There are very few places on Earth like Vanuatu.  This idyllic, breath-taking island in the Pacific Ocean, 1,750 kilometers from Australia, remains one of Mundo´s favorite jurisdictions.

And why is that?

Besides all the marvelous things you may expect to find in a paradise-like island white-sanded beaches, crystal clear water, ideal climate all year long and so on so forth– Vanuatu has something that you won´t find very easily in other places: freedom.

The people of Vanuatu maintain a close relationship to nature, keeping values that are long lost in the western world. Transparent democracy, absence of tax, high levels of freedom, natural products and clean drinkable water are some of the reasons why Vanuatu is considered one of the happiest places on earth.

Vanuatu´s custom

After 100 hundred years of being a colony to France and England, Vanuatu declared its independence in 1970. But the most amazing fact remains that, even after being a colony for more than a century, the people of Vanuatu managed to maintain their belief system intact, which is called “Custom”.

The Custom system is based on the concept of preserving the relationship between Mother Earth and the people of the tribe.

According to this principle, most of the indigenous people of Vanuatu live in small community groups (very similar to Israel´s Kibbutz) where they grow their own crops and raise their own cattle, exchanging their products with other members of the tribe under the guidance of a benevolent elected leader.

Vanuatu has even its own bank, which is a depository of pig tusks, considered legal tender according to the Custom system. The difference is that, unlike Fiat currencies, boar tusks cannot be printed and therefore hold their value and enable the movement of goods and services throughout the islands, without the need for taxation and without major economic disadvantages such as inflation.

Thanks to their Custom belief system, ni-Vanuatu (indigenous Vanuatuan) do not produce GMO food, do not use fertilizers or pesticides, breath pure air, eat clean food and pay absolutely no tax. Does this sound like paradise or what?

The Custom system is entrenched in Vanuatu’s Constitution which is the foundation of this nation-state based on the Westminster democratic principles and the English law. However, there is a difference which makes it unique in the world: unlike most democracies, Vanuatu is so small in population that the government is constantly under the scrutiny of the people.

Governments, therefore, change regularly and Vanuatu has several overseas judges sitting on the bench and supervising, which are extremely difficult to influence since they hold office for a limited period of time. In fact, recently, numerous elected members of the government were found guilty of bribery by a tenured judge and were actually sentenced.

The surprising thing is not that members of government took bribes (which were disguised as “political donations’) but that the judge was able to withstand government pressure and attempts of deportation, thus being able to dictate a just sentence.

Indeed, all “democratic” governments are somehow corrupt, but in Vanuatu, corruption is subject to legal challenge which is (that´s right) sometimes successful. There are only a few cases like this, which could be counted on the fingers of one hand, among western democracies.

But the unique qualities of custom only begin here, imagine 5000 years of customary law evolved over time to protect the land, the environment, human freedom and the value of a closely knit society. Any legislation that threatens this can be blocked by the counsel of chiefs which exists to protect the ancient ways of the people.

If you have ever wondered whether a living society such as idealised in the film Avatar can exist in our imperfect and corrupt world, well, Vanuatu comes close. 

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