Correspondent's Notebook
Promoting sweet potato in Solomon Islands
14 August 2009
Today, the work being done to promote the wonder foods of the Pacific.
Radio Australia reporter Joanna McCarthy recently spent ten days in Solomon Islands.
She visited some of the most remote and economically deprived parts of the Islands – and experienced first-hand the hospitality and generosity of the locals, as well as the wonders of the home-grown foods.
My taxi driver was giving me his own custom-designed tour of Honiara as we snaked along the roads from the airport.
“Chinese, Chinese, Local, Chinese,” he recited as he pointed to the businesses we passed on the way.
It was resentment towards the minority Chinese business community that saw Honiara’s Chinatown razed to the ground just a few years ago.
It was obvious that it hasn’t subsided.
Nor are the fears that what locals call “the tensions” would be revived if the Australian-led RAMSI forces were to withdraw.
The tensions started in 1998 as ethnic violence between Guadalcanal and Malaitan militants – and led the government in 2003 to ask for for Australian and Pacific Island troops to help restore law and order.
The RAMSI forces appeared to be held in high esteem by the locals I met.
But my purpose in the Solomons wasn’t to report on the tensions but a rather more prosaic subject – the sweet potato.
I was travelling with Dr Graham Lyons from the University of Adelaide – a man on a mission to improve the eating habits of Solomon Islanders.
The last 30 years have seen a steep rise in so-called lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart attacks and certain cancers.
It’s thanks to a growing preference for imported, refined package foods like white rice, white flour and white sugar – rather than nutritious local foods.
Just 100 grams a day of the orange fleshed sweet potato, I learned, is enough to boost the immune system and help ward of malaria.
Dr Lyons was hoping to spread that message in some of the most remote and economically deprived parts of the Solomons.
So it was that I found myself boarding a car, a small plane and finally a speedboat to reach the remote islands of Malaita.
When we docked, the Wehu family were there to greet us.
And they proceeded to lead us up a steep mountain to the small village that would be our home for the night.
That night over fresh lobster and many varieties of sweet potato – Francis Wehu told us about how he’d been helping the village grow and harvest sweet potatoes and other local foods.
I got to taste some of the local treats – banana chips and potato leaf wine among them.
And I learned that even the most remote parts of the world aren’t immune from the lure of modern technology.
Francis’ home only had electricity for a few hours a night – but it was enough time for him to fire up his laptop and show me his power point presentation.
The next morning the villagers all arrived at Francis’ home for a nutrition workshop led by Francis and Graham.
They talked about the health benefits of the bananas, pawpaws, mangos and potatoes that are grown throughout Malaita.
Soon we were off – and after an overnight stay in Star Harbour, we boarded the boat, plane and car back to Honiara.
After spending the tranquil seas and white-sand islands, the capital was a poor comparison.
But still I had my reminders of Malaita – a little sunburn, a shell necklace as a birthday present from the locals – and yes, a newfound appreciation for sweet potatoes.
