The happy list

My last post "Jais Aben Reflections" seemed to strike a chord and I've had many wonderful, supportive responses by email, phone, facebook and blog comment. There have been quite a few requests to see the list that I wrote. It is painfully egocentric and, in retrospect, probably rather boastful. However it did cheer me up and bring me back to the surface. 


Read it at your own risk.


Here's the list 

• I'm still reasonably fit, healthy and active and normally enjoy a  positive, optimistic outlook on the world.
•  Somehow, after the death of my wife nearly ten years ago, I managed to raise two sons who have grown into fine young men, both independent, sociable, compassionate, successful in their chosen careers and, I like to think, both still fond of their old man.
• There are people in this world who love and care for me and who I love and care for in return.
• In spite of the miles that separate us I have a strong and supportive family who I believe I could turn to should ever the need arise.
• I have many friends who enrich my life, and a few that are true confidantes.
• Have a reputation for telling really bad jokes - or maybe its telling good jokes badly? Have you heard The Wide Mouth Frog? or my personal favourite about the Faith Healer and the man with the speech impediment?
• I have trekked in the Himalayas, been a crew member on the Tall Ships and sailed my own yacht around the Med all of which provided me with many happy memories and more than a few embarrassing incidents.
• Am now deaf in one ear - which can have its advantages!
• Have lived and worked as a volunteer aid worker on the edge of the Sahel and in the Highlands of Papua New Gunea. I speak bad Hausa and even worse Tok Pisin!
• I've been fortunate to have work that continues to be demanding, enjoyable, fulfilling and has taken me to many wonderful places around the world - India, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nigeria, USA, Hungary, Papua New Guinea, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, France - even delivered conference presentations in Paris in French (shudder!)
• Have worked for some truly inspirational people and hope that maybe in some small way I may have inspired others.
• Enjoyed living and working in the United States - running a manufacturing business in New Jersey
• Was a Director of a Royal Society in my thirties and later in life I established a successful start up internet technology business
• I have the benefit of a wide ranging, liberal education and gained a Masters Degree, have published two books, recorded two CDs and even had a rude letter about me printed in The Times!
• Was made a Freeman of London for my work in the City.
• Been adviser to HM Treasury, The Stock Exchange, Bank of England and the Corporation of Lloyds - amongst others.
• Been a guest at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Mansion House , Guildhall and the Palace of Westminster
• I sang solo in St Paul's cathedral, won awards for my music, was once voted "Best male legs in tights" in the National Youth Theatre (obviously many years ago!), played Noah in "Noah", Macbeth in "Macbeth" and "Volpone" in Volpone - even directed my own production of Tom Stoppard's "After Magritte". Have been asked for my autograph at the stage door!!!
• Have always been sporty - Captain of Rugby at my college, rowed first eight and even have friends who tolerate (enjoy?) my erratic tennis. Can handle a punt. Am an exceptionally bad skier with no real expectation of improvement (I once crashed into a blind skier & his guide!) and, although no longer quite as agile as I once was, I'm still a competent dinghy sailor.
• Have "reinvented" myself professionally several times with successful changes in career.
• I'm a good cook! ask my family and friends.
• Still believe that its a great big exciting world and that there are many wonderful things yet to do.

Jais Aben Reflections

My main reason for coming to Jais Aben was to do some scuba diving.  Aquaventures - the scuba diving centre located next to the resort had been described by the Lonely Planet guide as one of the best equipped and most professional outfits in PNG with great dive sites close by.  However, in true PNG style, on my arrival I discover that Aquaventures closed down in August and nobody at the hotel thought it worth mentioning when I made my reservation! 


So no scuba. Not only no scuba but my original thinking was that by joining in with a scuba diving group I would have the company of people with a shared interest. A days scuba and then drinks and dinner with like minded people retelling the days adventures. Sadly that wasn't to be so I feel a little bit like Billy No Mates wandering about the resort on my own and trying to be sociable without coming across as some sort of loner weirdo! Maybe its just me but being a lone guest at a busy resort with lots of families just compounds the feeling of isolation.


Fortunately Jais Aben is a fairly large resort with extensive gardens and the bungalows are well spaced out along the shore. Most of the guests congregate around the pool or at the beach so its quite easy to find somewhere quiet to sit undisturbed and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place for a few hours.


