The village of Pango on the island of Efate, Vanuatu is a patchwork of banana trees, coconut palms and coral. The houses are built on foundations of calcified bones of the reef out front and the water delicately colliding with the land could be drawn on with highlighter. In the afternoon high-tide kids play in the shallows, backs shiny in the evening light – their affinity for the ocean all too obvious. There were moments in my short trip there that I had to pinch myself at t

Notes on being female. Images by Mariah Main, Vanuatu. I have always thought that the best way to overcome the gender divide was to be excellent. Train, study, practise, be better. “Be so good they can’t ignore you,” I heard a red-carpet celebrity comment once. I chanted this mantra over and over again, personally discrediting those who spoke outright about gender issues. Grouping outspoken feminists in with vegans – recognising the value of practising rather than preaching s