This project works with cooperatives in communities in 5 areas surrounding Lae. Each cooperative has concentrated on a commodity; coffee, cocoa, rice, vegetables and vanilla.
We started the morning off with a visit to Gobadik and their vegetables. We found them constructing a bush material elementary school. This little school will have 140 students in four classrooms. Two of the classrooms can be seen here.
Here is (from left) Raul Schneider (Country Director), Dayan, and Gabriel Ani (RED Project Officer) talking with Stanley (RED Field Volunteer).
We moved down from the hills to the coast to Tikaling where they are currently potting up poly bags ready to plant Cocoa beans. The kids looked like they were having fun...more fun than school anyway (which is 30 min walk for them down the road-about 4 km away)
We were offered some refreshments before we left and here is Dayan and Stephen de Klerk - ADRA Intern (on left) finishing off some green coconuts.
After another 20 minutes we arrived at Aluki community to see their cocoa nursery.
It was great to see a lady with her sewing machine walking along, after this came her husband carrying the empty case!
As the Cocoa trees take at least three years before any amount of harvest can be collected they are using inland fish farming as another source of income until their trees mature. This was the first fish farm that has been started by the Govt Fisheries Dept in the Labuta LLG (Local Level Government) and so it was 'opened' with great fanfare the week before we visited. The fingerlings are very hard to see but they will give an income within a few months. The feed used currently is termite nests cut from the surrounding bush. Food scraps will be used later. I hope they build a better fence to keep the starving dogs out though!
Lunch was provided and then we headed further on to the larger Buso River "just down the road".
Steve, me and Dayan. Looking north to the Rawlinson Range. There hasn't been that much rainfall here recently as the river is 'normally' covering where we are standing - so the locals said.
Looking south while Dayan takes a photo.
Looking south while Dayan takes a photo.
Raul being 'King of the Castle'.
Notice the women and kids doing their washing in the background.Water supply for communities is still a huge need in PNG.
For those who are interested: In the latest UNDP Human Development Index (HDI), PNG ranks second worst in the world (after Afganistan) for percentage of the population that has access to an improved water supply. You can imagine the danger that some of these very fast rivers have for the small children that accompany the women while they do the washing and collect water. There are regularly stories of drownings, especially in the Highland rivers.
After leaving the river it was a quick 40 min drive back to the office.
No comments:
Post a Comment