I spent the afternoon sitting out on the lawn in front of my bungalow looking over the Bismark Sea - a thousand shades of marine turquoise protected from the ocean swell by a coral reef a mile or so off the beach. A gentle onshore breeze kept the day comfortable and with my iPod soundtrack playing Moby, Mumford & Sons, Madeleine Peyroux and Mozart I did nothing except read a little and wave at the canoes passing by - packed with islanders, bananas, coconuts and children - all waving and cheerfully shouting "Apinun !" with great big friendly smiles.


It was idyllic and a rare opportunity to sit quietly with no distractions and to reflect . Maybe it was a state of mind brought on by my "Billy No Mates" condition but, in spite of the blissful surroundings , my reflections inclined towards the morose - a tendency to dwell too much on the mistakes I'd made in the past, reliving some of the unkinder blows that fate had delivered and to mull over the more negative aspects of life. Not wishing to sink even deeper into this "slough of despond" I decided to banish all this depressing reflection  by making a list of all the positive achievements in my life (Count your Blessings I believe its called). 


It worked and my normal sunny disposition has resurfaced.


The list is safely stored on my laptop but if you want to see it then you only have to ask!

Some really beautiful photos of Papua New Guinea

Wish you were here?

An everyday picture - my office in downtown Hagen.

I thought I would put up some photos of "everyday stuff" rather than just special occasions so here's a photo of my office building.  I know it looks like a battery chicken farming unit but its actually pretty good inside and the people I work with more than make up for the rather grim appearance of the office.


The tall bit at the end is the Highland Bakery - producing the most enticing fresh baked bread smell all day! Very difficult to resist.

Kaikai Buai - chewing betel nut

I'm trying to write this entry without it descending into vulgarity and scatalogical humour - I suspect I may fail miserably.

One of the great things about living in the Highlands (and it may be true throughout PNG, I don't know) is that the people here do not use the street as a public toilet! Unlike many other parts of the developing world (and I'm thinking particularly of parts of West Africa, Delhi & other Indian cities) I am not constantly confronted by the sight of someone squatting in the gutter relieving themselves in one way or another. Apart from one little lad who was caught short in the market and rushed off to do his business behind a nearby wall clutching a cabbage leaf as his toilet tissue, I have never seen anyone mess up the street.

It means that the place doesn't stink and its not unpleasant walking around town.

Whilst Hagen does well in the matter of non public defecating it is without doubt the spitting capital of the world! People spit copiously, loudly and regularly in spite of the numerous "No Spitting" signs (Tambu long spetim - in Tok Pisin). It is made much worse, and much more colourful, by the local habit of chewing Betel nuts (Kaikai Buai). Buai is chewed with "pepa" (a hot mustard stick) and "paura" (crushed coral lime) and the reaction of these ingredients does three things. Firstly it gives the individual a slight buzz (not crazy high - just a mild stimulant like very strong coffee). Secondly it causes the saliva glands to go into overdrive and produce astonishing amounts of saliva. Thirdly it turns the saliva (and the teeth & gums) bright red.   So its  chew - spit, chew - spit, chew - spit : you get the picture. The men are expert spitters and can send a well aimed, brightly coloured jet over many yards. The streets are therefore covered in large splatters of bright red spit. When first encountered it can be most alarming because it looks strikingly like blood and you have the impression of walking through a town with blood splattered everywhere! On one occasion I recall seeing a white van covered in what I first thought was blood only to realise that the driver had been chewing buai and spitting red out of the window.

Buai tastes awful. Long time chewers get badly stained teeth - first red then black. Nuts vary in potency and a strong one can cause you to sweat and want to lie down for a few minutes. The "paura" is highly caustic (its lime) and can cause ulcerated cheeks and mouth cancers. Not for me - I've got enough bad habits already.

A School Nativity Play

One of my neighbours is Head Teacher at a local primary school here in Hagen. It was their Christmas end of term event earlier this week and, having been invited, I went along.

It was an evening instantly recognisable to anyone who has attended a school nativity anywhere in the world. A scene complete with angelic and not so angelic children, some confident - some less so, some enthusiastic - some shy and slightly embarrassed . There were the inevitable shepherds with tea towel headwear and the kings with cardboard crowns. Proud parents all around with cameras flashing and video cameras much in evidence. Silent night and a baby doll in the clean straw of the Bethlehem stable.

