The Mesei System: Restoring Our Mother

In Ollei village, the mesei—a traditional taro patch system—has sustained our community for generations. As a Palauan proverb teaches us, "A mesei a delal a telid": the taro is the mother of our life's breath. Women have cultivated these fertile patches for over four generations, passing down knowledge of organic farming, irrigation, and herbal traditions to daughters like those at Camp Ebiil.

Three years ago, a dam expansion flooded our mesei, forcing us to abandon our ancestral gardens. After fighting for justice, the utility corporation retrofitted the dam—but the damage remained. Today, our mesei is overgrown with grass, waterways are clogged, and our cultural foundation lies dormant.

Restoring the mesei requires significant labor and resources: clearing waterways, rebuilding huts and bridges, replanting taro, and sourcing organic fertilizers and taro chutes. This restoration means far more than recovering a food source. It means reclaiming our identity, nourishing our families and clans, and honoring the sacred role women play in sustaining our community.

With your support, we can breathe life back into our mesei and restore our way of life.