This project focuses on the impact of climate change on coastal areas and tropical islands near the equator, the most suitable for coconut growth. Sea level rise is endangering the very survival of coconuts as well as threatening people’s lives.

Tuvalu is arguably the first country on the line, as its highest altitude is less than 4m. Funafuti is its largest and more populated atoll, with coconut being the staple food and only export. The project intends to formulate coping strategies for areas threatened by sea level rise in the atoll, taking advantage of the economic benefits of coconut-derived products. The project proposes new sustainable ways to reclaim land, making use of coral reefs’ characteristics, encouraging the accumulation of sediments and slowing down erosion.

Challenging destructive traditional land reclamation, the design deploys mangrove and coconut as the main actors, using floating structures work as sediment accumulators, promoting the natural expansion of coastal land, sand fixation and protection. On the premise of protecting coral reefs, more usable land is created for coconut planting for subsistence and export while providing a unique coastal landscape.