Confronted by this flashback to the days when my own children were this age and being surrounded by all these adoring parents I suddenly felt profoundly alone and very far away from all the people that I care most about. It was unusual for me to feel that way. I'm normally upbeat and very positive about my stay here but I guess that underneath this grumpy old exterior I'm just a big sentimental softie at heart.

I didn't have time to dwell on my emotions however because three quarters of the way through the performance the heavens opened and the noise of the rain hammering on the corrugated sheet roof drowned out any sound coming from the stage. This was followed by the inevitable power cut! Pitch black inside and no emergency lighting. The kids were real troopers and, after a few moments hesitation, they just continued performing in the dark . A few parents had torches and the light from dozens of mobile phones and car headlights shining in through the windows just about saved the evening.

I wonder if I've still got those old photos of the Oddingley Playgroup Nativity? Must check when I get home.

Website Home Page

Don't bother clicking anything its only a graphic!

Highland Dancers - PNG style!

Went out for a drive today with a PNG friend of mine to visit his "tok ples" (home village) about an hour away from Hagen. En route we passed through a small town where a major celebration was underway. There was singing & dancing in full traditional Highland dress - Birds of Paradise feathers all over the place. It was great to stumble across this authentic, definitely not for the tourists, celebration.


Here's a few photos of these rather fearsome looking Highland Dancers.

Tru Prens

Earlier this week I had lunch with the "Tru Prens" club. Translated from Tok Pisin it means "True Friends" and its a support group for women who are HIV+.

They get together on a regular basis to share a meal and help each other with the problems they face and to enjoy each others company. Its a happy, laughter filled, chatty occasion but much informal learning can take place in this environment and the women obviously benefit.

The existence of such a support group in PNG is in itself an extraordinary step forward. The social stigma attached to HIV+ is so great here that many HIV positive people will hide their condition for fear of the consequences. The consequences are real and in the rural areas can be very severe indeed - not just exclusion from the family or clan but there are well documented cases where, through ignorance about HIV transmission, whole clans/villages have turned on HIV+ individuals with appalling results, including burying people alive. In one reported case a woman who was known to be HIV+ was made to live in a six feet deep hole in the ground covered with tarpaulin. The village passed food down to her in her hole. She died within a month.

So to see twenty HIV + women laughing, chatting and enjoying their lunch was an extraordinary and encouraging experience.

I've been very impressed with the Baptist Church's response to HIV/AIDS here in PNG. Its only a few years ago that the Pastors would have regarded any talk of sexual activity as sinful and certainly not an area relevant to their ministry. Yet here we are a few years later and they talk in church about safe sex, the use of condoms, how AIDS spreads, how to help and support those with HIV. At one World Aids Day event in the church the Tru Prens sang their own song which included the words "If you want to have sex with me use a condom" words that would have been completely unacceptable just a few years ago. The church also recognises that the Pastors' wives have a key role to play and they too are being included in the training programmes. Their HIV programme is holistic - not just concentrating on the medical impact of AIDS but recognising its economic and social impact as well - so there are sports and arts projects for young people, support groups (apart from Tru Prens their is also a group called "Tru Warriors" for HIV+ men), awareness training programmes and projects like mine to provide sustainable livelihoods.

There is a long way to go and many practical difficulties to overcome but its so encouraging to see good people making a real effort to make things happen.

Sanap Wantaim!

Stand With Us

A Slide Show

This is a quick slide show illustrating how the women in the Highlands 

make "Bush Rope"  which they use to weave their fibre bilums.

Internet Woes

In theory there are two ways in which I can access the internet here in PNG


Firstly I have a dial up connection with GlobalNet as the ISP. I haven't been able to make a connection to this service for about 11 days. Phone calls to GlobalNet have produced the information that there is nothing wrong with their access system - however they tell me there is a problem at the Mt Hagen telephone exchange and currently nobody in Hagen can connect to GlobalNet's internet service. PNG Telikom are aware of the problem and are apparently working on it - for 11 days! It may come back at some point but I'm not holding my breath.


My second option is a wireless modem (a dongle) provided by PNG Telikom. This entire network was out of service for almost a week and came back last Saturday. Its a pre pay service - you buy a prepaid card to the value of 50Kina , scratch to reveal the card number, phone 1255 and add the credit to your internet account. All well and good except that, although the broadband network has returned the 1255 top up service is not working! 


I can do lots of development work locally and the website can be built and tested, to a large extent, on my own PC but until we get a decent internet connection it can't be uploaded to the web. There is an internet cafe in Hagen, in the Telikom office. Apparently they have their own satellite connection so, even though its expensive, I may have to move my office over there for a while.


