Spreading my wings

Over the last week I've been involved with helping the person in charge of a small nursery, which the Fresh Produce market has started up, to supply seedlings to the local farmers. They are having problems with insects eating their plants (most probably Diamond Back Moth) as well as a few problems with their potting mix. Diamond back moth is resistant to most pyrethoid insecticides, in most places in the world, and its been so in PNG for nearly 10 years.  Unfortunately the locals don't understand that, and keep spraying (mainly Karate) even though it doesn't have any effect; there are lots of holey Cabbages, Wong Boks and Pak Choi's in the local market. There are three companies selling ag-chemicals here in Kokopo but none have stocks of the most effective chemicals. So it looks as if stocks of Success and Steward will need to be ordered in.
The same problem with the potting mix the locals are using; we need to source some better ingredients. Not sure if appropriate stuff can be sourced in PNG. One of the local companies is looking into it. But the exercise has re-enforced the isolation here; 1500km from Port Moresby. Transport is relatively expensive around PNG. In many cases its cheaper to get stuff shipped from Asia. I'm still trying to assess what is needed and what is available here and what can be done in a practical sense and that the locals can work with after I'm gone.
 One of the problems we have been trying to address is barking dogs; we live in a compound with about 10 other houses. Two of our neighbours have a total of about 5 dogs between them. Over the roads also has about 5 dogs. Every compound in the area seem to have some; they are "security" although they hardly ever bark at strangers. I reckon there are about 100 dogs in the immediate vicinity. Often they set each other off during the night. On friday night they were barking on and off for a couple of hours (12:30- 2:30 am).
One dog in our compound is the main cause; I've talked the rental manager and the noisy dog is now put inside the house yard at night, which has helped. Talking to a few locals; they just accept the barking, yet there are virtually no dogs in the local villages. But in the urban area of Kokopo there are thousands, mostly friendly but half looking half starved. I've got an ultrasonic bark preventer coming from NZ, so I'll see if its effective. One thing I don't want to happen is to become sleep deprived; as I don't handle waking at night very well. We were warned that dogs were problem in the pacific but not so much in PNG. We didn't anticipate being woken in the night by barking dogs!
It looks as if the weather is going to be stormy for the next week, with thunderstorms predicted every day for the next 10 days. We had a thunderstorm last night; the thunder and lightening was pretty loud and strong, continuing into the night for hours. The rain was also very heavy, west coast heavy; the rain on the roof was so load you could hardly hear anything else. The best thing is that the next day is usually overcast and the heat tolerable; more like it is in NZ in January.

Christine:
(this part not for the squeamish) very early one morning the dogs were kicking up a frightful din just outside our window. The guard told me later that a very very large cat had strayed into the compound and the dogs had attacked and dispatched it. The locals from the nearby village who had been fattening up the cat, came and took it back for the pot!! When next I feel dissatisfied  with whats for tea I will think of said cat and be grateful for whatever else there is in our pantry!
On one of my bi-daily walks to the bus to Kokopo a lady called out from the next door property. She and her friend (Dorcas) earn money working at sewing machines set-up in an old freight wagon. I was invited to come back for a longer chat. Unfortunately when I did go back the lady had gone home to her village for the funeral of her brother. The house-mary from another home was away at a funeral for her father. Life expectancy is very low here (less than 50yrs) even supposing one gets past infancy. Funerals are large affairs and very costly for whole of family members. Dorcas and I spoke about another lady we both knew named Dorcas who was much loved and appreciated by all the women of her town for the clothes she made for people.

Getting involved

Last monday was Queens Birthday here, so a short working week, i'm not sure why they celebrate it! We also had the first decent rain for nearly two months. It rained hard for a day and then on and off for another couple. Things have cooled down a lot, as a consequence. The other day I was sitting at the beach and it felt like an Autumn day in NZ.
Today is overcast and the temperature is very nice. We walked (UP early) to the local sports field, as some other volunteers play basketball with the local kids. Some days they have a large number playing. The ball is "donated" to one of the kids at the end of the game as most don't have any sports equipment.
More kids usually turn up on Saturday. Spence and Susanne spent last weekend at a big camp with 600 kids, so decided that this week Sunday for basketball was ok.

The rain meant that some of the potholes in the local road became larger and its easy to see how the roads can become "chopped up" very quickly. I've haven't seen a road repair crew yet, mostly the local just fill the potholes with dirt from the side of the road, which of course empty out at the next rain. The rain brought down a power pole with a transformer on it and so our side of Kokopo; where we live was without power for quite a bit of the day. Our compound has a generator, so it kicked in and kept us going while the power was out. Most businesses seem to have an emergency generator, as the power can go out suddenly without warning and for an unknown length of time. As happened at the supermarket yesterday.
I've started to feel comfortable with Kokopo and I now know a few people around about. With no farm visits this week I've been chewing the fat with Elizabeth and Neli, at FPDA and helping them sort out a few things, as well as visiting the market and talking to the team that runs it.
There are at least three tiers of government in PNG, national, provincial and local. Most people would have regular contact with the local government (more like a regional council in NZ) but hardly any with the provincial, or national government, except at election time. In my work I'm in contact with all three, as the local farm extension officers are employed by the local government. I'm starting to get a handle on how things "work" here; going through the right "channel" is important.

