Campaign to keep the Islands' traditional shell currency

(17 Feb 2011)
AP Television
Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands - January 16th, 2010
1. Pan right across beach
2. Various of waves washing over shells and stones on beach
AP Television
Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands - January 17th, 2010
3. Close of shell necklace with the words ' Solomon Islands ' woven into it
4. Various of woman displaying shell money necklace at Honiara Central Market
AP Television
Lau Lagoon, Malaita, Solomon Islands - January 12th, 2010
5. Pan across artificial (man-made) islands in lagoon
6. Wide of man paddling canoe past island
7. Wide of woman doing washing on island
8. Various of boy playing with dog and jumping into lagoon
9. Wide of island in lagoon
10. Wide of shell money maker Anna Safo carrying bag of shells
11. Wide of Safo sitting next to display of shell money necklaces
12. Various of shell money necklaces
13. SOUNDBITE (Lau) Anna Safo, shell money producer:
"Shell money has been part of our traditional way of living in Malaita for a long time. We don't know exactly when it began to be used. The main purpose of shell money is to buy bride price, and it's used as a form of compensation. Shell money, its purpose and value, is our livelihood in Malaita, and it supports us financially to buy food."
14. Various of Safo breaking shells into small pieces for making shell money
15. Various of Safo drilling holes in pieces of shell
16. Various of woman threading pieces of shell onto string
17. Various of Safo holding partly made strings of shell money
18. SOUNDBITE (Lau) Anna Safo, shell money producer:
"The time it takes to make one complete piece of shell money by collecting the different shells from different places, and then putting it all together, is about three months for an expert to create the complete piece. At its present value it's about SBD $1,000 (USD $128) for a complete piece of shell money, and SBD $100 (USD $12.80) for one string."
AP Television
Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands - January 17th, 2010
19. Wide of shoppers entering Honiara Central Market
20. Tilt up from shell money stall to customer
21. Close of woman adjusting products on stall
22. Close of shell necklaces
AP Television
Lau Lagoon, Malaita, Solomon Islands - January 12th, 2010
23. Wide of artificial islands in lagoon
24. Wide of girls paddling canoe next to island
25. SOUNDBITE (Lau) Anna Safo, shell money producer:
"When you consider the future use of shell money, it's becoming expensive because nowadays the population is higher and so the bride price of a girl is more expensive. So it's still useful at the moment, and it helps that we have faster tools to make shell money quicker. So although the number of people who are expecting to receive (traditional) shell money is reducing, the tools allow us to make it faster."
AP Television
Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands - January 17th, 2010
26. Tilt up shell necklaces and shell money on market stall
27. Various of stallholder making shell necklace
AP Television
Asimana, Malaita, Solomon Islands - January 14th, 2010
28. Various of waves washing over rocks on beach
AP Television
Lau Lagoon, Malaita, Solomon Islands - January 12th, 2010
29. SOUNDBITE (Lau) Anna Safo, shell money producer:
"At the moment, the shells we use are still available if you have time to go and search for them, or if you are able to buy them from another province. But as the population increases, and the bride price gets higher, the shells we need are getting scarce. I think they will soon run out."
30. Wide of Safo putting shell money necklaces on her nieces
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