Or I could put it all on a DVD, send it over to England and let one of you guys put it on the web for me!


Obviously one of these internet options is now working otherwise I couldn't have posted this!

Marie Jean buys me some fruit

Marie Jean

Currently I'm working on a video production of the making of a bilum. It takes several weeks to weave a bilum so one of the handicraft mothers, Marie Jean, comes in every two days or so and we do a few minutes filming each time. Every time she comes the bilum has got a little bit bigger and in a few weeks I will have all the footage I need to edit down to 2-3min web piece.
Whenever Marie Jean comes in for her filming sessions she  brings me a few bananas, some cucumbers and maybe an orange - as a gift. I had assumed they came from her garden. Today I learned that Marie Jean doesn't have a garden, she buys the fruit at the market . You may think that there's nothing remarkable about that, until you learn a little more about her life.
She lives in one of the settlements (shanty towns) surrounding Hagen.  The settlements are dangerous, lawless, often violent and extremely unpleasant - overcrowded, dirty, unsanitory with no real water supply or sewage systems. She lives there in what we would call a shack . Her husband left some time ago,  her son in law died from AIDS and Marie Jean is now looking after her own daughter who is HIV positive.
She survives. She sews clothes to sell at the market in Hagen (with the sewing skills she learnt at the Handicraft Group) and she makes some money from her bilums.


This woman, who has next to nothing, is spending her own money in the market to buy fruit gifts for me.


It is a humbling experience.
Very.

A trip to Baiyer District

On my recent photographic expedition out into the Baiyer District of the Highlands I learnt how the women make the "bush rope" from which they weave the fibre bilums. Its an astonishingly time consuming and painstaking process which I will describe fully on the website. Basically it involves collecting the fibrous part of a particular tree branch (the layer just below the bark) teasing it apart into fine strands of fibre and rolling these strands together to form the string and using different plants and roots as natural dye. On close examination the finished string looks as if it came out of a machine its so uniform and neat - all done by hand.


I also learnt that short speeches are regarded as rude and off hand! It is a sign of respect to talk at length and the welcome speeches from the villages senior women could last for twenty minutes. Not everybody listens to every word, the village would chat quietly during the speech but apparently that is okay. Its not the quality but rather the length of the speech that matters. It would be incredibly rude to speak for just a couple of minutes, a sign of great disrepect. My tok pisin does not enable me to sustain that length of speech so I spoke in English and one of my colleagues translated - and, I suspect that in order to save me from any embarrassment, he added an extra 5 minutes on my behalf!


In the UK on entering or leaving a gathering of fourty or so people we would probably make a general acknowledgement/greeting to the whole group. Not here. Individual handshakes and a few words to each person are considered polite and proper. Not short handshakes either! taking your hand away too soon is rude and quite often you will be holding hands for thirty seconds or a minute (try it - its a long time for a handshake). Feels strange to me of course but its really important not to appear stand offish or to disregard local traditions and etiquette - nobody likes a rude guest!


Watch out when I get home! a brief encounter could last a lot longer than you bargained for.

A baby bilum

Safe, comfortable and happy

Some of the women who weave our bilums

Wendy

Akumle

Christina

Kaipame

MarieJean

Martha

Missie

Ramanu

Mone

Recycling Pays

In a previous post I had mentioned Alphonse (the Coke can collector) and his recycling efforts in the Handicraft Office compound. It isn't just Alphonse, there are about 4 guys involved in this operation. Today was a big day.
All the cans were collected up and crushed as flat as possible with a great piece of steel fence post and put in sacks. They get 90 toea for a kilo of coke cans (thats about 20 pence for a kilo of cans - thats a LOT of cans). They had sacks full! and at the end of the day they reckoned they had made about 20 Kina (approx five pounds).
It had taken them weeks and weeks and the 20 kina would be shared between them but they were all very satisfied with the result.
Things go better with Coke?

Singing Home

In Hagen today I came across an open top truck driving round town with thirty or so people  crammed onto the back all singing beautifully at the tops of their voices. As they passed the crowds on the street stopped for a while and watched the truck go by in silence.
It was explained to me that someone had died and his family were singing him home. The deceased had died in the hospital in Hagen the extended family came into to town to pick up the body, which was on the truck with them, and took him home to his village to be buried, loudly singing his praises all the way.
It was a strangley moving experience and seemed a glorious way to say goodbye to a loved family member.

