Micronesia Highlighted in the Eden Project Banana Exhibit

By Dr. Lois Englberger

Pohnpei, Micronesia - Karat (banana), the FSM banana postal stamps and activities of the Island Food Community of Pohnpei (IFP) are now all highlighted in an impressive display at the permanent banana exhibit of Eden Project in Cornwall, England.

The Eden Project is described as a "green theme park" with living biomes, confirmed by the 2004 Guinness Book of Records as the biggest conservatories in the world. See their website at http://www.edenproject.com. Their goals include helping connect plants, people and places, protecting the environment and biodiversity, and educational, environmental and scientific aims. The park has as many as 8000 visitors a day!

Dr. Andrew Ormerod of Eden Project, contacted Dr. Lois Englberger in 2006 for information and along with Dr. Jo Elworthy and others from the Eden Project, the display was developed.

One very special feature of the exhibit is that of the live recording, provided by Adelino Lorens, IFCP Chairman. A button is placed next to the glass-encased display case. Visitors may press the button and hear Adelino explaining about the importance of banana to Pohnpeians, how they are grown and consumed, the many non-food uses, the unique Pohnpei varieties and why they are special. Erik Steffen of Micronesia Seminar assisted in preparing this recording.

A visit was made on 15 and 16 August, 2007, with kind hospitality by Dr. Ormerod and the Eden Project team welcoming Dr. Lois Englberger, who gave a seminar and power point presentation; Konrad Englberger, who prepared photographs of the exhibit; and Dr. David Clow and Florence Clow, long-time friends of the Pacific. There was great interest.

The exhibit includes a wooden column, on which a world globe is placed, and markings are made for the two sites highlighted, Micronesia and Uganda, so that visitors can locate the places. Visitors can then go to the left to the Uganda display and to the right to the Micronesia display.

What a great privilege for Micronesia to be included, as the one of the banana-producing places in the world, along with Uganda!

Some of the Micronesia items exhibited are: the Pohnpei Bananas poster, Karat bumper sticker, FSM Karat postal stamps, photo of the late Sintaro Ezra of the FSM Philatelic Bureau, who worked hard to produce the Karat postal stamps, photos of IFCP and Let's Go Local club members, and the IFCP logo. As shown in the photo, there are also actual banana plants, some even bearing fruit, as part of the exhibit.

Thanks are again all those assisting in this project, including Dr. Ormerod and the other dedicated Eden Project team members; Erik Steffen; and also Dr. David Clow and Florence Clow, who kindly drove the Englbergers from London to Cornwall, about a 5-hour drive!