Black Harvest

After ” First Contact” in 1982 and “Joe Leahy’s neighbours” in 1988, the saga of Joe and the Ganigas goes on in ” Black harvest”. Here is a summary of the first two episodes : In 1930, three Australian gold diggers discover an unknown tribe living in the hinterland of New Guinea. One of the native women gives birth to a half-caste. The child, called Joe, inherits some his father’s taste for adventure. Although he still regards his mother’s people with respect, Joe soon breaks off with tradition , starts growing coffee and living like a westerner. He takes advantage of his neighbours and his acquaintances, Ganigas who fifty years after the first white man set foot among them still depend upon a tribal system. Joe’s lifestyle fascinates them and their relationships are both explosive and comical. In the last episode Black Harvest, Joe decides to establish clear-cut commercial relations with the Ganinas. He associates with Popina Mai, the Chief of the tribe and Joe’s adoptive father, to start a new coffee plantation. however, the fluctuations of the Stock exchange, the demands of harvesting and the hectic ferocity of tribal wars turn the story into a tragedy.