National Arts Festival

The DARD office on Malekula is responsible for ensuring that the supply of root crops and vegetables from farmers are fairly distributed to all the participating provinces.

DARD has negotiated with farmers on Malekula to contribute by providing root crops and vegetables and in return funds were given to farmers.

Most farmers that supplied local food are from South East, Unua three and five and North West, South West Bay, Lawa and Wintua.

“Vanuatu Ecotour’s sponsorship of the 4th National Arts Festival shows our commitment to sustainable tourism,” said Vanuatu Ecotours General Manager, Marc Giraud.

“Our responsibility is to help protect the environmental and cultural treasures of this amazing country. Respect for the environment and for the people of Vanuatu is at the heart of Vanuatu Ecotours.“

“Tourism in Vanuatu trades on Vanuatu culture and kastom,” said Mr Giraud. “It makes sense that the tourism industry supports this important national celebration of Vanuatu culture.”

It is a significant festival where all the six provinces in Vanuatu will come together to showcase the beauty of diverse custom traditions.

The main theme of the festival is 'preserve, promote, protect cultural knowledge'.

The Vanuatu Cultural Center (VCC) confirmed that an awareness team led by Chief Owen Edwin is currently in Malekula to visit the six main villages of Malekula to create awareness and prepare villages for the festival.