Dede Sophie

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has on Friday (09.12.22) launched his government’s policy on coffee which includes a target of 2,500 trees per family that aims to return interest to Papua New Guinea’s hallmark commodity that once was the highest agriculture revenue earner in the country.  He also announced that the Marape-Rosso Government would make sure that the price of coffee remains constant between K7 and K13 per kilogram for growers throughout the year beginning next year 2023.  PNG PM Marape launches Coffee Policy in Jiwaka  [Photo by PM’s Media Unit] The Prime Minister was speaking in Banz, Jiwaka Province on Friday where he travelled to officiate at the launch of the Coffee policy and opening of the coffee festival where thousands of people gathered to witness and participate in the event.  “Do not listen to critics on Facebook and in newspapers. There are political and corporate critics who are against what we are doing and saying because there is now a tect...

It is the kind of place where peace, spirituality and lush nature go hand in hand. It is a place where prehistoric rock art, beautiful Hindu and Jain temples and a matha established by Sri Madhvacharya exist in close proximity to each other. It is the kind of place where life seems to move at a much slower pace. I am talking about Sonda or Sodhe, the lush temple village that is nestled amidst the Sahyadri mountains and is surrounded by the dense jungles of the Western Ghats. As a thumb rule, most tourists visit this village for the 13th century Sodhe Matha (also known as Sri Vadiraja Matha), one of the Ashta Mathas established by Sri Madhvacharya, the famous Dvaita philosopher. The main deities worshipped here are Lord Bhuvaraha, Lord Hayagriva and Sri Bhuta Raja. The brindavana of Swami Vadiraja Tirtha can also be found here. But, there is more to Sonda, than the Sodhe Matha. There is the Rama Trivikrama temple and stone chariot, built in Vijayanagara style, the Shankarnarayana templ...