Great Burial Planting of Local Grandfather Ground Calendar Flora & Fauna Sex Male 73.7% 84.9% 82.0% 89.8% Female 67.5% 72.1% 79.0% 85.1% Region Urban 74.9% 80.9% 71.4% 80.9% Rural 69.7% 78.8% 83.8% 90.0% Province Torba 64.9% 77.0% 75.7% 91.9% Sanma Rural 76.5% 80.7% 79.8% 95.8% Penama 52.3% 79.8% 86.2% 95.4% Malampa 73.4% 76.2% 78.9% 83.5% Shefa Rural 73.8% 78.6% 88.1% 79.8% Tafea 76.7% 79.6% 93.2% 91.3% Age 18-24 57.6% 63.6% 69.7% 83.3% 25-29 54.7% 66.0% 72.6% 77.4% 30-34 67.7% 84.5% 83.1% 87.1% 35-39 70.7% 80.2% 79.3% 93.1% 40-44 78.7% 82.4% 79.6% 84.3% 45-49 73.9% 83.7% 85.9% 90.2% 50-54 87.0% 91.3% 85.5% 92.8% 55+ 78.5% 80.2% 87.1% 93.1% Household Size Single Family HH 68.3% 78.1% 80.5% 87.8% 2-3 Member HH 68.4% 76.8% 81.1% 89.0% 4-5 Member HH 71.5% 80.2% 80.8% 88.2% 6-7 Member HH 70.6% 78.8% 81.3% 87.5% >7 Member HH 77.1% 83.1% 78.3% 83.1% Educational Attainment None 71.3% 78.7% 79.9% 87.7% Primary 69.3% 81.7% 83.2% 89.9% Secondary 70.9% 76.0% 78.5% 84.8% Post Secondary 83.3% 77.8% 75.0% 80.6% Other 78.6% 71.4% 71.4% 85.7% Monthly Household Income <10,000 Vatu 67.8% 72.2% 85.3% 89.0% Per Capita 10-20,000 Vatu 75.3% 83.3% 78.9% 90.2% 21-30,000 Vatu 67.3% 84.6% 78.9% 84.6% >30,000 Vatu 68.8% 77.7% 77.7% 80.4% National 71.0% 79.3% 80.7% 87.7%

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Figure 37: Overall traditional knowledge

100% 3% 80% 51% 51% Weak 60% Moderate 51% 46% 40% Strong 44% 20% 47%

0% 6% 2% Urban Rural

TAFEA 41% 58% SHEFA rural 4% 39% 57% MALAMPA 4% 41% 55% PENAMA 2% 59% 39% SANMA rural 2% 42% 56% TORBA 62% 38%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Weak Moderate Strong

Traditional wisdom, defined for the purposes of this study as one’s understanding of traditional stories, songs, dances, and games, was measured by asking respondents to rate their understanding of each on a three-point scale (see Figures 38-41). Storytelling, shown in figure 38, had the highest proportion of respondents with at least some knowledge, while between 10 and 20% had no knowledge whatsoever of traditional dances, songs, and games.

Vanuatu Well-being Pilot Study Report | Chapter 4: Cultural Practice 39

5% Figure 38: Strength of knowledge - traditional stories 100% 8% 4% 80% 50% 51% 44% Strong 60% Weak 40% 51% None 20% 42% 45% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 60% 39% 1% SHEFA rural 29% 68% 4% MALAMPA 35% 57% 8% PENAMA 52% 47% 1% SANMA rural 37% 58% 5% TORBA 59% 38% 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Strong Weak None

Figure 39: Strength of knowledge - traditional dances

100% 22% 17% 18% 80% 37% 43% Strong 60% 44% Weak 40% None 47% 39% 20% 34% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 66% 28% 6% SHEFA rural 27% 58% 14% MALAMPA 32% 37% 31% PENAMA 55% 33% 12% SANMA rural 38% 39% 24% TORBA 65% 26% 9% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Strong Weak None

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Figure 40: Strength of knowledge - traditional songs 100% 21% 17% 17% 80% 39% Strong 60% 46% 44% Weak 40% None 44% 20% 33% 39% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 61% 33% 6% SHEFA rural 24% 62% 14% MALAMPA 27% 36% 38% PENAMA 41% 54% 5% SANMA rural 30% 48% 22% TORBA 54% 32% 14% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Strong Weak None

Figure 41: Strength of knowledge - traditional games

100% 12% 15% 11% 80% 39% Strong 60% 47% Weak 54% None 40% 49% 20% 31% 41% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 47% 50% 3% SHEFA rural 20% 64% 15% MALAMPA 33% 53% 14% PENAMA 50% 48% 3% SANMA rural 35% 44% 21% TORBA 69% 22% 9% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Strong Weak None

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A composite indicator that groups those with a strong understanding in all four categories of wisdom as “very wise”, those with strong understanding in some categories as “wise”, and those with little to no understanding in all categories as “deficient” was created. In Figure 42 we find a higher proportion of urban dwellers to be deficient in traditional wisdom. TORBA and TAFEA Provinces had the highest proportions, 82% and 74% respectfully, of their populations considered to be wise or very wise.

Figure 42: Overall Traditional Wisdom

100% 24% 27% 80% 26% Deficient 24% 43% 60% 33% Wise 40% Very Wise 20% 52% 40% 31% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 26% 38% 36% SHEFA rural 62% 26% 12% MALAMPA 52% 29% 18% PENAMA 31% 39% 30% SANMA rural 48% 30% 22% TORBA 18% 36% 46%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Deficient Wise Very Wise

Traditional Skills Access to forest and marine resources is important in terms of the monetary savings those resources represent (see previous section on resource access). Access means nothing, however, if the skills to transform those resources into useful assets are not present. Respondents were asked if they, or someone in their household, were able to perform 18 tasks that do just that (see Table 10).

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Table 10: Traditional Skills Weave Weave Make Weave Fasten Weave Plant Carve Fasten Paddle Spear Mats Baskets Brooms Thatch Thatch Bamboo Trees Canoes Canoe Canoe Fish

Region Urban 62.8% 61.3% 94.0% 67.8% 63.3% 56.3% 68.3% 18.6% 29.6% 76.9% 42.7% Rural 82.3% 83.8% 99.3% 84.9% 88.1% 82.1% 91.8% 38.6% 49.3% 75.8% 53.8% Province Torba 87.8% 90.5% 100.0% 93.2% 87.8% 81.1% 94.6% 51.4% 64.9% 90.5% 60.8% Sanma Rural 74.8% 79.8% 99.2% 94.1% 95.8% 84.9% 91.6% 24.4% 42.0% 73.1% 64.7% Penama 82.6% 82.6% 100.0% 91.7% 90.8% 82.6% 92.7% 48.6% 56.9% 77.1% 47.7% Malampa 87.2% 86.2% 100.0% 92.7% 88.1% 82.6% 90.8% 42.2% 49.5% 79.8% 51.4% Shefa Rural 76.2% 78.6% 98.8% 88.1% 86.9% 75.0% 91.7% 41.7% 52.4% 82.1% 56.0% Tafea 86.4% 86.4% 98.1% 50.5% 77.7% 84.5% 90.3% 29.1% 35.9% 57.3% 43.7% National 77.4% 78.2% 98.0% 80.7% 81.9% 75.7% 86.0% * 33.63% 44.4% 76.0% 51.1% * National ability to carve canoes for those within 15 minutes access to coast moves to 42% Plant Roast Make Make Make Raise Crops Food Laplap Medicine Carvings Pigs

Region Urban 95.0% 96.0% 91.0% 63.8% 14.6% 55.3% Rural 99.2% 99.0% 95.2% 85.6% 31.9% 80.6% Province Torba 100.0% 100.0% 97.3% 87.8% 43.2% 81.1% Sanma Rural 97.5% 99.2% 96.6% 81.5% 23.5% 80.7% Penama 99.1% 99.1% 99.1% 86.2% 39.4% 83.5% Malampa 100.0% 98.2% 98.2% 84.4% 32.1% 74.3% Shefa Rural 98.8% 97.6% 86.9% 77.4% 31.0% 71.4% Tafea 100.0% 100.0% 91.3% 96.1% 26.2% 91.3% National 98.1% 98.2% 94.1% 80.2% 27.6% 74.3%

The most common ten tasks were selected out from the list and used to create a composite indicator, shown in Figure 43, which places respondents in one of three categories based on the total number of skills they possess. The ten tasks selected as “common” include mat weaving, basket weaving, broom making, thatch weaving (natangura or coconut leaf), wall weaving (bamboo or wild cane), tree planting (for use as posts, fencing, etc.), crop planting, food roasting, laplap baking (cooking with stones), and medicine producing. Interestingly the study found that everybody interviewed possessed at least one of the ten common traditional production skills.