After our visit to Goroka last week I've started to appreciate the important function the market  provides in each town, or village; economic as well as social. The market in Kokopo is very well set up, organized and kept tidy and is seen as a "secure" place, with no "trouble". The locals make sure it is kept "secure." The Goroka market wasn't very tidy in comparison, even though there was a greater variety of produce and generally of better quality. In Goroka they can grow temperate crops like broccolli, carrots, onions and cabbage, plus they have access to tropical crops and fruits. Onions are a sort after vegetable here in PNG as they are hard to grow well in the tropics and don't keep. Transport around PNG is expensive so, what would be considered a commodity in NZ, is often in short supply.
I can see that the marketing situation for produce is in a state of change here in Kokopo, which is different from other parts of PNG. Middle men are starting to emerge, collecting, buying and transporting produce. There is no central buying, or provisioning body as yet. As a result, I think some of the local farmers are missing out as the local supermarkets buy in a lot of their produce from Moresby, or elsewhere. I'm not sure how the local hotels and resorts get their produce. 
Christine:
The rain was welcome and refreshing however we found our hot water is heated by solar power and has no backup. So, cool/cold showers for a couple of days and a wee chat with the landlord about getting a booster button installed on the power board.
It took Anton and I about 45 minutes to walk to the basketball court this morning as the PNV's aren't operating that early (6:45) on a sunday. It would take about another 45mins to walk into Kokopo market from the court. I wondered how long it would take if I had to walk to market. The highest accolade from the PNGers is "you walk around town like we do. You black fella. You one of us". The more people we get to know and who get to see and know us the safer it is and the more accepted we feel.
I would very much like to visit the nearest village to us which is about 5 minutes walk away. We have been told it would not be at all acceptable for anyone to just walk in there and must wait for someone who is known to them.  Food is always gratefully accepted but still only when with someone they know.
One of the young student univols has 2 weeks holiday at the school where she is a teacher aid. I am looking forward to spending some time with her at the op shops and market. I miss family and friends but facebook videos of Sofia Rose getting up to mischief are a joy!

Travel to Goroka

We travelled to Goroka in the Highlands (on main island) for a few days this week. The purpose was to visit the HQ of the FPDA (my partner organization), meet a few people and see some of the farming along with Johannas and Elizabeth.
To get to Goroka we fly back to Port Morseby from Rabual, then onto Goroka. In this case we flew to Moresby, via Lae. So we saw a significant chunk of the country from the air, which to me emphasis-ed the differences in this very diverse country. The farming around Kokopo is mainly plantations, interspersed with other crops. The country side is very hilly, with mostly uncleared jungle on the hillsides and tops. There are a series of mountain ranges as far as you can see see. Some of the valley floors are wide and there is significant farming occurring in the valleys. Most valleys have a river or stream so there is access to water but it is hard to get it up the hills where growing might occur, as the electricity supply doesn't go far beyond main roads. Access is a difficulty.

 Flying out of Rabaul airport near Kokopo.

Flying out of Lae.

 Around Goroka it is quite different. The country looks much like NZ from the air, with large flat valleys, cleared hillsides and significant farming and settlement. The people are also quite different in their outlook. The climate in Goroka is similar to November/ December in CHCH. Coolish  mornings with around mid 20's during the day; very pleasant. Shirt sleeves only; no need for jersey's  or jackets.
Flying into Goroka.

 

 View from the hotel dining room.

Goroka is the coffee capital of PNG, so there are significant storage/ handling/ processing facilities in the area. We have sorted out a coffee brand we like and it isn't as bitter as coffee in NZ.
Coffee borer which is a significant pest around the world has just appeared in PNG. Probably brought in, via coffee imported into the country for blending. This has the potential to significantly affect coffee production in PNG, as it has elsewhere in the world.  The government response has been underwhelming.

 Coffee trees planted outside one of the coffee warehouses.

For those that like coffee you might be interested in seeing how the green coffee beans are sorted in PNG; by hand. Elsewhere they would use a colour sorting machine. We've noticed PNG is a bit like Turkey; labour is easy to come by and some of the work is what would be considered, make work in NZ. The"girls" are able to sort about a couple of the bags you see in the foreground, per day, good ones three bags.

PNG has a established a pathogen free potato (both normal and sweet) seed production scheme. We visited a couple of the sweet potato multiplication tunnelhouses and field production increase areas'. One grower has about 4 Ha of his own land and was also leasing other land. I estimated he had about 40 ha in sweet potato production, as well as selling disease free stock plants from the tunnelhouse, to other growers. The researcher (green shirt in the photo)  overseeing the program is hoping that freeing the seed stocks from disease will decrease production time of the crop, and increase yields. As everywhere in PNG, infrastructure (roads, shipping and handling, cool stores, etc) is the main constraint to getting the product to market and making money.

 

Newly planted sweet potato.

 

A well developed crop.

 

 A view across the production area.

