A 29-year-old self-taught farmer, Shadrach Vaka Jnr, is using his practical experience to teach and empower rural villagers in Central Province to unlock the economic potential of cocoa.
Drawing on years of experience gained on his family’s plantation in East New Britain, he is now helping his own community see cocoa as a viable source of commercial income.
Shadrach Jnr is from Gavuone village in Abau District, Central Province, and Lungalunga in East New Britain. He was raised on his mother’s cocoa plantation in Rabaul, developing a practical understanding of cocoa cultivation from an early age.
“I was raised among the pods,” he says. “I learned by watching, by helping and by making mistakes.
“Armed with years of hands-on experience, he joined the National Volunteer Service (NVS) as a volunteer under the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Central Provincial Government (CPG) in the agriculture sector, graduating with the Batch 20 volunteers earlier this year.
Upon his visit to Gavuone, he observed that cocoa was not a new crop that had to be introduced to his community, unlike in other parts of Central Province. However, local farmers lacked modern management skills and did not view the crop as a viable source of commercial income.
“Like many rural communities in Papua New Guinea, Gavuone struggles with limited income opportunities and relies heavily on subsistence farming. Parts of the community were already bringing in cocoa seedlings and establishing nurseries, however, they lacked the knowledge to manage it,” he said.
“When I came back, I saw that the land was fertile but people didn’t see cocoa as a future,” he recalls. “And I wanted to show my people that there was so much potential in cocoa and it could change their livelihood.
“To address these gaps, Shadrach Jnr established practical field demonstrations and training sessions under mango trees, teaching his family and locals modern cocoa practices he had learned from working with professionals on his mother’s plantation.
He taught them cultivation techniques, introducing pruning, spacing and pest control methods to boost yields; fermentation and drying techniques, designing simple fermentation boxes, solar and heat dryers or fermentaries to ensure harvested beans met export standards; and sustainable practices, promoting inter-cropping cocoa with food crops such as taro, cassava and banana to improve food security.
Blending technical demonstrations with storytelling, Shadrach’s daily interaction involved walk-through discussions with community leaders, nursery owners and youths, and workshops which became a regular feature.
“I tell them that cocoa is not just about making money but about securing their future,” he said. “If we care for it now, it will care for us, our children and their children in the future.
“Local youth leader, Paul Geno, noted that the initiative has built community unity, with villagers now collaborating with Shadrach to manage shared nurseries and fermentation facilities.
“In the past, we thought cocoa was too hard to manage but we now see that it only requires knowledge and commitment,” he said.
Shadrach Jnr added that although change is slow and others are still sceptical, he believes that when others see results, they will also get into cocoa farming soon.
Volunteer Shadrach embodies the spirit of rural volunteerism, showing that an individual, armed with passion and self-taught expertise, can bring real change to his community.
The National Volunteer Service commends Shadrach Jnr’s grassroots initiative as an example of how practical skills and personal commitment can drive economic self-reliance in rural Papua New Guinea.
The National Volunteer Service (NVS) is a State Agency mandated to recruit, train and place volunteers in remote communities throughout the country.