A second composite indicator was created that looks only at the five most basic skills from the list and places respondents in the same categories (see Figure 44). The basic skills indicator is comprised of skills for housing (mat weaving, wall weaving), feeding (crop planting, food roasting), and healing (medicine producing). Nearly two-thirds of those interviewed reported that they or someone in their household possessed all five basic traditional production skills.

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Figure 43: 10 Common Figure 44: 5 Basic Traditional Traditional Production Skills Production Skills 0% 0%

41% All 39% All Some Some 59% None 61% None

Traditional Wealth Access Objects which have traditional exchange value (i.e. pigs, chickens, yams, mats, and kava, to name those which are held in common throughout the islands) are considered traditional wealth items (TWIs). These items fuel the traditional economy and access to them at the household level should be viewed as a measure of cultural vitality—less access to TWIs means less participation in traditional exchange activities. Table 11 finds the five common TWIs inquired in this study to be highly accessible without needing money. A composite indicator that combines accessibility of TWIs, shown in Figure 45, indicates 97% of ni- Vanuatu are able to freely access some or all of these items through household production or familial lending. TAFEA and PENAMA have the highest proportion reporting free accessibility of all five TWIs inquired, and MALAMPA joins TAFEA with 100% accessibility of some or all of these TWIs.

Table 11: Access to Traditional Wealth Items % HH with free access to: Pigs Chickens Mats Yams Kava Region Urban 68.34% 84.42% 80.40% 82.41% 63.82% Rural 82.94% 93.65% 91.81% 94.48% 79.10% Province Torba 87.84% 71.62% 81.08% 83.78% 82.43% Sanma Rural 83.19% 98.32% 91.60% 97.48% 81.51% Penama 83.49% 94.50% 92.66% 91.74% 81.65% Malampa 76.15% 98.17% 97.25% 97.25% 68.81% Shefa Rural 77.38% 92.86% 88.10% 94.05% 64.29% Tafea 90.29% 99.03% 96.12% 99.03% 94.17% National * 79.3% 91.3% 89.0% 91.5% * 75.28% *When correcting for religious affiliation to Seventh Day Adventist, national accessibility to pigs increases to 88.4% and kava to 82.6%

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Figure 45: Access to traditional wealth items 3% 100% 9% 29% 80% 36% 60% 31% Full access 69% 55% Some access 40% No access 20% 66% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 86% 14% SHEFA rural 51% 40% 9% MALAMPA 63% 37% PENAMA 77% 18% 5% SANMA rural 67% 31% 2% TORBA 57% 41% 3%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Full access Some access No access

The study attempted to capture the interplay between the cash and traditional economies in Vanuatu by looking at demand for TWIs. Roughly two-thirds of urban dwelling ni-Vanuatu rely fully or partially on rural production of TWIs for their participation in cultural activities, as shown in Figure 46.

Figure 46: Urban dwellers access to TWIs 100% 3% 80% 30% 49% 60% 33% Purcase with money 27% 40% 39% Receive from rural 23% 20% 39% Purchase some, receive some 25% Don't use TWIs 0% 25% Luganville Port Vila

Typically, this interplay involves an exchange between producers of traditional wealth in rural areas and their familial ties in the urban centers with easier access to the cash economy. Figure 47 shows urban demand for TWIs produced in rural Vanuatu. A majority

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of rural respondents received requests for TWIs from family members living outside the community in the preceding 12 month period, with a far greater proportion of respondents from MALAMPA and PENAMA reportedly receiving requests for TWIs.

Figure 47: Urban Demand: Rural dwellers having received requests for TWIs from outside community

42% Yes No 58%

TAFEA 60% 40% SHEFA rural 54% 46% MALAMPA 74% 26% PENAMA 70% 30% SANMA rural 41% 59% TORBA 43% 57%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

This pilot study did not account for the volume or amount of TWIs exchanged. It does, however, take a look at the sources of demand by looking at if respondents had received requests from the two urban centers, a different island, or another country. Figure 48 shows an overwhelming majority of rural dwellers had TWI requests coming from the capital city of Port Vila. Figure 49 shows two-thirds of the rural population handle multiple sources of TWI demand.

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Figure 48: Sources of TWI demand on rural supplies

100% 12% 80% 47% 56% 60% 94% 40% 88% 20% 53% 44% 0% 6% Port Vila Luganville Other Island Other Country

Yes No

Figure 49: Number of sources requesting TWIs

34% One source More than one source 66%

TAFEA 61% 39% SHEFA rural 44% 56% MALAMPA 30% 70% PENAMA 27% 73% SANMA rural 17% 83% TORBA 19% 81% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

One source More than one source

Ceremonial Practice Participation in various ritual activities over a 12 month period was estimated by respondents for the study to determine levels of ceremonial activity. Figures 50-55 show the participation rates in marriage, death, reconciliation, circumcision, status, and other community-based ceremonies. Participation is higher for ceremonies that are more common. Community ceremonies refer to ceremonies based in a given community inclusive of all members, such as yam harvest activities. Other ceremonial activity not captured in this study include new births, house openings, female coming of age, and more which could be captured in future studies.

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Figure 50: Participation in marriage ceremonies, last 12 months 100% 11% 20% 17% 80% 16% 9% 1-2 times 60% 25% 22% 49% 3-4 times 11% 40% > 4 times None 20% 48% 49% 23% 0% URBAN RURAL

Figure 51: Participation in death ceremonies, last 12 months 100% 7% 11% 10% 80% 25% 18% 35% 1-2 times 60% 20% 3-4 times 31% 37% > 4 times 40% None 20% 37% 34% 35% 0% URBAN RURAL

Figure 52: Participation in reconciliation ceremonies, last 12 months 100% 80% 52% 49% 31% 1-2 times 60% 3-4 times 7% 5% 40% 15% 50% > 4 times 10% None 20% 14% 32% 31% 0% URBAN RURAL 5%

Figure 53: Participation in circumcision ceremonies, last 12 months 100% 17% 80% 1-2 times 60% 73% 70% 7% 3-4 times 5% > 4 times 40% None 3% 6% 71% 20% 5% 8% 20% 16% 0% URBAN RURAL

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Figure 54: Participation in rank or grade ceremonies, last 12 months 100% 16% 2% 80% 58% 48% 2% 1-2 times 60% 3-4 times 5% > 4 times 40% 5% 11% 8% None 20% 80% 30% 36% 0% URBAN RURAL

Figure 55: Participation in community ceremonies, last 12 months

100%

80% 48% 34% 58% 1-2 times 60% 3-4 times 5% 51% 40% 5% 11% > 4 times 8% None 20% 36% 10% 30% 5% 0% URBAN RURAL

A composite indicator was created using participation rates that placed respondents in categories of very active, active, and not active based on their responses to participation in common practices including marriage, death, reconciliation, and community ceremonies. Individuals who participated in an average of one or more ceremonies a month were considered “very active”. Individuals were considered “active” if they participated in at least one ceremony in the 12- month period preceding the survey. “Inactive” individuals were those who did not participate in any traditional ceremonies for that period. Figure 56 shows TAFEA, SHEFA, and TORBA Provinces as having the highest proportions of individuals very actively participating in ceremonial activities over the 12 month preceding period.

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3% Figure 56: Overall ceremonial activity 100% 3% 3% 10% 80%

Very Active 60% 86% Active 88% Inactive 40% 20% 87% 0% 11% 9% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 17% 80% 3% SHEFA rural 14% 81% 5% MALAMPA 6% 92% 3% PENAMA 6% 93% 2% SANMA rural 3% 94% 3% TORBA 12% 84% 4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very active Active Inactive

Subjective assessments of the importance of participation in ceremonial activities on a 3- point scale were obtained for the study. Figure 57 shows an overwhelming majority of those interviewed believe that their direct participation in such activities is important or very important. Despite the high importance bestowed on participation in traditional ceremonies, the quality of ceremonial practice appears to have diminished. Nearly the same proportion as those who viewed participation as important or very important cited traditional ceremonies today as weaker when asked to consider how the performances of traditional ceremonies are changing as they perceive them to be (see Figure 58).

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Figure 57:Importance of participation in traditional ceremonies 2% 100% 6% 10% 4% 80% 18% 19% 19% Very Important 60% Important 40% Not Important 69% 74% Don't Know 73% 20% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 70% 20% 3% 7% SHEFA rural 68% 26% 6% MALAMPA 72% 17% 7% 4% PENAMA 71% 27% 3% SANMA rural 74% 18% 5% 3% TORBA 95% 5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Important Important Not Important Don't Know

Figure 58: Assessment of traditional ceremonies today 2% 100% 11% 18% 14% 15% 80% Same as always 60% Not as strong as before 72% Nearly obsolete 40% 73% Don't know 20% 13% 72% 0% 7% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 12% 77% 6% 6% SHEFA rural 6% 70% 23% 1% MALAMPA 12% 68% 18% 2% PENAMA 14% 77% 9% SANMA rural 10% 72% 17% 1% TORBA 28% 64% 8% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Same as always Not as strong as before Nearly obsolete Don't know

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Cultural Practice and Happiness Correlations were discovered between happiness and variables of cultural practice developed for this study. Individuals with moderate to strong traditional knowledge of family history, place, agriculture, and nature are, on average, happier than those with weak traditional knowledge. As with traditional knowledge, those retaining at least some traditional wisdom are, on average, happier than those who are deficient in their knowledge of traditional stories, songs, dances, and games.

