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C Story & Photo / Timothy Heinze
Papua

New

Guinea

from

“A”

Introduction History

Papua New Guinea is a country full British and German colonies were
of intrigue, untold beauty, and amazing established on the island in the late 19th
potential. As the world’s third largest century. Colonists brought coffee from
to island country, it is nestled at the edge Jamaica with them. ‘Queen Emma’, or
of the Pacific Ocean just north of Aus- Emma Coe Forsayth, a German colonist, is
tralia. The diversity of the wildlife and often attributed as being the first to grow
terrain is matched only by the diversity coffee on the island, and it is clear that by
of its native people. With a population the turn of the century, exports were being
of over eight million, scholars estimate sent to Australia. German entrepreneur,
somewhere close to 850 different lan- Carl Leopold Bruno Wilde purchased an
guages are used today. This makes PNG experimental Arabica farm in 1931 located
one of the most linguistically diverse in Morobe province and renamed it ‘Blue
countries in the world. From the beauti- Mountain Coffee’. Much of the coffee
ful beaches and amazing coral reefs, to grown in the Highlands today can be traced
active volcanoes and vast rainforests, this back to this farm. Beginning around the
“Y ic region. to expand significantly.
1950s to 1960s, coffee production began
country truly is a gem of the Asia-Pacif-
The coffee growing regions of PNG
Coffee is a key agricultural product
” cent; however, because coffee is the main Highlands, Western Highlands, Simbu,
are quite extensive; however, the majority
for the country. Compared to global pro-
of the production is found in the Eastern
duction, it only accounts for roughly 1 per
Jiwaka and Morobe Province, although the
activity for the vast majority of the rural
majority of provinces in the country grow
population, it contributes significantly to
coffee. Though roughly 90 per cent of the
annual household incomes. In all, 85 per
country’s production is contained within
cent of the coffee produced in PNG comes
from smallholder farms managing small
tremely treacherous terrain make the
‘coffee gardens’. But, coffee production has
distance between them seem worlds apart.
not always been structured in this way. five provinces, the lack of roads and ex-
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