Cricket, Corned Beef and Communion

On Sundays I have no vehicle and no driver and  any suggestion from me that I might use the local bus or walk to town is met with much alarm and expressions of concern from my hosts. So on Sundays I stay pretty close to home.


Sunday mornings are taken up with church. I am by no means a regular church goer back in the UK but here it is a great way to meet people and to become a little more closely involved with the community.


Its a Baptist church and since I have never been to any Baptist service before it may be that my description is unique to PNG or it may apply more broadly across the Baptist world, I don't know. Compared to my own experience of the Anglican Church the services here differ in many ways - firstly they are much,  much longer. Two and a half hours is the norm with the Pastor delivering a sermon (in Tok Pisin) of at least an hour! I'm pretty sure that any CoE vicar who felt the need to lecture his congregation for 60 minutes would very soon find himself with an empty church! The service is also much livelier and more enthusiastic than the Anglican tradition with lots of upbeat music, clapping, raised arms and shouts of "God is good" and "Hallelujah" - strange to me but the congregation are happy and enjoy the occasion. The biggest difference is the way that communion is celebrated . Celebrants don't queue at the rail instead they remain in their seats and senior members of the church walk round with a basket of bread which is passed along the rows, the Pastor says a few words and everyone eats the bread. Then the communion wine, in tiny, thimble sized plastic cups held on wooden trays, is passed around. Again the Pastor says a few words and the wine is drunk. Except, to my amazement, its not communion wine but a fruit juice cordial!


My last Sunday lunch was home made corned beef pie (my boys would recognise it as a family staple!) only  here I make it with sweet potatoes. I mention it because Corned Beef seems to have a very special status out here in PNG.  Its not confined to half a shelf in the shops,the local Best Buy supermarket has acres of  space devoted to the stuff! Row after row, pyramids of it, different sizes, different brands, corned lamb (?), flavoured and spiced corned beef, square tins, round tins an altogether astonishing cornucopia of corned meat. I spent five minutes just looking before I even took a can off the shelf. I'm not quite sure what the PNG nationals do with all this corned beef but I bet they're not making corned beef pie.


In the afternoon I was sitting on the porch at the front of my house when I heard the distinct sound of cricket bat on ball and shouts of encouragement and appreciation coming from the far side of the compound boundary fence. The fence is much too high for me to see over but after listening for few more minutes I was convinced there was a cricket match in progress and I determined to set off in search of it. The Hagen Secondary school is behind my place and I was pretty sure that was where the sound was coming from. So off I went (out of the compound unescorted!) to walk the ten minutes to the school sportsground. When I arrived there was quite a crowd who greeted me warmly,made me sit with them and told me enthusiastically that this was the first year they had played cricket in Hagen. One of the big banks (BSP) is running a nationwide scheme to promote the game and has sent coaches out to remote areas to encourage the game. The wicket was a concrete strip and the outfield grass was a foot high with a somewhat indefinable boundary.
On this surface they played with a hard ball, no pads, no box (!) and, in some cases no shoes just flip flops! The bowling was furiously erratic! A stream of wides, bouncers, beamers all hurled down the wicket as fast as possible - the Highlands way! all aggression and no technique! All this to the accompaniment of much ribald comment and vocal encouragement from the assembled crowd. Great people and a fun afternoon. Cricket PNG style - certainly different.


Sometime in a future blog I must write about Highland Darts - like our own pub darts but oh so different!


Sport, religion and food - strange how they can bring people together.

Art Direction - early ideas

 

A Creative Challenge

Thought I should write something about the work I'm actually doing out here and give you some indication as to how we are getting on with the website.

Some of this may be pretty dull stuff for most of my readers and for those that have worked with me on web projects in the past it will probably raise some hoots of hollow laughter.

Things have gone surprisingly well so far. I was told to expect the worst but the worst hasn't happened.

I have a brand new PC, scanner, colour printer all hooked up to a dial up modem which can be really slow or REALLY REALLY SLOW . However with the introduction of a download accelerator (thanks Jason) I have now managed to download a surprisingly comprehensive set of web site design/construction tools - nearly all of them free and open source .

So I now have the tools to start work.

