| It is not just the jungle that is green in PNG |
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| News and Events - Local Schools News |
| Written by Michael Weadon - BREAZE member |
 After St. Patrick’s College students, staff and community members participated in the expeditions to the Oro Bay and Kokoda Track regions of Papua New Guinea in 2005 and 2007, they were motivated to assist the villagers in a direct and constructive manner. Three of the expedition members were BREAZE members and thus the idea of installing green power in the jungle was close to our hearts.Many of the villagers live in what appears to be an ‘idyllic simplicity’. All the basic needs of fuel, food and building materials are easily accessible from the jungle or their gardens. Their unhurried lifestyles and smiles however mask what can be a harsh and unforgiving environment. Cyclone Guba in 2007 washed many of the villagers food gardens away and thus they went hungry until aid (mainly from Australia) arrived some days later. Cooking, heating and lighting is provided by cutting down and burning the otherwise pristine rainforest outside their hut doors. The temptation to cut more of the rainforest down for logging or to establish Oil Palm plantations must be very strong. BREAZE members would know the effect this would have on greenhouse emissions and the local ecology. In addition the villagers spend what little cash they earn to buy kerosene for the kerosene lamps they may use to light their huts so their children or families can read, play music or sew. Some vilagers instead sit in smoke filled huts using the cooking fire as their lighting source. The incidence of lung disease must be appalling for these people exposed to such environmental conditions on a regular basis!  The members of the 2009 expedition in consultation with the villagers through the Anglican Church considered a range of options before deciding on the following steps to not only assist the villagers but also to reduce our own trips carbon footprint. Our flights would be carbon offset through Virgin Blue, but our primary service project would be the purchase and installation of solar lighting in the Saga village church (near Kokoda) which also doubles as a community hall. We would also offer smaller solar lighting kits for village houses. These would reduce the communities need to cut and burn wood as well as avoid the draining of their limited cash reserves to buy and burn kerosene. Two BREAZE members of the group Michael Weadon and Lee Richardson consulted with the Victorian Alternative Technology Association who have conducted similar projects in East Timor and Vanuatu. Lee’s expertise in electronics and his own personal experiences in installing solar cells on his Talbot home was of great help in planning this venture. It is hoped that the successful installation of such reliable, cheap and clean lighting will also create a norm amongst nearby villages who would also attempt to light their communities in such a clean green manner.  After encouragement from the ATA to stimulate the PNG economy the Solar kits were purchased from a firm based in Lae called Pacific support services (PSSLtd) through Barefoot power. This company were very helpful and provided a good deal for our project. Despite having to raft the solar kits over the grade 4 rapids of the Kumusi river (the bridge had been washed away by a storm earlier) the Solar systems and the expedition members arrived safely in Saga. The next day with the keen assistance of the village men Lee and his team of adults and students had the Solar systems installed with in hours. We were rewarded with smiles and gifts from the appreciative villagers that night and a ceremony conducted lit by the just installed Solar lights. The local school teacher Stan said: “This is a dream come true, for us, thankyou.”  For anyone considering such a venture: We would recommend the use of the Solar kits we purchased from PSSLtd. They seemed reliable and durable and more importantly it soon became apparent that their installation did not require any particular technical skills. They really were a ‘plug and play’ system. The expedition would like to thank the St. Patrick’s Student council, Ballarat Apex club, Bacchus Marsh Lions Club and the Bacchus Marsh RSL who provided the majority of the funds for this project. We would also like to thank the Alternative Technology Association for their invaluable advice and to BREAZE for instilling a low carbon footprint consciousness in our minds.   
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| Last Updated on Monday, 20 July 2009 02:20 |