A remote village in Madang’s Rai Coast district has the potential to export apples and other fresh produce.
The apple farmers of Gumbarami need their airstrip, which they built themselves, to be assessed and opened.
Currently, the Nahu-Rawa LLG has an estimated 10,000 apple trees.
The trees came from six apple seeds that farmer Bondo Gawa picked from discarded apple cores at Ramu in 1983.
He took the seeds to Gumbarami and planted them in three empty rice packets.
Once he saw leaves emerging, he replanted them in the soil. He did all these with no formal training.
“Epol em i kuru kamap na mi lukim olsem na mi hamamas nogut tru. Mi hamamas lo displa nau, mi katim na planim han blo em, bun blo em, mi karim go na planim na kamapim epol gaden insait lo eria blo mi.
“Mi saplaim displa epol go lo olgeta ples wanwan lo eria blo mi, ples blo mi lo Gumbarami, na sampla mi salim go lo ples arere lo ples blo mipla – Seve, Moro na Dala. Nau epol em i kamap planti insait lo Nahu-Rawa LLG.”
From Gumbarami, it takes locals one-and-a-half days to walk to Ramu, where they can sell their produce and buy goods.
It is no walk in the park as locals trek over fast-flowing rivers and climb up steep mountainsides, with Gawa saying they lost four men and two children last year.
“Nogat gutpla bris. Mipla save katim diwai na wokim.
“Taim ren i kamap lo het blo wara, i kam ron, rausim dispela bris, neks dei ol man wokabaut, katim diwai na wokim bris. Mekim olsem na mipla save go kam.
“Olgeta dei, olgeta wik na mun, mipla mas wokim bris na go kam lo displa ples. Nogat wanpla gutpla sevis blo gavman blo mipla lo Madang.
“Taim mipla wokabaut antap lo displa bris, sampla pikinini, sampla papa, ol pudaun lo displa wara na wara karim go lo ples nogut na mipla no painim ol.
“Sampla mipla painim ol; kisim stik na suim, suim insait lo wara, mipla kisim na go planim lo ples. Sampla mipla lusim na sting insait lo displa wara; ol sting nating insait lo wara o pis kaikaim ol.”
It has been months since the last SIL aircraft landed at their airstrip.
The people of Gumbarambi were advised to cover cracks on the landing strip. They have done so and now need the appropriate rural airstrip authority to assess their work and help open the airstrip again.
Instead of going to Madang, they made the long journey to Lae because the Morobe community development division has been assisting them in their ‘healthy village’ vision, as well as providing a platform for their voices to be heard.