Some of my professional colleagues will know that I have something of an aversion to writing detailed Functional Specs or PIDs (Project Initiation Documents) and that usually I am unable to follow any discernible project methodology. However they will be surprised to know that on this project after only two weeks we have a clear statement of the site's objectives, a high level time based plan and a detailed PID !!!

Am already working on the Art Direction (snorts of derision from those that know my talents' do not lie in the graphic design area) and its coming along ok. Have produced an early set of wireframes and will be presenting them to the other members of the Handicrafts Group Management Team next week - that will be fun since none of them have ever seen a wireframe before and most of them are only just getting used to email.

However the real challenge is not technical - it very rarely is.

What I want to do is to develop a website that is much more than just an online catalogue of our products. It needs to tell the stories of the struggles that the women have in their lives. It has to bring a human dimension to the table. I'm working on a theme along the lines of "A bilum is not just a bag". Here in PNG it is a cultural icon, inextricably woven into the social and cultural fabric of this fascinating country. People write songs and poems about their bilums. They are tokens of love, reminders of home, holders of magic and symbols of wealth and position. For many they are memories of lost childhoods - most babies in the Highlands sleep comfortably in a Bilum rather than a cradle or are carried in one on their mother's back.

Can we actually build something that serves the utilitarian purpose of a catalogue but also has the appropriate emotional and human dimensions too?. Something practical yet beautiful - like a bilum.

My Bilum

A Sonnet by Travertz Mabone

Not in a cradle

Being rocked to sleep

It was a bilum

I laid fast asleep

Papa and bubu

Everyone in too

With colours and designs

So plentiful and fine

Marks my heritage

Something I call mine

For kaikai and buai

Baby rock-a-bye

Where's my bilum

I have something inside

Bubu - grandparents

Kaikai - food/eat

Buai - Betel nut

Trouble with the rubbish

PNG is often described as a violent country, sometimes unpredictable and everyone here is advised to "expect the unexpected".

I should point out that everyone I've met, at work or socially, has been friendly, welcoming and hospitable. However its true that violence is more prevalent here and on a scale that we may not encounter at home. It may help to understand the context once you learn that rape only became a criminal offence here three years ago. Arguments and disputes have traditionally been resolved by physical means and by inter clan fighting. Its a tradition that remains. The problem is that nowadays its fought with high powered automatic weapons rather than sticks, stones and axes. My hosts are understandably very anxious about me walking around Hagen on my own. They are not necessarily concerned about direct attacks on me but as they say " you don't have to be the target to get caught up in something"

I have been in Hagen for 10 days and the three incidents described below have all happened in that period.

1.Someone threw a hand grenade at the police !

2. The airport was closed for a day when it was sealed off by an entire clan demanding compensation for one of their "wontoks" who had been shot in the hand by the police during an incident at the airport. They have threatened to repeat the action until compensation is paid.

3. The rubbish in my compound is collected in wheelie bins and taken to the tip on the outskirts of town once a week by the caretaker and labourers who work for the Baptist Union. Last week on the way to the tip their vehicle was attacked by a large gang who not only threw rocks but were armed with automatic weapons - intent on stealing the vehicle. Our people managed to escape with the vehicle, but, as you might expect, they are not keen to go back to the tip and the rubbish is now piling up around the bins in the compound.

Maybe its worth telling the story about the two guys from Papua New Guinea who visited Europe and were taken to the World War 1 cemeteries in Northern France. Standing in front of the rows of thousands of crosses they turned to their hosts and said " You people just keep going until everybody is dead. We would never do that."

So maybe its just a question of perspective?

Mt Hagen Handicrafts Group

Located in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea the Mt Hagen Handicraft Group is an all women self help initiative which includes a high proportion of mothers living with HIV/AIDS in their families and communities. The women in our group have gone through and are still trying to deal with the immense struggles and difficulties in their lives. Their current situation includes poverty, family violence, drugs, prostitution, tribal fighting and the increasing rise of HIV/AIDS. In the midst of these troubles the women's primary motivations are to have decent food on the table for their families at the end of each day and to send their children to school.

The women in our group are skilled in the making of the traditional handicraft - a versatile bag called a "bilum" Selling them on the side of the road or at the local market has so far been their only outlet. Very few tourists visit Mt Hagen, apart from during the annual "sing sing" festival, which means very limited local demand for the bilums.

The bilum bag is unique to Papua New Guinea. It is time consuming work taking weeks to complete. People love bilums. Not only are they are a functional bag (or baby sling!) but the brightly coloured and distinctive patterns make each one a very special, hand crafted work of art.

