After receiving a generous grant from Atherton Family Foundation, the Chuukese Language and Cultural School mustered together all of the necessary equipment to begin building a very special utteirek at Hawaii's Plantation Village.
An utteirek is a traditional Chuukese hut that is used on the islands of Chuuk as a meeting and/or gathering place for events and important congregations.
The crew had to compile wood, ties, shovels, an ax, a chainsaw, plenty of manpower and 1000s of palm leaves in order to complete the utteirek.
On the first day of the utteirek's construction, the men focused on building the frame of the structure - digging holes, chopping wood, placing wood, tying together the frame and combining all of the pieces into one sturdy hut.
Despite it being an extremely hot day, the men worked relentlessly throughout the morning and afternoon to finish a large majority of the utteirek. Several more days of hard work followed the initial frame-building, involving the gathering and weaving of palm leaves to create the roof.
Now that the utteirek has been completed, the Chuuk Language and Cultural School, in partnership with Hawaii's Plantation Village, plans to use the structure as a haven for large gatherings and events, in addition to instructional courses on traditional weaving and Chuukese language lessons.
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