A Life without Kumul Kama
In Tabare, a small village in Papua New Guinea, native sugar cane locally is called Kumul Kama. Very appreciated in the past, it today still remains essential for wedding and funeral traditional celebrations. But with the massive exodus of populations towards urban centers, people are witnessing a gradual abandonment of this ancestral culture, which is today almost no longer practiced in the communities of Tabare. However, this native sugar cane grew very well in the past, but Mr Wedge believes that with climate change, this is no longer happening. Recent introduction of more productive varieties has changed uses of local populations who no longer cultivate Kumul Kama. To the great dismay of Mr. Wedge who sees in these change, a predicted disappearance of a vital part in his traditional culture.