Most women in the Highlands can make bilums so the creation of a website aimed at the  export market could help provide a sustainable livelihood to help them meet the needs of their families. It also keeps this traditional art alive

Understand our lives
Learn about our struggles
Buy our products!

SANAP WANTAIM!

Stand with us

Jacob and Alphonse

The handicraft group office is in the centre of Hagen protected by an eight feet high, corrugated sheet fence topped with barbed wire with a long and ominous coil of razor wire above that just for good measure. The entrance gate, complete with security post, would stop even the most determined ram raider.

Behind this impressive barricade lies an oasis of calm, not a pretty oasis by any means but still calm and, more importantly in Hagen, its safe.

Our location immediately behind the Highlands Bakery means that we are treated to the smell of fresh bread and cakes for most of the day.  The bakery is most definitely not a neat French boulangerie or patisserie with polished glass windows and mouthwatering displays of baguettes and quiches. The shop itself hides behind a windowless facade, windows would be far too risky, inside it is dark and forbidding. The results of the days baking are sold to customers from behind the protection of a very serious steel grill. In spite of the unpromising surroundings there is always a crowd of customers outside and the bread and scones that appear are surprisingly good.

Jacob and Alphonse work at the Handicraft Group Office. Not in the office exactly since they spend their days in the compound opening and closing the security gate having first ensured they are not about to admit a gang of rascals intent on stealing all our bilums.  They are always happy to talk and we get along well with them laughing and correcting my feeble Tok Pisin as we go. Chatting is very important in PNG and they love nothing more than to stop and "Tok Stori".

Jacob has become my unofficial personal minder and security guard. I am not allowed out of the office compound onto the dangerous streets of downtown Hagen unescorted. A trip to the shops for a few groceries and Jacob is by my side, never more than a few paces away. Even inside the Best Buy supermarket he maintains a constant presence at my shoulder occasionally pointing out the special offers or  leaning over to help me pick the best onions or tomatoes! All very unusual but reassuring - he's a lovely man I enjoy his company and he's helping me get to know the streets of Hagen pointing out where to avoid and taking me on a special trip to the Police Station so that I know where to run in an emergency!

Alphonse seems to be a one man recycling unit. He can be seen regularly crushing soft drink cans under the heel of his impressively large boots and storing them away in a massive sack he keeps in the compound. He is obviously selling the results of his work and we can be sure that no Coke can will litter the streets near our compound whilst Alphonse is on patrol. Other than that he seems to spend his day opening and closing the gate.

Its rough and ready and the office defences create the impression of working in a war zone but the people are welcoming and it feels like its going to be a good place to work.

Willie's Village

A warm welcome
Willie, our Tok Pisin tutor, invited us to spend the weekend at his village a short distance from Madang. Head of the village is BigPela Herman and we stayed in his house. Arriving in the heat of early afternoon we sat in the shade of coconut palms, sago palms and trees whose names I have yet to learn to drink water or kulow (coconut milk from young coconuts) and "tok story". Papua New Guineans love to talk and hear about our families and tell us about their lives in the village. It was a great way to practice our stumbling Tok Pisin- all conducted with much laughter and pointing but most of us managed some sort of simple conversation. My two sons may be interested to know that in Tok Pisin "Migat tupela pickinini man. Bigpela Tom na Liklik Jack"  (say it out loud!)

All this with just the men - women are all kept in the background and after a brief greeting they disappeared to carry on with cooking, cleaning and everything else that needed to be done to keep the village going. The men look after the "gardens" (vegetable patch) of which they are extremely proud.  This place is incredibly fertile - place the top of a pineapple in the ground and a few weeks later you have a new pineapple.
Evening came and with it time to eat. We ate well with a generous dinner of rice in coconut milk, chicken stew with ginger and a large helping of unknown vegetables that tasted a bit like spinach.

Big Herman's House

Big Herman

After the rain

 Rain, beautiful rain
After dinner it rained. Really hard tropical rain - the sort of storm that rips the coconuts off the trees and hurls them to the ground like small but lethal unexploded bombs. A blessing to me  because along with the rain comes a corresponding drop in temperature. It gave us a relatively cool night and, in spite of sleeping on thin mats on a bamboo floor I managed a few hours.

