Mejit Island
The Mejit jaki-ed apprenticeship begins. Photo: USP 
Scenes of Mejit. Photo: Tamara Greenstone Alefaio 
Scenes of Mejit. Photo: Tamara Greenstone Alefaio 
Scenes of Mejit. Photo: Tamara Greenstone Alefaio (2) 
Mejit’s fisherfolk have been busy. Photo: Tamara Greenstone Alefaio 
Jaki-ed group on Mejit. Photo: USP 
Happy jaki-ed graudates on Mejit. Photo: Tamara Greenstone Alefaio 
A weaving circle on Mejit. Photo: USP 
A jaki-ed weaving apprentice in Mejit. Photo: Tamara Greenstone Alefaio 
A Guam dress hangs on the line in Mejit. Photo: Tamara Greenstone Alefaio
FACT FILE
Population RMI Census 2021: 230 (119 males, 111 females) Land Area: 0.72 square miles Mejit yacht permit fee: $25 Mejit Mayor: Neal Keju Nitijela Member: Dennis Momotaro
Unlike most of the other islands of the Marshall Islands, Mejit is a stony island rather than a coral atoll, although it is surrounded by a fringing coral reef enclosing a narrow lagoon. It is located east of the main line of the Ratak chain, about 68 miles northeast from Wotje. The island is lush in pandanus, breadfruit and taro. To the residents, this island is known as ‘Paradise’. It has a fresh water lake, which is rare in the Marshall Islands, with indigenous ducks. In 2013, the University of the South Pacific’s Majuro campus organized a six-month jaki-ed (clothing mats) weaving apprenticeship on Mejit.
