The return of shell money: PNG revives old ways after Covid's blow to economy

New normal' under Covid-19 restrictions has seen a resurgence in traditional farming practices, bartering and the use of tabu

For many in Papua New Guinea, Covid-19's Niupela Pasin" - new normal - is a return to the old ways.

As the country wrestles with a nascent but potentially crippling new outbreak of coronavirus infections, emanating out from the crowded capital, Port Moresby, to the highlands and the river valleys of the sprawling archipelago, many in PNG's villages are returning to traditional economies.