Lemach Lavari reports on a businesswoman in a remote coastal village in West New Britain Province who has set up a supply chain for cocoa and seafood.
West New Britain Province
Grant Thomas dives into the pristine waters of Kimbe Bay and climbs to the top of a volcano in Papua New Guinea’s West New Britain Province.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is poised to record its best-ever annual cash-crop export revenue in 2024, largely on the back of surging global cocoa prices, notes ANZ economist Kishti Sen.
Grant Thomas visits Walindi Plantation Resort, where divers go to see some of the most biodiverse coral reefs on the planet. The jungle walks, birdlife and World War 2 plane wrecks also lure intrepid travellers.
Kayla Reimann ventures into a Jurassic-like jungle landscape where Tuke villagers have their hopes pinned on a new eco-tourism venture.
West New Britain occupies the western half of New Britain Island. It is populated by people from all over Papua New Guinea, many of whom come to work in the plantations and mills. One fourth of the population was born off the island, however, the highest rate for any province. The town of Talasea is a centre for the manufacture of shell money: obsidian, or volcanic glass, that is used in the manufacture of knives, spears and arrows. Shell money was used for trade from about 3000 BC until recent times.
New Britain Palm Oil Limited and the West New Britain provincial government have held preliminary talks which could see electricity generated from the company’s waste products provided across the entire province.
Nestled in PNG’s Kimbe Bay in West New Britain, Walindi Plantation Resort is a gem for divers eager to encounter some of the most beautiful, unspoiled coral reefs in the world. Sonja Heydeman learns more, as part of our ongoing tour of some of PNG’s leading tourist locations.