Snakes becoming part of the community

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REGULAR Highlands Highway travellers know exactly where the “snake village” is located.
Snake village, originally Ronu village, is near the border of Eastern Highlands and Chimbu.
A few years ago, some youths from the village decided to look after snakes and renamed the village after their pastime.
On important occasions at Chuave or Watabung, the youths paint their bodies with the colours of snakes and carry their pets to the gatherings.
Last week when Eastern Highlands Governor Julie Soso was at Snake village to open a women’s resource centre, one of the snake handlers, Samuel Kapandi, carried a large snake to the gathering.
Kapandi said the snakes had grown to be part of their village and they were also an attraction for tourists and visitors.
“We started generating revenue from the snakes and we are starting to realise that we can make money by looking after snakes in the village.”