Hi to readers of the blog. I will be posting some more photos in the near future but as we are soon to leave the Islands the content will now become sparse. Thanks for reading and we would really appreciate you posting any comments that you may have before the blog wraps up. Just click the comments tag at the bottom of this post.


Cheers Darren & James

We have finished the installation of solar lighting in a village using the equipment we had brought with us and had shipped over. Very gratifying, but after being here for 2 months I know that it will be only a short time before the system fails. The entire archipelago is littered with mini infrastructure projects (water/solar) that are now dysfunctional. On Wala Island off Rossel Is they had a AUSAID provided water tank that had sprung a leak at the seam (the tank was of two halves joined amidships, a poor design considering). We heard many stories of how tanks of this kind had failed and now lay useless across the islands. Similarly at Nimoa Island a solar installation (provided by visiting yachties) at the School there was destroyed by vandalism and the achilles heel of solar, the batteries. 


The main geographical and social forces at work in this situation are remoteness, cost and technological illiteracy. People are given equipment that they do not understand or do not know how to maintain. The cost of replacement components when they are required are prohibitive and extremely difficult to obtain due to remoteness. A cousin or relative visiting Alotau -a several hundred Keena journey in itself from Rossel Island- may be able to buy something for the village to repair broken equipment but inadequate understanding of the nature of the fault ( a corroded solar panel output wire connector is one example we saw) means that a visit to the solar shop is futile. How can you fix something if you don't know how it is broken?

Solar prices in a shop in Alotau PNG



The other glaring impediment to the adoption of solar technology in particular is the unbelievably inflated prices of equipment when compared to Australian prices. (See above). The 904 Keena price tag for a 20W solar panel is around six times higher than an equivalent panel in Australia. At Australian prices a small set up with a 20W panel is probably achievable at PNG prices the family would have to choose between solar and sending their children to school. 


The uninformed often say that aid projects are a waste of time because people do not appreciate hand outs. This may have elements of truth in some situations but in the Louisiades I  met people who understood the usefulness of technology but could not manage it if they were lucky enough to get some. Aid projects need to understand the particular context of the aid they hope to provide. In the Louisiades, low cost solar lighting equipment with battery management technology could be sold at affordable costs to villages. Systems configured in this way are not available locally and what is available is prohibitively expensive. We intend to write a report outlining this situation and hope that it can be used to inform future aid work in the archipelago.


We are looking for a weather window to return to Australia across the coral sea.

 Hornbill, Alotau in National Geographic pose

Aptly named Giant Trevally, Engineers Islands

Solar equipment

Solar gear for one village installation on deck. 

This equipment kindly donated or paid for by donations from:

Margaret Bright- Queensland Health
John McBride- www.ecopia.com.au. Pty Ltd, Western Australia
Andrew Joyce, Ingrid Salmon- Tasmania

Logistics support Australia: Ruth White

Thank you very much.

 At anchor Rossel Island

 View from the village Gigila Island

 Boat repairs Gigila Island

 Noah and grandson Gigila Island

 Pandanus giganticus!

 Water well Mabneian Islet

 At Anchor Milne Bay

 Villager at Skelton Island

 Shortland Island

 Villagers Sideia

 Heading West

 Skelton Island

 Tea

American WW2 landing craft Alotua, PNG mainland.

Solar gear for one village installation on deck. This equipment kindly donated or paid for by donations from:

Margaret Bright- Queensland Health
John McBride- www.ecopia.com.au. Pty Ltd, Western Australia
Andrew Joyce, Ingrid Salmon- Tasmania

Logistics support Australia: Ruth White

Thank you very much.

Alotau market