• Solomons' organic farming project a blueprint for island communities
• Solomon Islands to have Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• Pacific islands look to coconuts to cut oil costs

• Solomon Islands' new Prime Minister resigns
• Chinese nationals flee Solomon Islands

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Solomons' organic farming project a blueprint for island communities
22 November 2011 - An organic farming project on a sandy island in Solomons is teaching youth the importance of farming. The project which is saving residents money they would usually spend at the market began in May last year when residents on the tiny Kwai island were shown how to grow their own fruits and vegetables by adding compost, shell pieces and broken buckets to the previously barren sandy soil. Prior to the organic farming project Kwai's residents would mainly rely on sea resources and markets for food. (more)

Solomon Islands to have Truth and Reconciliation Commission
11 February 2009 - The Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Derek Sikua has called on Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu to assist in setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that will help foster peace on the Islands, following years of ethnic tensions. Situated just north east of Australia, the Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia made consisting of nearly 1,000 small islands. The retired archbishop, who played an instrumental role in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the late 1990s, will visit the Solomon Islands in April. (more)

Pacific islands look to coconuts to cut oil costs
10 May 2006 - A report by the 20-member South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) has found that if Pacific island countries were to replace 50 per cent of diesel imports with coconut oil, then the region's average import bill would be cut by 10 per cent. (more)

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Flops
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Solomon Islands' new Prime Minister resigns
26 April 2006 - The new Solomon Islands Prime Minister Snyder Rini, whose election last week sparked two days of rioting and looting in the archipelago's capital, resigned today after losing support in Parliament. (more)

Chinese nationals flee Solomon Islands
23 April 2006 - Nearly 90 Chinese refugees fled the troubled Solomon Islands Saturday after a series of riots razed their homes and businesses. (more)