Fig. 59: Mean happiness Fig. 60: Mean happiness by traditional knowledge by traditional wisdom

7 7

10) 10) - - 6.27 6.12 6.35 6.38 5 5.91 5

3 3

Happiness (1 Scale Happiness (1 Scale 1 1 Weak Moderate - Strong Deficient Wise Very wise

A correlation between happiness and opinion of the importance of cultural participation was also uncovered in the research. Those with a higher opinion of cultural participation are, on average, happier than those with a negative opinion.

Fig. 61: Mean happiness by opinion of ceremonial participation importance

7

10) - 6.27 6.26 6.04 5

3 Happiness (1 Scale 1 Very Important Not important important

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Chapter 5: Community Vitality

Recognizing the gains to well-being of social capital

Why is community vitality important for well-being in Vanuatu? An increase in income generates higher happiness levels for people with low income. Research has proven this to be true. However, research has also discovered that increases in income eventually stop affecting happiness beyond a certain level. In other words, there are limits to the gains to happiness of increases in material well-being. It is therefore important for emphasis to be placed on the quality of life of the community for meaningful development to take place. People are inherently social and due to the social nature of society a focus for governance and development needs to be placed on fostering social connections at the community level.

The frequency of contact with others and the quality of personal relationships are crucial determinants of people’s well-being. Social networks provide material and emotional support in times of need. Well- developed social connections can generate trust in other people, tolerance of diversity, and norms of reciprocity as well as facilitate exchanges of information and collective action. These networks, and the shared values and norms they generate, are foundational to social capital. Social capital is increasingly recognized as a driver of important well-being outcomes, including democratic participation, lower crime rates, improved health status, and better performing economies.

This study examined interactions and relationships within communities in order to capture social capital contributions to well-being in Vanuatu. Information collected for this pilot provides a glimpse of the state of community vitality in Vanuatu by also looking at specific dimensions of giving and volunteering, social cohesion, safety, family, and sense of equality.

This section looks more closely at pro-social behaviors collected from the Ni-Vanuatu Well- Being Survey.

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Community Meeting Community meetings are a common feature in Vanuatu. These meetings bring people together for a number of purposes that serve all members of the community such as conflict resolution, community developments, and ceremonial planning. Meetings are where social connections are made or reinforced and where social capital is utilized. Respondents were asked with what frequency their entire community meets on a monthly basis. Figure 62 shows that communities most commonly meet when needed, which tends to be less than once a week. TORBA Province had the lowest proportion of respondents claiming their communities never meet, suggesting higher all-around interaction of that kind in TORBA communities.

5% Figure 62: Frequency of community meetings 100% 7% 4% 15% 19% One or more times a 80% 22% week 43% Less than once a 60% 57% week/when needed Never 40% 43% 20% 54% Don't know 23% 0% 8% Urban Rural

TAFEA 21% 50% 21% 7% SHEFA rural 35% 44% 8% 13% MALAMPA 30% 50% 18% 2% PENAMA 15% 62% 20% 3% SANMA rural 15% 69% 14% 2% TORBA 26% 68% 5%1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

One or more times a week Less than once a week/when needed Never Don't know

Frequency of meetings does not provide adequate information on social interaction. To get a better idea of the strength of social networks, follow up questions inquired on attendance and participation at community meetings, with participation defined as speaking one or more times during a meeting. Figure 63 shows the majority of ni-Vanuatu attend community meetings occasionally; rural dwellers are more likely to attend community meetings; MALAMPA, SANMA, and PENAMA Provinces have the highest proportions of people that claim to go to meetings, and; middle-aged people are more likely to have regular attendance than those under 30 years.

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2% Figure 63: Frequency of attendance at meetings 100% 7% 10% 4% 7% 8% 80% 52% 34% Every time 60% 56% 65% Occasionally 66% Never 40% Don't know 20% 44% 34% 24% 28% 56% 0% Men Women Men Women URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 28% 60% 7% 4% SHEFA rural 43% 43% 12% 3% MALAMPA 35% 61% 4% PENAMA 40% 53% 6% SANMA rural 37% 58% 5% TORBA 29% 61% 10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Every time Occasionally Never Don't know

55+ 38% 53% 6% 3% 50-54 41% 52% 5%2%

45-49 38% 56% 6%1% 40-44 47% 42% 10% 1% 35-39 39% 57% 4% Age Age Group 30-34 27% 63% 8% 2% 25-29 18% 70% 12% 18-24 21% 58% 17% 4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Every time Occasionally Never Don't know

Participation at community meetings, as shown in Figure 64, is less frequent than attendance as not all meetings require direct spoken participation. It was discovered that men are more vocal at meetings, as are older members of the community. SANMA and PENAMA Provinces have the highest proportions of vocal participators in Vanuatu.

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Figure 64: Frequency of spoken participation at meetings 2% 100% 4% 23% 80% 27% 40% 22% 51% 60% 31% 46% Every time 45% Occasionally 40% 35% 47% Only listen 20% Don't know 24% 31% 0% 14% 13% 45% Men Women Men Women URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 20% 37% 39% 4% SHEFA rural 18% 44% 35% 3% MALAMPA 24% 45% 32% PENAMA 30% 45% 23% 1% SANMA rural 23% 54% 24% TORBA 24% 48% 29% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Every time Occasionally Only listen Don't know

55 + 26% 45% 25% 3% 50-54 33% 45% 20% 2%

45-49 29% 49% 21% 1% 40-44 34% 39% 26% 1% 35-39 23% 49% 25% 4% Age Age Group 30-34 16% 51% 31% 2% 25-29 7% 42% 51% 18-24 5% 32% 59% 5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Every Time Occasionally Only Listen Don't Know

Community Support Respondents were asked to assess the strength of cooperation in their communities on a 3- point scale as a subjective measure of community support. This subjective indicator of community cooperation should be tracked over time and used in conjunction with more objective indicators of community cooperation, such as voluntarism rates, which this study looks at as well. The majority of ni-Vanuatu perceive cooperation within their communities to be weak (see Figure 65). A major difference was found in the perceptions of urban dwellers, where just 22%—less than half the proportion of rural dwellers—considers

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cooperation in their urban community to be strong. A majority of the people of TORBA Province perceive cooperation within their communities as strong.

Figure 65: Strength of community cooperation 4% 1% 100% 11% 1% 80% 51% 40% Strong 60% Weak 65% Doesn't exist 40% Don't know 55% 20% 46% 22% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 47% 51% 1% SHEFA rural 42% 52% 2% MALAMPA 49% 50% 1% PENAMA 48% 51% 1% SANMA rural 41% 57% 1% TORBA 54% 42% 3%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Strong Weak Doesn't exist Don't know

A follow up question for gauging community support asked if they have people they can count on to help them in times of sickness and in times of financial need. In both cases, more rural dwellers reported having people they could count on in times of need, and to a lesser extent there are people they can count on to support them in times of financial need (see Figures 66-67).

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Figure 66: Presence of support in times of sickness

100% 7% 13% 5% 80% Yes 60% No 95% 40% 87% 20% 93% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 98% 2% SHEFA rural 94% 6% MALAMPA 97% 3% PENAMA 96% 4% SANMA rural 96% 4% TORBA 89% 11% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

Figure 67: Presence of support in times of financial need 100% 21% 12% 14% 80% 60% Yes No 40% 79% 88% 20% 86% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 87% 13% SHEFA rural 83% 17% MALAMPA 93% 7% PENAMA 92% 8% SANMA rural 89% 11% TORBA 78% 22% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

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Voluntarism is important for gauging support within a community in a more objective manner. Respondents were asked if they had helped another person in the previous 12 month period with something that they were not paid money for. It should be noted, however, that many activities that could be deemed “voluntary” by this definition may in fact be social obligations, such as ceremonial preparations or work activities assigned by traditional leaders or family members. Regardless, it is a measure of helping others in some supportive capacity that does not require cash payment. The rate of voluntarism is highest in rural areas of SANMA and PEMAMA Provinces as shown in Figure 68.

Figure 68: % who volunteered time or labor, last 12 months

100% 13% 28% 17% 80%

Yes 60% No 87% 40% 72% 83% 20% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 85% 15% SHEFA rural 82% 18% MALAMPA 88% 12% PENAMA 90% 10% SANMA rural 90% 10% TORBA 85% 15%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

Of those who had volunteered their time to help others in the 12 month period preceding the survey, follow-up questions were asked to inform on the nature of activities volunteered (see Table 12). Gardening activities, including clearing and preparing land, planting, tending, and harvesting of crops, was the activity with the highest level of voluntary support. It is clear from the information obtained that strong community networks are necessary for self- reliance—it takes more than a family unit to plant the food a family needs to survive. The level of voluntary childcare activities also attests to the high value of social networks in raising a family.

