Heath Holden

Tanna Island is a lush volcanic oasis in the South Pacific's Vanuatu archipelago. It is home to one of earth's most active and accessible volcanoes, Mount Yasur. Yasur is a stratovolcano and is known for its explosive strombolian eruptions producing lava bombs from its two lava lake vents. The native Ni-Vanuatu (Melanesian) people are incredibly self sufficient, the lush tropical climate combined with mineral rich volcanic soil allows fruit and vegetables to flourish on what is Vanuatu's most fertile island. The organic produce is traded at local markets every few days. The island has developed a successful and economically important coffee industry, the Tanna Coffee Development Company is a certified organic operation who export 40% of their harvest. In March 2015 Vanuatu was devastated by category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam, the 320km/h winds claimed a total of 24 lives, destroying villages and levelling 90% of the coffee farms, all but wiping out their homegrown industry. The industry is clawing its way back but the island nation has a major ongoing problem, climate change, and it's knocking on their door, literally. Tidal flooding, erosion and an increase in cyclone frequency and intensity is becoming all too real, ironically for the worlds lowest greenhouse gas emitters.