 I had a bit of a laugh with this souvenir seller who was outside our hotel in Goroka. Everytime we  arrived, he came over trying to sell stuff. He knows the value of publicity though. When we were leaving he wanted somebody to take a photo of me standing near his stall. After the photo was taken, I said to him that he needed to pay me 50 kina for helping to advertise his stall. He thought I was serious, and so did the people standing around nearby; their faces fell. I couldn't hold a straight face and burst out laughing; he got the joke.

 

So far I'm not missing the cold but am missing my daily apple, at lunch.

 The situation of people including outside the town was difficult to see. Many sit on the side of the roads in the shade selling their fruit and veges to make a living as they do in Kokopo.There seems to be a huge number of children around when schools out and then they disappear into the bush to their villages. Village houses are scattered in the bush, made out of woven material or ply and a sheet or two of iron with an outhouse. Despite the size of the town Goroka does not have clean drinking water so Typhoid and Cholera are rife at certain times of the year. Unlike most of Kokopo market, the market stalls at Goroka are at ground level, produce is set out on plastic sheeting or whatever is to hand, the pathsways are very narrow and slippery, the roads dusty with the usual potholes. Recently the pigs have been fenced off in an attempt to stop them wondering through the market. A lady wanted to touch me to see if I was real and not a ghost!
While in Goroka Johannas got a phone call at 1am from a distraught mother at the Kokopo hospital. Her son was dying of Pneumonia and the hospital did not have the drug that would save his life. Johannas was able to ring the Kokopo chemist and arrange for her to go to her shop and get the drug for the mother. Hospitals are not only desperately short of supplies there are often no supplies of basic drugs at all!
We are slowly getting to know more people by using the local PNV `busses`. The children are such fun to talk with especially when they get asked to shake hands and say hello first! Their huge eyes and gorgeous smiles are a real treat to see. A little girl (3-4) stood transfixed as she stared at my blue/black sandals for several minutes before laughing in high amusement. I wonder if she took a minute to figure out they were sandals on feet and not part of my feet. Mothers tend to go bare foot or in jandals,
Power is prepaid here. Returning from Goroka early saturday evening we found our power cut off and all the food in the freezer and fridge had to be thrown out. Fortunately it was easy to get the power paid up and we heated a tin of creamed corn for dinner. Given what we ate for lunch at the Airways hotel in Port Moresby on the return journey we really didn't need dinner at all. Lunch was a smorgasbord of Indian dishes and Turkish desserts.

Reflections on first week.

We spent 3 mornings visiting farms, small nursery operations and extension officers.
The most striking thing for me is how hilly the landscape is. Access and getting around is difficult even a short distance from Kokopo ; the roads have great holes in them, where the rainfall has gouged them out. One wide river we crossed had a concrete ford but one end of the ford had been carried away, you could see it downstream, in the river. So the locals had made a way through the river and up the bank, the Toyota ute we were in, barely had clearance over the boulders. 

One thing Ive realised is the number of kiwi sayings ("horses for courses", "6 of one and half a dozen of the other", etc) in my everyday language. The locals look at me and say huh? I've had to slow down and rephrase what I'm about to say, in a way they can understand.

It seems that agriculture and farming has not been a big priority over the last 20 years and so experience and expertise hasn't been passed on from one generation of farmers to another.
There is a young farmers training scheme underway to develop some young people to lead an increase in production. PNG has a fast growing population and so more food needs to be grown just to keep up with it.
One of the properties (about an hour out of Kokopo) we visited have started a jungle clearing program to develop "gardens", for the locals to start growing stuff. This is under the guidance of a trainee called Jerry.

The first area cleared (about 2 ha), has been planted in peanuts.Which is a very common first crop. The small plants in the fore ground that look like weeds are the peanuts) The locals are aiming to grow watermelons, beans and maybe lettuce.
The total area to be cleared is approx 60ha. over the next 6 months.

 This is what the countryside looks like before clearance and then after clearance and burning.

The camp where the villagers stay overnight is basic. They seem to get stuck in, clear a patch and then have a few days break, before moving onto the next patch. Chainsaws, machetes and burning are the tools, used to clear ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This is one of a number of nursery operations starting up, to sell plants to the farmers. The uptake by farmers has been enthusiastic; demand outstrips supply. In terms of vegetables one of the issues that needs work is ensuring a continuous supply of produce and also training farmers to let the produce develop more before harvesting. I can also foresee hygiene problems developing in the nurseries. One of them had disease problems with some crops last season.

In the coming week, another farm visit and then travel to Goroka to meet the head office staff of FPDA. 

I (Christine) notice the too early harvest in the market veges and also some fruit. Green bananas are delicious but green pawpaws need to show some yellowing and then may not keep too long even when refrigerated. Green mandarins are good as are the very long green beans. Quality of produce varies considerably and we soon learn if it looks old it probably is so keep looking. The women love to help and asking them to choose from their produce for me to buy has proved helpful in making relationships and getting good produce.

I am getting used to using the buses to and fro from Kokopo. A smiling hello, and thank-you gets a warm response and the locals who are getting to know us look-out for us. We feel increasingly safe even with some violence going on in villages away from here and do not go out at night unless we are picked up and dropped off.