In the summer of 2007 Casey Beck and Austin Blair, recent graduates of Tufts University, embarked on a project to bring the culture of the Republic of Kiribati to the American public.  This small, central pacific nation, made up of 33 coral atolls, is one of the lowest lying
nations in the world and is especially vulnerable to high tides and the rising sea level.  Intrigued about the real life effects of climate
change, we chose Kiribati because of the people’s intimate, yet precarious connection to their environment and its being relatively
unknown in the United States.  The Rising Tide: Kiribati is an effort to capture the unique daily life of the people of Kiribati and relay
that to mainstream America.  Through this lens, Americans can see how their daily actions and often blasé attitudes toward the
environment are affecting the world.  Our aim toward peace is to foster a cross cultural relationship between Kiribati
and the United States.

Our project began with a two-month stay in Kiribati, including two 10-day expeditions to the outer islands of Maiana and Kuria.
With the help of Peace Corps volunteers on those islands, we were able to stay with host I-Kiribati families and record elements
of their daily life with video and photographs.  We soon discovered that the I-Kiribati have a warm sense of hospitality.  This personal
situation allowed us an incomparable vantage point on traditional Kiribati culture.  Upon our return to the capital island of South
Tarawa, we printed photos and created DVD’s of our footage for our host families and others in those island communities. 

This project was made possible by the 100 Projects for Peace grant, given by the Davis United World College Fund, enabling
Students from over 70 American universities to visualize and implement their idea of peace.