PAPUA New Guinea was the setting for the talk by Elaine Burtonwood at the April meeting of Cuddington and Sandiway WI.

When her husband came home and said they were spending the next three years there, she had no idea of the experience awaiting her. They lived on a sugar plantation far away from civilisation and among people who had only recently emerged from the Stone Age.

The terrain is so difficult that until recently the 800 or so tribes had no contact with each other. Visitors were few, inhibited by the fact that strangers were almost invariably eaten.

Each tribe had developed its own social customs and language in isolation. There were film clips of the terrain and of a memorable trip to the nearest hilltop village four hours drive away in an attempt to recruit more workers for the plantation.

These folk had only just been introduced to the concept of wearing clothes yet the young men who were persuaded to leave were driving complex machinery within three months and after three years one was studying for an electronics degree.

Institute president Val Miller outlined activities for the coming months, including afternoon tea at the Methodist Hall, Sandiway, on May 26.

She reminded members of the WI Stepping Out campaign and gave details of walks organised by other WIs in the county. Ruth Cottle was congratulated on her 90th birthday.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 10. For more information, ring 01606 888446.