Mentawais Surfing

In 1993 the Mentawai Islands first came to the attention of the surfing world with the amazing surf movie Surfers of Fortune. The star of the movie was Lance's Rights, a smoking right hand barrel, which is near Katiet. It was discovered by an Australian guy called Lance from Yamba who arrived there all by himself travelling overland. All the villagers came down when lance arrived and the villagers were amazed to see him surfing the perfect right hand waves just out from their village. Every day the incredible right hand tube was perfect and pretty soon other surfers would follow. When surfing doctors came they were amazed at the lack of medical facilities in the Mentawai Islands. They were sorry about the plight of the children so medical doctors began Surf Aid. They started with just supplying mosquito nets but the tsunami devastated the area and thousands were killed in the Northern islands of Indonesia.

For Surf Aid it was like a tragedy in their own back yard. They went into villages where no-one else could get in. They became the front line for relief in remote outer islands off Sumatra. The Indies Trader was offered to help and Tom Carrol got stuck in to aid the people of the Mentawai Islands. Quicksilver offered the use of their conglomerate financial resources and the people of Katiet were seen as the pioneers for a wider relief operation.

Katiet sits in front of the perfect right hand named after Lance Knight from Yamba. He stayed in the village of Katiet and at the time malaria was a huge risk. The doctors who came saw the answer to malaria as being the supply of mosquito nets and immunization. After the tsunami a fundamental change needed to be made to help the health of the people of the Mentawai Islands. Surf Aid tried to show the villagers how to set up gardens and to set up sanitary living conditions. After seven years with circumnavigating in the Indies Trader, Quicksilver and Surf Aid wanted to develop a model to help the Mentawai people to develop a healthier model of living.

To help demonstrate better living strategies landscapers and horticulturalists from Australia helped the people of Mentawais to create healthier gardens and homes. The soil is not so good so they have to put in compost and raised beds and grow simple vegetables. The cooking fires would cause lung problems for the villagers so the aid agencies introduced clay ovens and solar ovens. Chickens were introduced for the eggs and protein. Measures to protect the villagers from tsunamis were introduced. The introduction of green vegetables helped immensely for the health of the children and the adults as well.

The Community Health Center was opened in Katiet in 2007. The integration of all the theory and the practical help was a success and the future is up to the people of Katiet who can manage their own affairs. The surfers who have come here have helped the standard of living for the people of the Mentawai Islands. The goal is to prevent the suffering of the children of the Mentawais and help them to live fulfilling and healthy lives well into the future.

Mentawais Resources

Google Earth - Katiet and Lance's Rights
Google Earth - Pitojat Island Surf

.