Villagers receive handbook

By DOROTHY MARK
HUNDREDS of villagers outside Madang have been presented nature conservation handbooks printed in the United States.
Ohu villagers own the Wiad conservation area, formally known as the Ohu Conservation and Butterfly Farm. The handbooks contain traditional knowledge and biodiversity which can help visitors understand the stories of special land marks in the conservation area.
The Wiad conservation project was initiated by the community and funded by donors in the United Kingdom. Conservation project manager Bruce Isua said stories and pictures in the bankbook were provided by the villagers and sent to the Minneasota University in United States where it was compiled into a handbook.
Dr George Weiblem, a lecturer at the university who headed the compiling of the handbook, was at the village to present the books to the villagers.
“We were presented 200 copies of the handbooks – 50 copies were given to the Ohu Primary School and the rest to clan leaders and dignitaries,” Isua said. He said Ohu villagers’ ancestors valued their cultural beliefs that Nature would  help them.