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Table 12: Voluntary Activities, Last 12 Months Housing Housing Gardening Tending Childcare Construction Repair Livestock Sex Male 76.4% 69.6% 82.6% 60.3% 75.0% Female 53.0% 48.0% 88.5% 67.6% 85.1% Region Urban 49.0% 42.7% 62.9% 38.5% 69.9% Rural 70.6% 64.7% 91.4% 70.4% 82.1% Province Torba 87.3% 73.0% 88.9% 61.9% 77.8% Sanma Rural 72.0% 68.2% 90.7% 78.5% 86.9% Penama 71.4% 64.3% 91.8% 68.4% 79.6% Malampa 59.4% 57.3% 94.8% 64.6% 80.2% Shefa Rural 65.2% 53.6% 82.6% 66.7% 87.0% Tafea 72.7% 71.6% 96.6% 78.4% 80.7% Age 18-24 74.1% 61.1% 85.2% 70.4% 83.3% 25-29 62.4% 60.0% 88.2% 58.8% 76.5% 30-34 68.9% 54.4% 86.4% 60.2% 83.5% 35-39 68.7% 64.6% 83.8% 57.6% 78.8% 40-44 61.1% 65.3% 83.2% 62.1% 77.9% 45-49 66.7% 66.7% 92.0% 70.7% 85.3% 50-54 65.0% 55.0% 86.7% 63.3% 78.3% 55+ 63.4% 52.7% 78.5% 69.9% 74.2% Educational None 66.8% 63.9% 83.9% 68.3% 79.0% Attainment Primary 68.8% 63.1% 87.2% 65.4% 82.9% Secondary 60.5% 50.0% 82.3% 52.4% 74.2% Post Secondary 67.9% 50.0% 82.1% 53.6% 64.3% Other 22.2% 33.3% 100.0% 77.8% 100.0% Monthly <10,000 Vatu 64.8% 63.0% 88.9% 66.7% 79.6% Household 10-20,000 Vatu 66.2% 59.6% 83.1% 63.2% 79.4% Income Per 21-30,000 Vatu 66.3% 55.1% 82.0% 59.6% 78.7% Capita >30,000 Vatu 67.8% 58.6% 86.2% 60.9% 80.5% National 66.0% 59.9% 85.2% 63.6% 79.5%

Respondents were asked whether they had received support from others voluntarily or through social obligation in the previous 12 month period—again, not requiring a cash payment—in order to gauge the receiving end of voluntarism. The results, shown in Figure 69, confirm high reciprocity in terms of voluntary support within communities in Vanuatu, as the rate of voluntarism is nearly the same.

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Figure 69: % who received voluntary support, last 12 months

100% 13% 16% 26% 80%

Yes 60% No 87% 40% 74% 84% 20% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 93% 7% SHEFA Rural 76% 24% MALAMPA 84% 16% PENAMA 94% 6% SANMA Rural 87% 13% TORBA 82% 18%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

Trust To determine levels of trust within communities, respondents were asked to reveal if they trusted all of their neighbors, some of their neighbors, or none of their neighbors. Figure 70 shows the highest levels of trust are found in TORBA Province, with the lowest in SHEFA rural. A similar question was asked of community leaders, as trust in community leaders is traditionally associated with levels of community involvement. For trust in leaders, PENAMA leads with the highest proportion of individuals with high levels of trust in community leaders (see Figure 71).

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Figure 70: Level of trust in neighbors 2% 100% 7% 9% 17% 80% 30% High Medium 60% 57% Low 64% 40% Don't know 59% 20% 35% 17% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 31% 65% 3% SHEFA rural 15% 62% 20% 2% MALAMPA 35% 58% 5% 3% PENAMA 46% 49% 6% SANMA rural 33% 64% 3% TORBA 50% 42% 5% 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

High Medium Low Don't know

Figure 71: Level of trust in community leaders 2% 100% 13% 7% 8% 80% 23% High Medium 60% 66% 68% Low 40% Don't know 20% 25% 67% 17% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 17% 76% 3%4% SHEFA rural 15% 69% 13% 2% MALAMPA 25% 67% 6% 3% PENAMA 36% 52% 11% SANMA rural 25% 71% 4% TORBA 31% 62% 7% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

High Medium Low Don't know

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Beyond simple trust levels, information was gathered on incidents of theft and vandalism affecting respondents in the previous 12 month period. Objective crime statistics are not available in most places in Vanuatu. Questions on theft and vandalism were therefore included in the study in order to provide an objective dimension to trust. Respondents were asked if they had been the victims of theft or vandalism in the 12 month period preceding the survey (see Figures 72-73). In both cases, a higher proportion of rural dwellers reported being victims of theft and vandalism.

Figure 72: % victims of theft, last 12 months

100% 80% 53% 42% Yes 60% 74% 58% No 40% 20% 47% 26% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 48% 52% SHEFA Rural 42% 58% MALAMPA 51% 49% PENAMA 46% 54% SANMA Rural 45% 55% TORBA 49% 51%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

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Figure 73: % victims of vandalism, last 12 months 100%

80% 59% 37% Yes 60% 74% No 40% 63% 20% 41% 26% 0% Urban Rural

TAFEA 40% 60% SHEFA Rural 33% 67% MALAMPA 46% 54% PENAMA 35% 65% SANMA Rural 52% 48% TORBA 38% 62%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

Although incidents of theft and vandalism occur at a higher rate in rural areas of Vanuatu, looking at the average number of incidents reported in the 12 month period reveals urban theft to be more prominent an issue (see Figure 74).

Figure 74: Average # incidents of theft and vandalism over 12 months 7

6 5.88 5

4 3.84 3 3.46 3.03 2.96 2 2.61

1 Theft Vandalism

Urban Rural National

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Leadership Leaders’—namely chiefs’—ability to settle disputes, communicate with community members, respect culture, and protect and manage community resources was assessed by respondents on a 3-point scale (see Figure 75). This information, made available to traditional leaders, will provide them with feedback on strengths and weaknesses of traditional governance today.

Figure 75: Assessments of Chiefs' performance by area 100% 4% 5% 5% 5% 5% 9% 5% 6% 5% 5% 7% 5% 90% 12% 9% 10% 10% 11% 11% 11% 11% 15% 10% 16% 15% 80%

70% 40% 44% 47% 42% 60% 56% 47% 52% 53% 45% 46% 55% 50% 50%

40%

30%

20% 41% 44% 42% 39% 36% 32% 31% 35% 33% 27% 31% 28% 10%

0% URBAN RURAL National URBAN RURAL National URBAN RURAL National URBAN RURAL National Dispute Resolution Communication Respect for Culture Resource Management

Very Good Good Not Good Don't know

A composite indicator was developed that combines positive assessments of chiefs’ performances in the four areas of interest. Individuals who assessed chiefs’ performance in all four areas as very good or good are considered to have a fully positive overall assessment of their chiefs’ work. Those with favorable assessments in some areas and negative assessments in others are considered to have a partially positive overall assessment. Those with negative assessments in all areas of interest are considered to have a fully negative overall assessment of their chief’s work. A small percentage of respondents were unable to assess their chiefs’ performance in any area of interest for the study, labeled as fully unknown. Figure 76 shows that two-thirds of ni-Vanuatu have a fully positive overall assessment of the work of chiefs—TORBA Province with the highest proportion of individuals with positive assessments.

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Figure 76: Overall assessment of the work of Chiefs

2%2%

Fully Positive 30% Partially Positive Fully Negative Fully Unknown 66%

TAFEA 71% 21% 2% 6% SHEFA 59% 35% 3%3% MALAMPA 59% 36% 1%5% PENAMA 62% 34% 4% SANMA 70% 26% 2% TORBA 77% 22% 1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Fully Positive Partially Positive Fully Negative Fully Unknown

Safety In order to look at feelings of safety within communities, respondents were asked a series of three questions. The questions asked respondents, if you were to be walking by yourself at night in the village or community, how afraid would you be of: animal attack; magic or poison, and; personal attack from another individual on a 3-point scale. The purpose of the first two questions is to filter out fear that is not of particular interest for this study. This study is concerned with levels of fear of personal attack from other individuals as an indicator of sense of security or safety. Figure 77 shows a lower sense of safety in urban centers, with PENAMA and TAFEA Provinces having the least amount of fear of violent attack.

