Today we visited a village on Gigila Island. Giglia has a village that sits on the shore of a large north facing bay. The perimeter of the bay is scattered with coconut palms the groves are over-run with rainforest and other species indigenous to the islands.


Gigila is a  much larger island than those we have visited so far and the signs of agriculture are more marked. The entire ridge of the island and all the tops of the  200 metre high hills are covered in grass. We are told this is the final state of the land after centuries of agriculture have rendered it depleted of nutrients. In the gullies however there is a riot of vegetation.


In the village we met Tony, who is the local member/representative. It's funny when you meet a highly articulate English speaking man sitting in a bamboo rattan hut. Not only that but you are surrounded by naked children, in a village with no electricity, accessible only by sailing canoe, and he tells you that he barracks for the Broncoes! These people are very poor but they are so friendly and funny it's humbling. Tony told us that 8 million keena that are meant to be for the islands, periodically arrives in and then mysteriously vanishes from Misima island, the administrative centre for this area. In Australia that would be like stealing from the homeless.