KEITH JACKSON

THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT those good folks at Tabubil in the Star Mountains of the Western Province: they are great supporters of the Crocodile Prize national literary contest.

When the call went out last week for funding to ensure we could manage a respectable first edition of the Crocodile Prize Anthology 2012, it resonated in the mountains and, between the people there and other generous sponsors, organisers are now able to fund an initial print of 2,000 copies of the book.

The Tabubil settlement, a company town that services the Ok Tedi copper mine, is located in dense jungle and records one of the highest rainfalls in the world.

But there’s no raining on parades from any of the companies out there near the Indonesian border when it comes to good corporate citizenship.

Paul A Povey, managing director of the MRSM Group of Companies, has been a wonderful supporter of the Prize and, this time around, arranged for two of MRSM’s subsidiaries - Fubilan Catering Services and Tabubil Engineering Ltd – to donate K1,000 each to the printing program.

Meanwhile Nigel Parker, managing director and CEO of Ok Tedi Mining Limited, was hatching a plan of his own and authorised a $5,000 gift to the Prize – which will print about 500 books.

OTML is already the sponsor of the award for women’s literature; Paul Povey is an important private donor; and the Star Mountains Institute of Technology is a notable supporter.

It’s a magnificent display of community spiritedness by all these good folks.