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Figure 77: Fear of violent attack 3% 100% 29% 25% 80% 43% Very afraid 60% 39% Slightly afraid 34% Not afraid 40% 32% Don't know 20% 35% 33% 22% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 15% 34% 48% 4% SHEFA rural 20% 42% 35% 4% MALAMPA 28% 33% 37% 2% PENAMA 22% 20% 57% 1% SANMA rural 21% 34% 43% 3% TORBA 27% 32% 35% 5% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very afraid Slightly afraid Not afraid Don't know

It was discovered in the study that fear of black magic was stronger than that of violent attack from other individuals. Fear of black magic is highest in MALAMPA and SHEFA Provinces; PENAMA and TAFEA once again have the lowest sense of fear of black magic (see Figure 78).

2% Figure 78: Fear of black magic, devils, or poison

100% 80% 26% 36% 33% 34% Very afraid Slightly afraid 60% 33% 31% Not afraid 40% Don't know 20% 39% 32% 31% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 22% 29% 48% 1% SHEFA rural 44% 32% 20% 4% MALAMPA 40% 37% 23% PENAMA 21% 25% 54% SANMA rural 33% 34% 31% 3% TORBA 38% 27% 35% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very afraid Slightly afraid Not afraid Don't know

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Family Vitality Respondents were read four statements and asked if they found them to be accurate descriptions of how they feel about their family (see Table 13). The statements were concerned with quality of family life. The highest level of agreement was registered for statement 3, with everyone from MALAMPA and TAFEA Provinces agreeing that they feel good when they are with their family.

Table 13: Family Statement Verifications % in agreement with statement: Statement 1 Statement 2 Statement 3 Statement 4 Sex Male 82.6% 10.9% 95.3% 93.1% Female 87.4% 7.8% 98.0% 89.7% Region Urban 84.9% 9.5% 94.0% 89.9% Rural 84.6% 9.5% 97.3% 92.1% Province Torba 91.9% 8.1% 98.6% 97.3% Sanma Rural 78.2% 10.1% 95.8% 91.6% Penama 82.6% 13.8% 97.2% 90.8% Malampa 89.0% 9.2% 100.0% 92.7% Shefa Rural 73.8% 10.7% 91.7% 90.5% Tafea 93.2% 4.9% 100.0% 91.3% Educational None 86.5% 10.2% 97.5% 91.8% Attainment Primary 83.8% 8.4% 96.2% 91.9% Secondary 86.1% 10.8% 96.2% 90.5% Post Secondary 80.6% 13.9% 91.7% 91.7% Other 71.4% 0.0% 100.0% 92.9% Household Single Member HH 58.5% 14.6% 90.2% 63.4% Size 2-3 Member HH 85.3% 7.9% 96.8% 87.9% 4-5 Member HH 87.0% 11.8% 96.9% 94.4% 6-7 Member HH 84.4% 5.0% 98.1% 96.9% > 7 Member HH 88.0% 10.8% 94.0% 92.8% Monthly <10,000 Vatu 85.7% 8.2% 98.4% 93.1% Household 10-20,000 Vatu 85.4% 7.7% 97.0% 92.3% Income Per 21-30,000 Vatu 81.7% 19.2% 90.4% 89.4% Capita >30,000 Vatu 83.0% 8.9% 96.4% 88.4% National 84.7% 9.5% 96.5% 91.6% Statement 1 You have enough time to spend with your family. Statement 2 Your family is always arguing, never peaceful. Statement 3 You feel good when you are with your family. Statement 4 You are happy with your partner.

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A composite indicator was created to show family strength in combining the answers to the statements. Those who agreed with statements 1, 3, and 4 and disagreed with statement 2 are considered to have very strong families by their own perception. Those who disagreed with statements 1, 3, and 4 and agreed with statement 2 are considered to have weak families by their own perception. Those who perceive at least one statement as positive are considered as having strong families by their own perception. Figure 79 shows the strongest families living in TORBA and TAFEA Provinces.

1% Figure 79: Overall Family Strength 100% 2% 2% 80% 28% 26% 27% Very strong 60% Strong 40% Weak 70% 72% 72% 20%

0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 81% 19% SHEFA rural 60% 37% 4% MALAMPA 75% 25% PENAMA 70% 28% 2% SANMA rural 66% 32% 3% TORBA 84% 15% 1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very strong Strong Weak

Perceptions of equality can be more informative than objective information on material equality presented in other statistical reports. At the household family level, we asked respondents to gauge the equality of their household in material terms with the other households in the same community. This proved a difficult comparison for some people to make—roughly one-fifth of respondents could not answer the question (see Figure 80). TORBA Province has the highest proportion, 72%, of individuals considering themselves equal to other households in material terms—the only province over 50%.

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Figure 80: Perception of material equality, household level

100% 23% 18% 19% 80% 31% 38% Equal 60% 36% Better off Worse off 11% 40% 11% Don't know 20% 32% 30% 40% 11% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 48% 11% 17% 25% SHEFA rural 21% 13% 37% 29% MALAMPA 34% 12% 31% 23% PENAMA 43% 10% 38% 9% SANMA rural 32% 13% 44% 11% TORBA 72% 5% 12% 11%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Equal Better off Worse off Don't know

A family’s food security was also assessed with a question that asked how often in the previous 12 month period the family had missed a meal or reduced the size of meals due to not having enough available foods. Figure 81 shows the majority of ni- Vanuatu never had to miss or reduce the size of meals in the 12 month period prior to the survey, though the majority is even greater in rural areas of the country. If used as an indicator of food security, TORBA Province would be the most secure with more than 90% reportedly never having missed or reduced the size of meals in 12 months time.

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Figure 81: Frequency of missed or reduced meals, last 12 months 3% 2% 100% 2% 7% 10% 80% 15% 6% 11% 7% Never 60% 7% Once or twice Occasionally 40% 80% Once or more a month 70% Don't know 20% 77% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 67% 9% 19% 1% SHEFA rural 77% 6% 11% 5% MALAMPA 82% 6% 6% 2% PENAMA 87% 2% 8% 2% SANMA rural 77% 10% 10% 2% TORBA 92% 4% 4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Never Once or twice Occasionally Once or more a month Don't know

Values Ten Melanesian values were selected to assess their importance to ni-Vanuatu. Respondents were first asked to rate the level of importance they assign to each of the 10 values on a 4-point scale. They were then asked to rate the level of importance others in their community assign, in their opinion, to the same 10 values. In a prioritization of these select Melanesian values, which groups together very important and important, the top three considered by 90% or more ni-Vanuatu as very important or important as shown in Figure 82 are: 1) Going to church (which captures a distinct set of Christian principles, particularly faithfulness); 2) Respect for family, and; 3) Respect for chiefs. A gap in personal values and the values assigned to others was discovered—it is a normal trend found in other similar studies that people tend to assign lower importance to values as held by others (see Figure 83).

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Figure 82: Importance of select Melanesian values

Trusting others 55% 43% 2%

Honesty 66% 24% 10%

Working hard 80% 18% 2%

Reciprocity 81% 17% 2%

Respect for culture 87% 11% 2%

Helping others 88% 10% 3%

Strong family 88% 10% 2%

Respect for Chiefs/leaders 90% 8%

Respect for family 92% 7%

Going to Church 92% 7%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Important Little or no importance Unsure

Figure 83: Relative importance of select Melanesian values

Honesty 36% 47% 18%

Trusting others 36% 52% 12%

Reciprocity 46% 43% 11%

Working hard 46% 44% 9%

Respect for culture 48% 42% 9%

Helping others 49% 40% 11%

Respect for Chiefs/leaders 51% 40% 9%

Respect for family 51% 41% 8%

Going to Church 52% 40% 9%

Strong family 52% 37% 11%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Important Little or no importance Unknown

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Perceived changes in actionable values over the past 2-3 years were inquired. Respondents were asked, in their opinion, whether certain values had improved, stayed the same, or degraded in that period. Figure 84 shows a majority of ni-Vanuatu believe faithfulness to have weakened, though a majority of respondents in Port Vila find it to have become stronger. Figure 85 shows consensus that cooperation has weakened in the last 2-3 years. Figures 86-87 show perceptions of stronger selfishness and greed and dishonesty in the same period. Figures 88-89 show a weakening of respectfulness and prioritization of family, though less than half of TORBA Province respondents perceive prioritization of family as weaker.

