Solomon Islands

Trade Winds

New choice on coffee tables CONSUMERS in the Solomon Islands now have a local brand of coffee on their supermarket shelves. A growers’ co operative on the island of Santa Isabel has

begun shipping beans to the capital,

Honiara, where they are ground and packed into 200 g bags under the brand name of Solomons Choice. The venture is a result of the initiative of the Kolomola Association of Isabel whose members now hope that other local farmers will begin planting coffee. The first objective is to establish regularity of supply to the shops in Honiara, and then look at exporting the coffee.

Taiwan hooks fishing deal TAIWAN has signed a deal with the Solomon Islands allowing its boats to fish in Solomons waters for the next three years.

The agreement allows 20 boats to fish for the first year. Each boat will pay an annual fee of SIS 1270 (US$5OO) and will be allowed to take only 1500 metric tonnes of fish a year. All the vessels will be under the control of the Kaohsiung Fishermen’s Association. The agreement came after three years of negotiations.

Hydro power on drawing board SOLOMON Islands is planning to build its first hydro electric power station. The project, estimated to cost US$26 million, will involve diverting the Komarindi River on .Guadalcanal. The water is to be diverted by a weir and intake structure, through a 2.2 km tunnel. There will be no water storage, which means that it will run at well below its generating capacity in the dry season. During that time the existing diesel generators can be used to supplement

supply.

The station, which will be able to generate up to 4.75 megawatts, is designed to relieve the country’s dependence on

increasingly expensice imported fuel for

Honiara’s power supply. Initial design work costing US$l.3 million is beingh paid for by the Asian Development Bank.

Japanese miffed over boat sales REPORTS from Honiara suggest that the Japanese Government is upset that vessels given to the Solomon Islands under an aid package have been sold without consul tation. The vessels were part of the National Fisheries Development company sold to Canada’s British Columbia Packers

recently.

The ships were donated by Japan, with a clause in the agreement requiring Tokyo

to be consulted if they were sold. There is concern in Honiara that the sale might cause Japan to delay other aid schemes, including the upgrading of Henderson

Airport.

New button factory opens A JOINT venture between South Korea and the Solomon Islands has resulted in the opening of a button blanks factory in Honiara. The new company, Solko Co Ltd, is expected to produce about SIS 1.9 million (U 55745,000) worth of blank buttons this year, with production leaping to SIS 15.9 million next year. The plant uses trochus and other shells found in Guadalcanal and Western Province. The end product is exported, mainly to South Korea. 3000 dig for fool’s gold POLICE in East New Britain had to move in the Kerevat-Mediva River area to disperse more than 3000 people who had

pitched camp and mining what they

thought was gold.

It was iron pyrites (usually known as fool’s gold).

Witnesses say that in the past two months prospectors have gauged the lo cal hillsides. The rush began when a local villager found a piece of yellow, shining rock and was later told it could be genuine gold. Before long, truckloads of people were arriv ing in the area to pan for the metal.