Monday, May 18, 2009

Dreams and visions

from w
What happened to the dream and vision of cassava for bio-fuel, or jatropha or one of a dozen plants that can produce the wonder-alternative to petrol and coal? Now here is another one - proposed for Vanua Levu. Their website doesn't tell much though, only dreams and visions I think. No hard data. No experiements cited. Half the stories in the Fiji media is nostalgia, the other half dreams and visions of far-away! This is a new species of plants to me but I think it has other names such as Pongi.

Bio Fuel industry in Vanua Levu
Monday, May 18, 2009

A foreign Company intends to set up a bio fuel Industry in Vanulevu - that can save this country $1.2 billion dollars in fuel prices.

Chief Executive Officer of Bio Fuel International Jim Gibbons says – they intend to invest in this project - the most dynamic introduced in the South Pacific since the Southern Cross - $174m of direct investment over the first three years.

Gibbons says - it only needs to work with landowners who will give their land to plant the raw material for the bio fuel – a plant called Pongamis the fruit of which is required for making bio fuel.

Gibbons says - all that the company requires from the land owners is their land which they will still own - to plant the Pongamis.

“I propose this council that my company pays with its own foreign invested dollars all the costs to plant the trees on your lands. I propose my company educate and train your people to oversea this crop on their land and I propose that we become life partners in the harvesting of this seed for the refinery that will stop the flow of $1.2 billion of annual dollars out of this country and invest it instead on Fiji farmers, Fiji Land, Fiji people and the country of Fiji.”

Fiji Broadcasting Corporation LTD

2 comments:

Deborah Gietzel said...

Hi,
I notice a few instances in which you mention Marj Hodge and Pauline Campbell. Pauline is my Great Aunt & I'm trying to trace her activities in Fiji (she's now unwell) after she finished as Principal at Dudley & wondering if you can help at all?
Many Thanks,
Deborah

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Hello Deborah,
Where do you live Deborah? We are in the Geelong phonebook so you could phone us. I don't like to give numbers and email addresses on-line. I would like to talk to you about your Great Aunt as I knew her very well for many years. Also I phoned Pauline a few months ago.
Wendy