Fig. 84: Perceived change in faithfulness of all people, last 2-3 years 3% 100% 80% 39% 54% 69% 60% 29% 60% 7% Stronger 40% 7% Same 6% 52% 11% Weaker 20% 38% 58% 24% 26% 10% Don't know 0% Luganville Port Vila Full Urban Full Rural URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 32% 14% 46% 9% SHEFA rural 42% 4% 51% 4% MALAMPA 20% 14% 64% 2% PENAMA 13% 9% 77% SANMA rural 22% 16% 61% TORBA 35% 8% 55%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Stronger Same Weaker Don't know

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Fig. 85: Perceived change in cooperation of all people, last 2-3 years 3% 100% 7% 4% 4% 80% 18% 60% 60% 66% 63% 61% Stronger 40% Same 20% 18% Weaker 20% 11% 15% 18% 20% 17% 18% 18% 61% Don't know 0% Luganville Port Vila Full Urban Full Rural URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 24% 16% 54% 6% SHEFA rural 30% 5% 61% 5% MALAMPA 13% 20% 63% 4% PENAMA 11% 19% 66% 4% SANMA rural 13% 19% 66% 2% TORBA 22% 27% 50% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Stronger Same Weaker Don't know

Fig. 86: Perceived change in greed and selfishness of all people, last 2-3 years 4% 100% 14% 9% 8% 10% 80% 7% 8% Stronger 60% Same Weaker 40% 76% 79% Don't know 20% 78% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 71% 6% 13% 11% SHEFA rural 79% 4% 12% 6% MALAMPA 86% 10% 3% PENAMA 83% 5% 11% 2% SANMA rural 88% 4% 7% TORBA 59% 24% 8% 8% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Stronger Same Weaker Don't know

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Fig. 87: Perceived change in dishonesty of all people, last 2-3 years 4% 100% 16% 11% 80% 12% 12% 12% Stronger 60% Same 12% 40% Weaker 68% 72% Don't know 72% 20% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 61% 14% 13% 13% SHEFA rural 74% 6% 14% 6% MALAMPA 77% 12% 10% PENAMA 79% 12% 6% 4% SANMA rural 76% 8% 13% 3% TORBA 64% 24% 9% 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Stronger Same Weaker Don't know

Fig. 88: Perceived change in respectfulness of all people, last 2-3 years 3% 100% 80% 16% 60% 73% 68% Stronger 11% Same 40% Weaker Don't know 20% 10% 11% 70% 16% 16% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 11% 16% 65% 9% SHEFA rural 26% 8% 60% 6% MALAMPA 13% 12% 72% 3% PENAMA 14% 13% 72% 2% SANMA rural 13% 9% 75% 3% TORBA 24% 9% 62% 4% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Stronger Same Weaker Don't know

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Fig. 89: Perceived change in family priority of all people, last 2-3 years

4% 100% 4% 3% 80% 18% Stronger 60% 65% 64% Same 14% Weaker 40% Don't know 13% 14% 64% 20% 18% 19% 0% URBAN RURAL

TAFEA 14% 24% 53% 9% SHEFA rural 20% 6% 70% 4% MALAMPA 14% 13% 71% 3% PENAMA 12% 12% 75% SANMA rural 21% 13% 66% TORBA 36% 14% 46% 4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Stronger Same Weaker Don't know

Community Vitality and Happiness Correlations were discovered between happiness and variables of community vitality developed for this study. Individuals who attended and participated in community meetings were found to be, on average, happier than those who did not. The same is the case for those with more positive opinions of their chiefs, those who volunteer, and those with a stronger sense of safety in their community (see Figures 90-93).

Fig. 90: Mean happiness Fig. 91: Mean happiness by by meeting participation overall assessment of chiefs

7

7

10)

- 10) - 6.26 6.31 6.43 6.28 6.14 5 5.90 5

3 3

1 Happiness (1 Scale Happiness (1 Scale 1 Fully Partially Fully positive Every time Occasionally Only listen negative positive

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Fig. 92: Mean happiness Fig. 93: Mean happiness by voluntarism by fear of personal attack

7 7

10)

- 10) - 6.27 6.47 6.27 6.17 5.88 5 5

3

3 Happiness (1 Scale Hapiness (1 Scale 1 1 Very afraid Slightly Not afraid Volunteer Do not volunteer afraid

It was also discovered that those considered as having strong and very strong families in their perception were, on average, happier than those with weak families, and families that consider themselves as equal with other households in material terms are, on average, happier than those who feel better or worse off (see Figures 94-95).

Fig. 94: Mean happiness Fig. 95: Mean happiness

by overall family strength by sense of equality

7 7

10) 10) - - 6.56 6.45 6.32 6.10 5 5.92 5 5.96

3 3 Happiness (1 Scale Happiness (1 Scale 1 1 Very Strong Strong Weak Equal Better off Worse off

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Chapter 6: Community Well-being Survey

Society is not centered on the individual

Why is a component on rural community well-being relevant for this study? Ni-Vanuatu society is based on the family, clan, or tribal unit as opposed to the individual. Well-being is therefore a collective pursuit and can be achieved through the collective. Questions of community and family vitality were included for this reason as the third domain of research for the study on ni-Vanuatu well-being. A separate component, the Rural Community Well-being Survey, was introduced to the study to add a more collective perspective on well-being.

Three key informants—a chief or chief’s spokesman, a women’s leader, and a church leader—were interviewed on well-being as it pertains broadly to the groups they represent. A group interview with the entire community brought together community members to discuss participation in ritual ceremonial activities within the community.

This section looks more closely at collective well-being factors collected from the Rural Community Well-being Survey

Collective Subjective Well-being Key informants were asked to rate their communities on an altered 10-point Self-Anchoring Striving Scale as part of the Rural Community Well-being Survey. The lowest score represented the worst community they could possibly imagine, and the highest score represented the best community they could imagine. Results of all three key informants are reported here as an aggregate score out of a possible 30. The idea for this measure was to obtain a score for the community’s well-being as a collective unit. Combined subjective scores of chiefs, women’s leaders, and church leaders represent such a measure. From Figure 96 we can see PENAMA Province with the highest aggregate collective happiness score.

Figure 96: Aggregate Collective Happiness

National Avg 19.80 TAFEA 18.67 SHEFA 18.58 MALAMPA 18.75 PENAMA 24.00 SANMA 20.42 TORBA 18.88

3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30

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Outlook of Traditional Leaders A chief was identified in each village selected for the survey by the enumerator as the key informant for traditional governance. He was asked a series of questions regarding his work and opinions of the community as a whole. The chiefs were asked to provide a number of active chiefs in the community, as well as chiefs representing community members in urban centers and elsewhere. Figure 97 shows a greater average number of active chiefs in SHEFA and PENAMA Provinces. An open ended question on responsibilities of chiefs revealed the top five most frequently answered responsibilities of chiefs as: justice (also grouped with conflict resolution, maintaining law and order); safety and security (grouped with protecting communal resources and community members); communications (grouped with acting as spokesman for community, messenger duties, organizing and leading community meetings); leading community works (grouped with delegating work, overseeing community development) and; maintaining peace, unity, and happiness (conflict prevention).

Figure 97: Average number of active chiefs in/from a community

National 9 TAFEA 7 SHEFA Rural 17 MALAMPA 8 PENAMA 18 SANMA Rural 4 TORBA 6

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Respect Respect for chiefs was ranked as one of the top 3 values of high importance according to the individual well-being survey. For this component of the study, we asked chiefs their perception of the respect given them by youth and adults in their communities. Figures 98- 99 show that chiefs perceive higher levels of respect coming from adult community members than from youth, and the proportion is greatest for chiefs of smaller villages— TAFEA, PENAMA, and MALAMPA Provinces all had more than 50% of their chiefs claim respect was very good from adults.

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Figure 98: Chiefs' perception of respect of youth

100% 11% 11% 12% 14% 80% 33% Very Good 37% 60% 50% Good 64% Not Good 40% 53% 55% 20% 25% 36% 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 58% 42% SHEFA Rural 33% 33% 33% MALAMPA 25% 64% 11% PENAMA 50% 42% 8% SANMA Rural 21% 67% 13% TORBA 38% 63% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Good Good Not Good

Figure 99: Chiefs' perception of respect of adults 6% 100% 11% 5% 5% 80% 32% 26% 47% Very Good 60% 40% Good 54% 40% Not Good 63% 64% 20% 47% 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 75% 25% SHEFA Rural 25% 58% 17% MALAMPA 64% 29% 7% PENAMA 67% 25% 8% SANMA Rural 46% 50% 4% TORBA 38% 63%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Good Good Not Good

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Meetings Frequency of community meetings in the month preceding the survey was asked of chiefs in order to compare with information gathered in the individual well-being survey. The same percentage of communities that never meet was obtained as in the individual well-being survey, lending to the credibility of the study (see Figure 100). The frequency of meetings specifically for chiefs was also obtained (see Figure 101). Expectedly, chiefs meet less frequently than communities, though larger communities tend to have more meetings of chiefs by a substantial amount, potentially a result of increased demand on traditional governance with larger populations.

