June 2007

Welconstruct gives engineer sabbatical for remote tribal BBC contest

Welconstruct has given one of its key project engineers a twelve-month sabbatical to take part in a new BBC3 show that sees Mark Hoban travelling the world to train with some of the world's most remotest tribes and compete with the very best. The story unfolds below.

Mark joined the fit out and refurbishment specialists who have offices in Birmingham, London and Manchester, just over five years ago. A year ago all Mark Hoban had to worry about was spreadsheets and staff management, as he sat in front of his computer at work.

Now, looking at his Mongolian speciality lunch, a bucket of freshly served goats' testicles, his old office life suddenly looked quite tempting. The unusual menu was put in front of Mark as he spent the last 12 months living, sleeping and eating with some of the most remote tribes on earth.

And hurdles such as diet and communication were the least of his worries, as he took part with each tribe in their death-defying sporting traditions. Mark was competing against five other Brits and Americans to find The Last Man Standing - a new BBC3 show. They spent 12 months living with tribal families in Peru, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, India and Senegal.

Their first adventure saw them training for 10 days in the Brazilian rainforests as Kalapalo warriors to take part in the grimly named Festival of Death. They also took part in the festival rituals, such as a Kalapalo initiation ceremony which involves being repeatedly scoured with piranha teeth, then having chilli and salt rubbed into the open wounds. Guinea pigs, bags, sheeps' heads and grubs were staple parts on their diet.

"We got by in sign language and it was really intense," said Mark. "You learn by making mistakes. Most food I would eat because I'd never tried in before, but it is very difficult. In Mongolia we had to castrate the goats and put all of them in a bucket and stew them for lunch."

Despite being an expert in martial arts, Mark found the tribal sports quite brutal. He suffered a fractured foot, several slipped discs and "the worst sunburn you could ever have. "In Brazil we went fishing, and that meant walking down the middle of the river with nets. We had the fish in a net with piranha attacking them and alligators watching us three to four metres away."

"Kalapalo wrestling you do without any protection and common injuries are dislocated arms and broken necks."

He has now just flown off to the USA to promote the show. "What you notice is how much less contact with the family and community there is in our society. In the tribes, everyone mucks in for everyone, they're not rushing around on a nine-to-five job."