In this episode of the Mongabay Explores Podcast, host Mike DiGirolamo speaks with Dorothy Devine Luana, the owner of a galip nut company in Papua New Guinea, as well as Nora Devoe, a research program manager focused on the potential for the galip nut industry to sustainably empower Papua New Guinea communities. Luana utilizes agroforestry, a farming technique that plants multiple cash crops besides woody perennials. Her company has been able to bring multiple streams of revenue to her farm and community through various galip products. Devoe is performing research and assisting locals with improved methods of harvesting, processing, and selling galip nuts to enhance the livelihoods of PNG residents. This industry is predicted to be worth 2 billion USD by 2025 and with increasing worldwide demand for nut-based products, this industry may be key to improving the quality of life for over a thousand smallholder farms in Papua New Guinea.

Photo Credit: Conor Ashleigh