Figure 100: Number of community meetings, last 4 weeks

100% 21% 24% 18% 20% 1 Time 80% 22% 11% 9% 2 Times 27% 60% 26% 20% 5% 3 Times 9% 40% 13% 19% 4 Times 14% 26% 18% 20% More than 4 20% 32% 14% 16% 16% None 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 17% 17% 17% 42% 8% SHEFA 25% 8% 42% 25% MALAMPA 29% 14% 4% 29% 7% 18% PENAMA 8% 25% 17% 8% 8% 33% SANMA 17% 25% 13% 17% 8% 21% TORBA 13% 25% 13% 13% 38%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

1 Time 2 Times 3 Times 4 Times More than 4 None

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Figure 101: Number of chiefs' meetings, last 4 weeks 100% 1 Time 80% 27% 27% 2 Times 53% 55% 48% 14% 3 Times 60% 9% 5% 4 Times 40% 5% 5% 5% 23% 13% 11% More than 4 20% 37% 27% None 24% 0% 3% 3% 6% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 50% 25% 8% SHEFA Rural 17% 8% 8% MALAMPA 29% 11% 7% 4% 4% PENAMA 17% 25% SANMA Rural 17% 4% 8% 4% 4% TORBA 50% 25% 13% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

1 Time 2 Times 3 Times 4 Times More than 4

Chiefs were then asked to assess attendance of youth and adults at community meetings on a 3-point scale. Their answers, shown in Figures 102-103, seem to reflect roughly their perception of respect shown by youth and adults in the community. This implies a correlation between objective attendance at meetings and perceptions of respect. In terms of attendance, we find that smaller communities have a better overall view of youth attendance at community meetings, and a majority of chiefs from PENAMA, MALAMPA, and TAFEA Provinces find attendance of adults at meetings to be very good.

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Figure 102: Observation of attendance of youth at meetings

100% 5% 18% 14% 15% 80% 42% 35% Very Good 60% 51% 55% Good 40% Not Good 53% 20% 32% 50% 31% 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 50% 50% SHEFA Rural 25% 42% 33% MALAMPA 39% 43% 18% PENAMA 67% 33% SANMA Rural 25% 63% 13% TORBA 75% 25% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Good Good Not Good

Figure 103: Observation of attendance of adults at meetings 100% 5% 5% 5% 5% 80% 37% 45% 41% Very Good 60% Good 40% 43% 52% Not Good 58% 55% 20% 49% 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 58% 42% SHEFA Rural 25% 67% 8% MALAMPA 61% 29% 11% PENAMA 83% 17% SANMA Rural 46% 50% 4% TORBA 25% 75%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Good Good Not Good

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Fines The number of unpaid fines within the community was reported by chiefs in the study. This can be viewed as an indicator of traditional governance efficacy. Communities with fewer unpaid fines could be said to have a stronger overall enforcement mechanism of traditional governance. Figure 104 shows half or more communities in SANMA, MALAMPA, and TAFEA Provinces have no outstanding unpaid fines. Of particular interest was the system for assigning fines. It was discovered that a majority of communities use cash to assign fines but accept payment in traditional wealth items in lieu of cash. It was also discovered that TAFEA and PENAMA Provinces use vatu the least in assigning fines to individuals in their communities (see Figure 105).

Figure 104: Number of outstanding fines in community

National 31% 10% 9% 49% TAFEA 33% 8% 8% 50% SHEFA Rural 50% 8% 8% 33% MALAMPA 21% 7% 18% 54% PENAMA 42% 8% 8% 42% SANMA Rural 29% 4% 4% 63% TORBA 25% 50% 25%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

< 5 5 to 10 > 10 None

Figure 105: Use of Vatu in assigning fines

National 18% 18% 54% 10% TAFEA 33% 25% 42% SHEFA Rural 33% 58% 8% MALAMPA 7% 11% 82% PENAMA 67% 33% SANMA Rural 17% 8% 71% 4% TORBA 88% 13%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Always Vatu Sometimes Vatu Vatu scaled, accept TWIs Never Vatu

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Disputes The number of active land disputes was reported by chiefs accounting only for those disputes that have been brought to the chiefs’ attention. Half or more of chiefs from TAFEA and PENAMA Provinces reported having no active land disputes as shown in Figure 106.

Figure 106: Number of active land disputes in community

National 50% 7% 6% 36% TAFEA 42% 58% SHEFA Rural 58% 17% 25% MALAMPA 54% 4% 18% 25% PENAMA 42% 8% 50% SANMA Rural 50% 4% 4% 42% TORBA 50% 25% 25%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

< 5 Disputes 5-10 Disputes > 10 Disputes No Disputes

Chiefs divulged the type of active land disputes their communities are dealing with. Table 14 shows boundaries to be the primary source of land disputes in Vanuatu. A free listing exercise asked chiefs to list the main problem causing land disputes in their opinion. The top three responses were boundaries unclear or not respected (grouped with land grabbing with no consultation); population growth creating a shortage of land, and; customary ownership unclear or challenged. Other frequently cited causes of land disputes included issues of increasing of land leasing and dishonesty or insufficient historical knowledge.

Table 14: Causes of active land disputes Boundary Usage Rights Ownership Adoption Village Size Small 90.0% 50.0% 60.0% 40.0% Medium 68.6% 65.7% 57.1% 34.3% Large 75.0% 62.5% 68.8% 50.0% Province TORBA 66.7% 33.3% 66.7% 0.0% SANMA 71.4% 71.4% 64.3% 28.6% PENAMA 83.3% 50.0% 33.3% 16.7% MALAMPA 71.4% 81.0% 52.4% 61.9% SHEFA 88.9% 33.3% 66.7% 33.3% TAFEA 60.0% 60.0% 100.0% 60.0% National 73.8% 62.3% 60.7% 39.3%

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An interesting dimension of the study asked chiefs to consider if their power to resolve land disputes had improved, stayed the same, or declined in the past 5 years. Half or more chiefs in PENAMA and TAFEA Provinces found their power had diminished, shown in Figure 107. A supplementary question asked if any land disputes had been settled in the previous 12 month period (see Figure 108).

Figure 107: Perception of ability to settle land disputes 100% 26% 27% 28% 80% 40% 34% Stronger 60% Weaker 37% 45% 40% 35% Same 20% 37% 25% 27% 38% 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 42% 50% 8% SHEFA Rural 33% 8% 58% MALAMPA 36% 29% 36% PENAMA 17% 67% 17% SANMA Rural 17% 46% 38% TORBA 25% 25% 50% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Stronger Weaker Same

Figure 108: % of communities that settled land disputes, last 12 months

National 42% 58% TAFEA 42% 58% SHEFA Rural 33% 67% MALAMPA 50% 50% PENAMA 42% 58% SANMA Rural 33% 67% TORBA 50% 50%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

Environmental Protection Chiefs were asked if their communities had systems in place for disposing of rubbish. Less than a third of chiefs claimed to have a system in place (see Figure 109). A follow up

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question asked chiefs to describe the system(s) they use in their communities. The two most commonly reported systems for disposal of rubbish included communal or household burial and a community designated landfill. Few communities practiced burning as an official policy and even fewer had access to recycling programs. More can be done to research environmental protections at the community level, including questions on taboo periods of fishing and gathering at marine protected sites.

Figure 109: Communities with rubbish disposal system

100%

80% 30% 74% 71% 64% Yes 60% No 40% 20% 70% 26% 29% 36% 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 25% 75% SHEFA Rural 33% 67% MALAMPA 43% 57% PENAMA 33% 67% SANMA Rural 17% 83% TORBA 25% 75%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes No

Outlook of Women’s Leaders A women’s leader was identified by the chief key informant for the survey. These leaders were approached and asked questions on the conditions for women in their communities in regards to support, respect, and violence. The top response to the last question, “what is the greatest challenge women in your community face today?” centered around their spouse. The main complaint regarding husbands was their lack of support and assistance with household duties, their kava abuse, overworking, unfaithfulness, and over controlling treatment. Lack of sufficient finances was the second most frequent response to the question, followed by gossip, violence, and uncooperative women.

Support In order to gauge support for women, the number of women’s groups that are church based, business oriented, and sport oriented were reported. The average number of groups reported for SHEFA was the highest, shown in Figure 110.

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Figure 110: Average # women's groups in villages

National 5 TAFEA 5 SHEFA Rural 8 MALAMPA 5 PENAMA 6 SANMA Rural 4 TORBA 4

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Respect Women’s leaders were asked to rate the level of respect given to women by men in their communities on a 3-point scale. The information gathered reflects respect levels given to the men’s mothers, the men’s wives, and other men’s wives as shown in Table 15. Levels of respect of men towards women are highest for women in the community other than their wives or mothers.

