BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
NEARBY coastal villages located on the banks and seafront of the Kakabona in North-West Guadalcanal have become known as one of Honiara’s premier suppliers of pebbles, generating thousands of dollars in revenue every year.
Positioned in an idyllic location, right next to Kakabona River and the famous Eden pebble beach, the location gets a decent number of local beachgoers every year, but tourism isn’t the most profitable local business.
Locals go to the beachfront and riverbank to collect white and gray pebbles; not the bigger ones, but smaller pebbles that enthusiasts all over Honiara pay good money on to beautify their home backyards or to construct concrete pillars or wall buildings.
Sammy, a resident of the Kakabona community, told Environment Media that every week or day villagers often collect pebbles for a living and more especially to gain little profit from the economic hardship posed by the covid pandemic.
“Eden beach in Kakabona has a never-ending supply of colored pebbles or stones,” Sammy, the father of two said. “We’ve been extracting for years and the stones just keep coming their way. Even local children join in on the fun, collecting tiny stones to sell.”
He said interestingly many coastal families venture into stone collecting to generate a source of income.
“Stone selling had grown and gained popularity for the past years…since then, many families venture into it.
“I normally sold $100 per heap of pebbles, $70-80 per 10 kg bag of pebbles, and $100 per 20 kg bag of pebbles.”
The people of Kakabona village have known about the beauty of their pebble stones for several decades. But the business of collecting the stones and selling them for profit didn’t develop overnight but has come a long way since then…
As long as the Kakabona River and coastal tide flows, and the demand for pebble stones remains high, the pebble stone trade will continue to thrive.
