GOING GREEN

The other day I wanted to make a dish that required canned green beans. I decided to go and buy a can instead of steaming the ones we got at market. After buying it I thought to myself, "This is crazy!" Fresh green beans are soooo much cheaper here than canned.

This got me thinking. How many green beans could I get for the same price as a can of green beans? Since we get canned and processed foods imported from America and Australia they cost more than getting the "organic" version at the market. In America it is such a big deal to buy organic but it is VERY expensive. Here in PNG people have never even heard of pestisides and everyone eats organic so they don't even think twice about it.

My roommate and I went on a mission. We bought one can of green beans for K3.90. Then we went to the Ukarumpa market which is set up outside on old wooden tables. Nationals come from all around on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to sell to the people here in Ukarumpa. They sell fresh produce, flowers and even artifacts such as wood carvings, string bilum bags, and paintings. The produce is likely picked the day before or the day of market. Walking into market you will see little piles of green beans set up nicely on tables, each with a price (often 20t). We bought K3.90 worth of fresh green beans to compare to the can. This was A LOT of green beans!

We brought them home, soaked them in bleach water to clean them, and then counted....316 green beans! HECK yeah!

I am pretty sure we will sharing with our friends!

PNG has already gone Green!