Kucha
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Kucha was a tribe on Survivor: The Australian Outback.
Kucha (named for the Aboriginal word for "kangaroo") was one of two tribes of eight castaways that started the game in episode 201. The tribe was the more popular of the season's two original tribes, and was the original tribe of fan favorites Elisabeth Filarski and Rodger Bingham. Kucha was dominated by the rival Ogakor tribe after the merge. Kucha's tribe color was blue.
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[edit] Members of Kucha
[edit] Original Members
The Kucha tribe initially consisted of:
- Rodger Bingham
- Nick Brown
- Alicia Calaway
- Debb Eaton
- Elisabeth Filarski
- Kimmi Kappenberg
- Michael Skupin
- Jeff Varner
[edit] Additional Members
- Kucha did not have any additional members.
[edit] Tribe History
Personalities clashed early as Kucha had trouble navigating the hike to their campsite. Many of the castaways were annoyed by Debb Eaton, who took the reigns and rubbed people the wrong way with her outspoken personality. She wasn't the only over-the-top persona in the tribe: Michael Skupin annoyed some with his overbearing leadership, and Kimmi Kappenberg earned the ire of the tribe due to her loud voice and raucous antics. On day two, Kucha lost the first immunity challenge, Bridging the Gap. The tribe was divided between eliminating Debb, who had been annoying the tribe with her bossy behavior, and voting off Jeff Varner, who had been sick since getting off the plane. On day three, Kucha went to Tribal Council and Debb was voted out of the game, 7-1.
As Kucha settled into life in the outback, Michael emerged as the tribe's leader/provider. In spite of his survival capabilities and physical prowess, Mike's leadership was resented by some members of the tribe, particularly in the grandiose way he would make the tribe convene for prayers before a meal. Other members took different roles: Alicia Calaway emerged as the tribe's motivator, Rodger Bingham as the group's moral center, and Elisabeth Filarski as the team cheerleader.
On day four, the tribes competed in the Butch Cassidy reward challenge, which involved jumping off a cliff and swimming down treacherous rapids. This was doubly intimidating to Rodger, who feared both heights and water. Even though Kucha ended up losing the challenge, Rodger was looked upon with admiration due to his courage in facing his fears. It was at this challenge that Kimmi revealed to Ogakor's Tina Wesson that Jeff had received a vote at the previous night's Tribal Council -- a slip that would cost the team dearly down the line.
The day five immunity challenge had the tribe members choking down various disgusting "local delicacies." Kucha was put at a disadvantage when vegetarian Kimmi refused to compromise her morals and eat a cow brain. However, Kimmi redeemed herself in the tiebreaker round and kept Kucha from attending its second Tribal Council.
Kucha managed to continue winning immunity challenges and avoid Tribal Council, allowing the castaways to build relationships with one another. One such friendship was between Alicia and Jeff, who enjoyed each other's personalities and often strategized with one another. Elisabeth and Rodger also formed a bond that would last throughout the game, with Elisabeth referring to Rodger as her "Outback daddy."
Despite its harmonious appearance, however, Kucha was not without its share of conflict. Alicia and Jeff became annoyed with Nick Brown's lack of work ethic, feeling that he would only work on projects that were not necessary to the tribe's survival. Kimmi became aggravated with the rest of her tribe when Mike slaughtered a pig in episode 204 and displayed the corpse back at camp. This wasn't the first time Kimmi's vegetarianism had alienated her from the tribe, and it wouldn't be the last.
On day ten, Kucha won a reward challenge that entitled them to three egg-bearing chickens and a rooster. The tribe felt that Kimmi had become too attached to the chickens, and was thus overly distraught when they were slaughtered. Kimmi countered that the tribe should simply kill the birds at a slower rate, in order to spread their protein intake over a longer period. It was this point that got her into a heated argument with Alicia over her attachment to the birds. The ensuing screaming match remains one of the most iconic scenes in Survivor history.
Kucha returned to Tribal Council on day fifteen, nearly two weeks after their first visit. The tension between Alicia and Kimmi weighed heavily on people's votes, and in spite of her strong work ethic, Kimmi was voted out of the tribe unanimously.
Kucha rebounded from their immunity defeat by winning the next reward challenge, earning a picnic of Doritos and Mountain Dew. However, on day eighteen, tragedy struck. While tending to the fire, Michael inhaled a cloud of smoke and passed out face-first into the fire pit. The ensuing events resulted in the loss of most of the skin on his hands. Mike was airlifted from the game to stunned reactions from his tribemates. The event had lasting repercussions on his team as well: Kucha was now even with Ogakor going into the merge.
On day nineteen, Elisabeth and Alicia went to the Ogakor camp, while Jeff, Nick and Rodger entertained the opposing tribe's men at the Kucha camp. The tribes received notice of the imminent merge, and on day twenty, the two groups reconvened at a new beach to form Barramundi.
After the merge, the members of Kucha were systematically voted out by the dominant Ogakor tribe.
[edit] Trivia
- When the Kucha tribe attempted to cook its chicken feed, the castaways discovered that it was comprised largely of popcorn, which became a tribe favorite known as "Kucha corn." The women who had stayed overnight at the Ogakor camp were distraught to learn that the men hadn't brought the chicken feed with them when the tribes merged.
- The tribes were surprised to learn that rather than choosing to return to one of the camps for the merge, they'd be moving to a new beach altogether. In the event of the former situation, both tribes had agreed to return to the former Kucha camp.