Table 15: Level of respect men show towards women in community Wives Mothers Other Women High Medium Low High Medium Low High Medium Low Village Size Small 42.1% 57.9% 0.0% 42.1% 57.9% 0.0% 47.4% 52.6% 0.0% Medium 38.2% 60.0% 1.8% 47.3% 47.3% 5.5% 56.4% 41.8% 1.8% Large 50.0% 45.5% 4.5% 54.5% 45.5% 0.0% 54.5% 40.9% 4.5% Province TORBA 12.5% 75.0% 12.5% 50.0% 37.5% 12.5% 37.5% 62.5% 0.0% SANMA 41.7% 54.2% 4.2% 45.8% 50.0% 4.2% 50.0% 45.8% 4.2% PENAMA 58.3% 41.7% 0.0% 66.7% 33.3% 0.0% 58.3% 41.7% 0.0% MALAMPA 39.3% 60.7% 0.0% 28.6% 67.9% 3.6% 60.7% 39.3% 0.0% SHEFA 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% 33.3% 66.7% 0.0% TAFEA 41.7% 58.3% 0.0% 75.0% 25.0% 0.0% 75.0% 16.7% 8.3% National 41.7% 56.3% 2.1% 47.9% 49.0% 3.1% 54.2% 43.8% 2.1%

Women’s leaders were also asked to report on the number of women or girls in their community who became pregnant or gave birth out of union in the previous 12 month period, shown in Figure 111. Out of union refers to single women without a partner. This information is relevant in that there are social implications of women having children out of union. It can also serve as another indicator of respect for women at the community level and could serve as a support indicator of reproductive health. Numbers include pregnancies not carried to term. From the information given by women’s leaders, we discover the

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highest proportion of leaders reporting more than 5 pregnancies and/or births in their village came from SHEFA Province.

Figure 111: Number of pregnancies and births in village out of union, last 12 months

National 23% 61% 16% TAFEA 25% 58% 17% SHEFA 58% 42% MALAMPA 25% 54% 21% PENAMA 33% 67% SANMA 29% 67% 4% TORBA 13% 75% 13% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

None Between 1 and 5 More than 5

Violence Domestic and sexual violence are serious issues facing many rural ni-Vanuatu communities. Women’s leaders were asked to report the number of times they have witnessed or heard of a domestic or sexual attack on a woman in their community by a man in their community in the previous 6 month period. Figure 112 shows TAFEA and TORBA Provinces with more incidents of domestic violence in the six month period prior to the survey. As a follow up question, the leaders were asked to assess whether incidents of domestic and sexual violence had increased, stayed the same, or decreased over the last five years. Half of the women’s leaders interviewed for the study perceive the prevalence of domestic violence to have decreased in the last five years. Nearly every women’s leader in SHEFA Province interviewed believes it has decreased (see Figure 113).

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Figure 112: Incidents of domestic violence in village, last 6 months

National 41% 53% 6% TAFEA 25% 58% 17% SHEFA Rural 33% 67% MALAMPA 39% 54% 7% PENAMA 50% 50% SANMA Rural 54% 42% 4% TORBA 25% 63% 13% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

None Between 1 and 5 More than 5

Figure 113: Perceived change in domestic violence, last 5 years

100% 31% 17% 80% 42% 32% 33% Increased 60% Decreased 40% 51% 50% Stayed Same 47% 20% 18% 18% 50% 0% 11% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 17% 67% 17% SHEFA Rural 8% 92% MALAMPA 21% 46% 32% PENAMA 8% 75% 17% SANMA Rural 25% 13% 63% TORBA 50% 50%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Increased Decreased Stayed Same

Fewer women’s leaders reported incidents of sexual violence in the six month period prior to the survey, shown in Figure 114. An even greater percentage of women’s leaders perceive the prevalence of sexual violence to have decreased in the last five years. 100% of women’s leaders from PENAMA Province, where they reported the highest number of incidents of sexual violence in the last six months, feel sexual violence has decreased (see Figure 115).

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Figure 114: Incidents of sexual violence in village, last 6 months

National 70% 28% 2% TAFEA 67% 33% SHEFA Rural 50% 50% MALAMPA 68% 25% 7% PENAMA 42% 58% SANMA Rural 96% 4% TORBA 75% 25% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

None Between 1 and 5 More than 5

Figure 115: Perceived change in sexual violence, last 5 years 100% 4% 24% 27% 37% 27% 80% Increased 60% Decreased 40% 71% 68% Stayed Same 63% 20% 69% 0% 5% 5% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 92% 8% SHEFA Rural 100% MALAMPA 4% 64% 32% PENAMA 100% SANMA Rural 13% 29% 58% TORBA 75% 25%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Increased Decreased Stayed Same

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Outlook of Church Leaders A church leader was identified by the chief key informant in each community. Church leaders could be pastors, ministers, or elders and stress was put on identifying a high- ranking church leader. They were asked questions on church presence, Christian values, church cooperation, and church infrastructure. The top two responses to the question, “what is the greatest challenge facing your church today?” were shortage of funds and declining membership.

Presence Church leaders were asked how many places of worship are located in the community. They were also asked the number of places of worship outside the community which attract members of the community in question. An indicator of places of worship available to Christian villagers was created by combining the total number inside the village and the total number attracting village members located outside the community. Figure 116 shows the majority of ni-Vanuatu communities having between two and five accessible denominations. One-third of communities in SHEFA Province interviewed have more than five accessible places of worship.

Figure 116: Number of church denominations accessed by Christian village members

National 17% 71% 13% TAFEA 92% 8% SHEFA 8% 58% 33% MALAMPA 29% 54% 18% PENAMA 17% 83% SANMA 21% 71% 8% TORBA 100% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

1 Denomination 2 - 5 Denominations > 5 Denominations

Christian Values Seven Christian values were selected for the study as identified in focus group sessions held in the development of survey instruments for the study. Church leaders were asked to rate the strength of each value on a 4-point scale—from very strongly held to completely lost. The question was asked for leaders to rate said values as held by their own members, and not the members of other churches within the community. The three strongest values in terms of positive response frequency, shown in Figure 117, are generosity, kindness, and obedience.

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Figure 117: Strength of select Christian values

Faithfulness 36% 54% 9% Virtuosity 25% 64% 11% Obedience 49% 42% 9% Care 48% 40% 13% Generosity 43% 50% 6% 1% Kindness 57% 34% 8% Love 36% 52% 11%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Strong Strong Weak Lost

Cooperation In order to assess cooperation between churches and between church and community, church leaders were asked to rate the level of cooperation on a 3-point scale. Figure 118 shows greater proportion of church leaders in smaller communities reporting good or very good cooperation within communities. All church leaders interviewed in TAFEA Province had positive perceptions of community cooperation. Fig. 118: Church cooperation within communities 100% 16% 5% 15% 80% 27% 53% Very Good 60% 40% 42% 41% Good 40% Not Good 20% 42% 45% 43% 32% 0% Small Medium Large

TAFEA 58% 42% SHEFA Rural 25% 42% 33% MALAMPA 50% 43% 7% PENAMA 58% 33% 8% SANMA Rural 25% 50% 25% TORBA 38% 38% 25% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Very Good Good Not Good

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Further analysis finds that communities with a greater number of places of worship accessed by village members have lower levels of cooperation (see Figure 119).

Figure 119: Church cooperation by # denominations accessed

100% 6% 90% 13% 80% 42% 38% 70% 44% 60% Not Good 50% Good 40% 42% 30% 56% Very Good 20% 43% 10% 17% 0% 1 Denomination 2-5 Denominations > 5 Denominations

Infrastructure Church infrastructure was assessed by the leaders on a 3-point scale. It should be noted that opinions on the conditions of infrastructure may be heavily influenced by access to markets and access to supplies. Smaller communities in more rural areas may tend to judge their infrastructure conditions as very poor, whereas if that community had higher income and closer access to supplies that same building may be deemed as needing only minor repairs. Figure 120 shows roughly half of church infrastructure in rural Vanuatu is in need of major repairs.

Fig. 120: Assessment of church buildings, repairs needed

National 13% 40% 48% TAFEA 8% 58% 33% SHEFA Rural 42% 58% MALAMPA 18% 32% 50% PENAMA 8% 50% 42% SANMA Rural 21% 33% 46% TORBA 38% 63%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

No repairs Minor repairs Major repairs

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Ceremonial Activity Ceremonial activity was measured in a group interview with the entire community. Community members were asked how often, in the previous 12 month period, a customary exchange or sharing of food took place in their community for the purposes of marriage, death, circumcision, status, and reconciliation. Enumerators were not to ask questions on circumcision in areas where it is not traditionally practiced. Average number of activities is reported in Table 16. Combined averages for the ceremonial activities show higher activity levels in TORBA, SANMA, and TAFEA Provinces (see Figure 121).

Future studies on ceremonial activity could include records of the number of animals and other traditional wealth items used in each exchange in order to develop an indicator on the volume of traditional exchange that takes place each year.

Table 16: Average number of events hosted in community, last 12 months Marriage Death Circumcision Status Reconciliation Village Size Small 1 1 1 1 2 Medium 3 3 1 1 2 Large 7 6 3 1 5 Province TORBA 8 3 0 0 4 SANMA 6 3 3 0 3 PENAMA 2 2 0 2 3 MALAMPA 2 3 1 0 2 SHEFA 3 1 2 1 3 TAFEA 2 5 2 0 5 National 3 3 2 1 3

Fig. 121: Average ceremonial activity, last 12 months 16 14 15 15 12 14 10 12

8 9 9 8 6 4 2 0 TORBA SANMA PENAMA MALAMPA SHEFA TAFEA National Avg

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