TONIGHTS FIX Ronald is watching while Laurie prepares the evenings first fix for the customers. At “Ronnies Nakamal” they have an electrical grinder. In the villages, manual grinders are the prevalent means, for instance an old meat grinder.
NEWS AND FEATURE STORIES
Kava – Southern Pacific way of life
PORT VILA, VANUATU: In the desolate jungle areas on the islands of the Southern Pacific, the mildly narcotic drink of kava is very popular. The bitter tasting juice made from plant roots looks and tastes like muddy water, but it gives the user a quiet, relaxed feeling of happiness. Many people here drink kava every night, due to a lack of other ways of entertaining themselves.
MANUALLY Wildon and Lensill grind the old way, every night an entire village will be wanting their fix of kava. Here from the village of Malfakal in the island of Malekula. Malfakal has no electricity, no telephones, roads or tap water.FILTERING An old womans dress will make do as filter when Lensill (left) and the boys filter tonights partydrink.
Export article Kava is big business in Vanuatu, and no one knows exactly how much is produces every year for domestic use. In 2008, around 450 tons of kava was exported, mainly to Fiji, the USA and New-Caledonia. - Kava is a very important export article for us. Before, also Germany constituted a major market for us. But in 2002, they banned kava imports, after people had reported health problems, says statistics consultant Harry Nalau at VNSO, Vanuatus National Statistics Office. Later, it was discovered that this was due to some kava having been imported from Fiji, and where one had mixed in some poisonous bark. Kava is still very popular in the USA, where it is used as a nerve medicine and tranquilizing medicine. Several international companies are researching kava to find out how to isolate the narcotic substance from the kava and utilize them in production of pills. - When the ban was introduced in 2002, the consequences for Vanuatus local economy were grave, Nalau explains. He hopes that demand will rise again soon. - The kava price has quadrupled in recent years, and Vanuatu has increased its growth of kava trees. So in a year or two, we will have large quantities ready for production for the export markets, he says hopingly.
LOTS OF LABOUR Making kava is a labour intensive process, but not a complicated one. Here, the last of the kava is squeezed from the filter, and old sack. Kava is served!WALLPAPER GLUE The unfiltered kava resembles wallpaper glue, and smells like old saw dust. After filtering it looks like muddy water, and tastes approximately the same.INDUSTRIAL GRINDER At “Ronnies Nakamal” they have an electrical grinder. In the villages, manual grinders are the prevalent means, for instance an old meat grinder.