Church and a swim
Willie's village forms part of a larger community called Rampi. Rampi is a Roman Catholic area and we were all invited to join in the service (in Tok Pisin) at the local church of St Boniface. I'm not a particularly religious person but went along and enjoyed the singing which had that beautiful Pacific Island lilt. Then plenty tok tok with the congregation after the service.

A late morning swim in the sea off Willie's village was incredible - the live coral begins just a few yards offshore and was full of life. Great time.

Lunch with the whole village (chicken which we saw being slaughtered that morning) lots of toktok, present giving and thanks. A great experience - although I must admit that I was happy to return to my air conditioned bungalow and flush toilet!

Our bungalow in Madang

This is our bungalow

Or maybe its this one?

Life in Madang

Been in Madang for four days and am gradually getting used to the climate which varies between hot & sticky and very hot & very sticky. Living in a bungalow with two other volunteers - a teacher called Dave from Burnley and a Community Development Adviser from the Phillipines called Felix - so we are an international bunch. They are good guys and we get along well. The bungalow is in the grounds of Madang Lodge a mid range/economy hotel right on the coast at Madang. Its comfortable and friendly and just about walking distance to the VSO office - although we usually get the bus (or PMV as they call them here).

We have all been closely chaperoned by VSO staff until we are familiar with the best "personal security" routines! Although Madang is regarded as one of the safest towns in PNG there are still problems with the "rascals" who have recently taken to kidnapping expatriates as a way of earning a few quid! Anyway I'm still here and enjoying the new experience, and learning which parts of town to avoid!

We are being taught Tok Pisin by a local guy called Willie (who teaches well) and is taking us for an overnight stay in his village so we can practice over the weekend . We have been warned of the dangers in his village - coconuts falling from the trees, bad tempered pigs and the rather scary stories of the village toilet ! (known as the "liklik haus" - or little house"). The village is on the coast and we've been promised white sands, blue seas and a warm welcome. Sounds like fun!

Lukim yu behin

A new leaving date

Now been given a PROVISIONAL leaving date of "somewhere around 3 October"

I continue to live in hope but my natural optimism is being sorely tested!

Another delay

No visa or work permit yet so will not be leaving on 23 September.

I will get away eventually and there is no sense in getting annoyed or frustrated about the delay- this is what happens in contries like PNG. If you can't take the aggravation and the frustration of this kind of hold up then its probably best not to go!  Life in a developing country is full of these little difficulties so I can look upon this as pre departure conditioning.

A slight delay

Just heard from VSO that the PNG High Commission has not yet  issued the visa or work permits. So my departure has now been rescheduled with a new date of 23 September.

Oh well - I suppose it gives me more time to pack

Yet another bloody medical!

I had my VSO medical weeks ago - it was followed by a referral to a consultant who, after all the investigations, finally gave the all clear on Monday.

Then a new medical form arrived from the PNG High Commission which meant I had to go back to my GP again for yet another medical today!

I must be the most medically checked out person on the planet right now. Anyway this volunteer is now definitely fit to serve!

All is well

Have just been to see the Consultant at Worcester Royal Hospital and everything is okay! No problems so VSO should now be able to grant medical clearance and I'm all set to go.

The only thing that might delay my departure is the provision of work permit and visa from the PNG High Commission - have finally completed all the forms and sent them off so all I can do now is cross fingers and wait.

Finished work at Teachers TV last week and my colleagues gave me a lovely send off with red wine and chocolates which was a good way to go! Got all my projects finished (or at least in a healthy condition to handover) so I don't think I left any unexploded bombs behind me. Maybe I'll be back there next year?

A new departure date

Have just heard from VSO that my planned departure date has moved forward a few days and is now 15 September. The email from VSO arrived with yet another batch of forms (5 this time!) for the PNG High Commission - those guys must love paper work!

Another Weekend - Another Course

Another training course at VSO training centre at Harbourne Hall.

This one covered "Health & Personal Security" - very important for me in PNG (see earlier posts!) and "Skills for Working in Development"

Once again a useful and enjoyable course and a really great group of people. A real mixture of ages and backgrounds - some going out as medics, others in education, community development, business advisors and one who is going out to be the management adviser to a "King" !!

There was a lot of talk about the need for Rabies vaccinations (just in case we get bitten by a bat or a dog) however I checked the info I'd received re PNG and its not on the list - so I think I'll give that one a miss.

Only 10 more days before I leave Teachers TV and then its only about 4 weeks before I set off.