Food problems in the Solomons - Ausaid Study

Sikulguti, something is missing. An extensive study is needed to find exactly what is missing.

At request of their chief, yesterday 6 SI Pilgrims came with me to see the Home and Away northern Sydney beach location. They told me when they get home they will just be eating rice.

JF Aus wrote:

Sikulguti, something is missing. An extensive study is needed to find exactly what is missing.
At request of their chief, yesterday 6 SI Pilgrims came with me to see the Home and Away northern Sydney beach location. They told me when they get home they will just be eating rice.

A study is important as empirical data may reveal informations that general observations sometimes miss. We already know that people eat rice and not much else. we also know there isn't enough money around. What we dont know is how much and if resources available to the families can be 'managed' differently to improve on the situation. We also know there are 1000s of people in Honiara who are just wasting space and air who may be much better off in their villages. A lot needs to be examined to help in finding solutions.

When those 6 pilgrims claim they are going back to eating dry rice, i have several questions for them. Where do they live? Where they originally come from? Why do they just eat rice?

If school fees force these people in search of money to the Honiara, i have sympathy for them. If they are part of the huge crowds that just waste space in Honiara, they better return home. Langalanga and Lau people aside, if survival is the key issue, there is no reason why these people cant have a better live in the villages. It will never be like before but will be a thousand times better than Honiara.

I also know for a fact that most people in villages i know eat very poorly but this is due to poor nutrition knowledge and some stupid habits. For instance there are countless people who are prepared to spend $10/kg rice while breadfruit rots around them. There is also countless vacant space along the roads and villages to plant bananas, egg plants, slippery cabbage that people neglect. Cassava is very easy to grow and is a reliable crop. and in the village, one can increase their networth. Bananas and fruittrees are our equivalent of homes in western society. the difference is the returns are in food and not cash and cannot be used a collateral.

Changing eating habits are what is killing pacific people. In solomons, people are prepared to eat rice and go hungry most times while in fiji and polynesia, they would rather eat butter and corned beef, die young from diebetes and heart diseases than eat a fatfree diet and live long healthy lives

I recently asked a SI family why they began to eat rice and was told because rice is white man food and white people are looked up to and respected for what they eat. Other reason was that white rice cooks faster that potato and is easier to prepare. Numerous reasons no doubt exist, including fruit fly and probably other plant pestilence and disease that makes the garden unreliable. Cyclone impact can wipe out whole gardens whereas fish underwater are in a world of virtual tranquility, available to be caught almost immediately following a cyclone if stocks are not already devastated.
Whatever is factored into reason for change in eating habits there is clearly need to include consideration of impact of traditional staple food-fish resource devastation. All reasons need to be considered in order to find real solutions. Meanwhile many people in SI are in my opinion impacted by protein deficiency malnutrition that is almost invisible. The problems exists but there are no distended stomachs visible, because this is not malnutrition due to starvation. Nevertheless it is malnutrition and there are eventual fatal, unnecessary consequences.
SI should investigate immediately.

Sikulguti,

I can not reach the email address you gave me, either thhrough my Gmail or Yahoo.