Why Not Watch?
This film is currently available exclusively on Vimeo-on-Demand in all regions except Sweden.
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Hook is one of the last sea nomads; a young man now being forced to undertake a perilous voyage to salvage the remains of his culture, and try to create the foundation for a sustainable lifestyle for his peers. How does one face this future, we wonder, when in the Moken language there exists NO WORD FOR WORRY?
Director: Runar Jarle Wiik
Share this film. Give others the chance to learn from its story.
Contribute to the Indiegogo campaign raising funds to provide a vessel on which some Moken can once again make a living on the sea, and we all can benefit from their knowledge in our modern day challenges of ocean pollution.
Add your namen to Once The Moken Tree project. Once it has 10,000 signatures, a petition will be sent to the Thai government demanding implementation of the indigenous rights of the Moken.
Consider donating to the Moken fund, which sets out to create a sustainable future through work including providing salaries for those preserving the Moken culture.
Learn more about Survival, a global movement championing tribal peoples’ rights, that has a gallery of Moken related projects and movements.
Consider donating to the Human Rights Watch and their campaign for the Moken.
“Project Moken was founded by a creative team of filmmakers and designers whose main objective is to inspire and generate enthusiasm about the Moken Sea Nomads. Through film, interactive productions, and eco tourism we work towards a sustainable future for the Moken lifestyle. Invited to view the world through Moken eyes, we focus on the unique and fascinating nature og their 3500-year-old culture as being one with ocean.”
Find out more about all the team members here.
“From the end of the monsoon season in 2006 (September) until the start of the next monsoon (April 2007) I worked on different projects in South-East Asia. One of the assignments was co-writing and ultimately location scouting for a feature film …”
Continue reading here.
Read the article on Marine Science Today.
“Outside, children are shouting. Their playground is in the water that laps up to the huts at high tide, the only toys in evidence are makeshift polystyrene boats.The Moken (‘people immersed in water’) learn to swim before they can walk.”
This is an extract from The Last Sea Nomads, by Susan Smillie. This beautifully written account is a swansong to a disappearing world.
“They call it ‘wave that eats people,’ but the Moken sea gypsies, who have lived in isolation here for decades, emerged from the tsunami almost unscathed.”
Read the full article on The New York Times.
“That world belongs to the Moken, (…) Their home is the Mergui Archipelago, some 800 islands scattered along 250 miles of the Andaman Sea, off Myanmar (formerly Burma). For decades piracy and Myanmar’s military dictatorship kept outsiders away. With special permits to work in the area I too am a nomad on these waters, having followed the Moken for years to hear their stories and learn more about their culture.”
Read the full article on National Geographic.
“Indigenous peoples’ painful histories of being excluded, exploited and discriminated, are reflected in their situation today. They belong to the most marginalized and vulnerable people in the world. At the same time, indigenous peoples are the custodians of some of the most biologically diverse areas on earth. They speak a majority of the world’s languages, and their traditional knowledge, cultural diversity and sustainable ways of life make an invaluable contribution to the world’s common heritage.”
Continue reading here.
