Back to Past Adventures
January 2007
Before we get started on this latest update (by the way, sorry for taking so long) a huge thank-you goes to Matt West and Michelle Cleary. Matt and Shell did a great job taking care of business whilst we were in Australia having our son Tadji. They endured many difficulties, undertook expeditions into the mountains and succumbed to sickness. Matt and Shell became Australian Volunteers during this time and we acknowledge AVI for their support also. Once again, thank-you Matt and Shell for doing such a great job.
Jim’s Bit
It was the 19th of August 2006 and it was great being back in PNG. I was in Port Moresby for a couple of weeks to run around and get things done. You see in Papua New Guinea you get a lot more accomplished if you do things face to face. Many departments and organisations are based in the capital. Therefore I spent my time knocking on doors and having meetings with people.
I’m proud to say this trip was well worth while. Many previous ventures were finalised and quite a few more doors opened for us. Special thanks goes to Andrew Milnes (a fellow volunteer) who let me stay at his apartment in Waigani.
Jean’s Bit
I met Jim at the Port Moresby airport after a rather stressful check-in at Brisbane, delayed flight and hence a hectic rush to make the transfer to Wewak. We spoke briefly with the new AVI manager, Rick Steele, who is based in Port Moresby. This makes things easier for us in terms of AVI offering us support, etc.
We had a weeks delay in Wewak (no MAF pilot) but made the most of the final luxuries before heading back into the bush. I had been in Australia for 5 months so I had to ease myself back into basic living. As it turned out, it wasn’t a huge culture shock because I was well and truly ready to get ourselves set up in our own house as a family.
Whilst in Wewak, I had a go at my new role as capacity building officer. I helped out Phillip and Feong Tjeong who have recently built a new hotel in Wewak called “In Wewak Boutique Hotel”. Phillip needed a hand training the housekeeping staff on making beds and cleaning rooms, so I gave it a go and ran little training sessions for them. It was great to be able to pay Phillip and Fjeong back for all their generosity. They have donated many things to TCA and help us out when we stay in Wewak.
Jim’s Bit
Whilst Jean and Tadji were in Wewak, I made two trips by car to Lumi. I had spoken to drivers in Wewak and apparently the road was dry. I also called our caretaker Francis in Lumi and he told me lots of cars were making it to Lumi.
I hired four guys in Wewak and drove with full loads to Lumi. The road was the best I had ever seen it, except for the last 25 kilometres which was beyond belief. I made the first trip in seven hours and 45 minutes which is pretty quick in terms of the Sepik Highway. There were no flat tyres or muddy pot holes the size of Volkswagens. The second trip was just as stress free.
It was great seeing our place again. All the animals were well and in good condition. Our dogs Cling and Clang had grown somewhat. When I left in May they were little puppies, now they were big dogs. At first they didn’t recognise me and then the penny dropped and they were all over me. They are very strong dogs. Our caretakers told me that everyone was very scared of the dogs and thus fewer people came to visit. This was of course conveyed to me in pigeon.
It was fantastic seeing our tree kangaroos again especially Nunsi the Golden-mantled. Whilst away, Matt and Michelle had acquired a few more animals, a couple of White-striped Dorcopsis and a Western Black-capped Lori. I know looking after animals isn’t actually in our job description or part of the overall goals of the Tenkile Conservation Alliance, but when an animal has lost its mother and is in need of care we can’t ignore it. At this stage putting the animals we’ve hand-raised back into the wild is not an option because they would be easily caught and then eaten. Once Conservation Areas are established with the villages then perhaps we can consider re-introduction.
Jean’s Bit
When we flew into Lumi it was very overcast and the plane couldn’t land so we had to take a detour to Aitape and wait until the cloud shifted. When we finally landed everyone was waving to us. We got out off the plane and Tadji was asleep, hidden in the sling. I pulled him out so the crowd could see him and there was a gasp and then silence. It was a totally unexpected moment – PNG is renowned as the land of the unexpected. You would normally expect a large cheer or round of applause but there was a very peaceful sigh and then unique silence – one of the best features of living in Lumi – peace and tranquillity. I cried of course, especially when my good friend Sarah came over to greet me and she took Tadji from my arms and gave me a hug.
Once we settled down a bit, Tadji was surrounded by a huge crowd of people. It became very noisy then and a bit too much for him, so we walked down to the house for a smaller welcoming by our staff who were looking after the house. They had made a welcome home sign for Tadji and me and the house was decorated with beautiful fresh flowers from the garden.
It was great to be back home!
Jim's bit
I had planned to go straight into the mountains to continue with the Distance Sampling Matt and Michelle had started in my absence, however a contact I had made in Port Moresby was on his way up to Lumi to look at our program, and so I had to postpone this work. Hopefully, we’ll get financial support via this visit, I’m glad I did so much networking in Moresby.
We had our first TCA rep “man” meeting since April. The meeting went well. Tadji was of course the highlight for the villagers. Everyone just had to hold him. Fortunately, Tadji is very friendly and doesn’t mind being passed around.
Jean’s bit
We held the TCA women’s meeting a week after the men’s meeting. The women enjoyed meeting Tadji and were so amazed at his bald head. I learnt a new pigeon word which is “kela” meaning bald. Tadji is also so much bigger than the other children. We met a child born the same day and Tadji looks huge in comparison.
I had been spending a lot of time organising things and getting into work mode again.
Jim's Bit
We were visited by an important man who works for a potential sponsor. He was very impressed with the work the Tenkile Conservation Alliance is doing in Sandaun Province. We have our fingers crossed and will fill you in on the details if we are successful in gaining any financial support.
I had the chance to get a free ride to Wewak and so I took it. We were low on many different supplies and we also needed to send e-mails and make phone calls.
In Wewak I borrowed a car for a few days and used it to transport the remaining water tanks from our base in Lumi to Fatima and Laingim. It was such a relief to finally move these water tanks and other supplies from our front yard in Lumi. I am pleased to say that the Community Development Scheme (CDS) program is now completed.
Jean’s bit
I spent the last couple of weeks meeting in each village talking about their respective Conservation Areas. I am trying to collate all of the traditional knowledge regarding conservation practices so I can incorporate this into a training manual for the conservation area managers. Next year we plan to conduct training courses on natural resource management. These meetings are important to get everyone on track in terms of establishing the conservation area and gathering information from the people.
Jim's Bit
I could now start working in the mountains. This of course meant walking long distances, sweating, eating very basic food and sleeping outdoors. This was nothing; the biggest concern was being away from the family for a week or so.
Around this time we were visited by friends Daryl and Jeff. Both Daryl and Jeff are animal people and they thoroughly enjoyed our menagerie. I think Kenny, our Spotted Cuscus, received the most attention. Thanks Daryl and Jeff for your great company and the goodies you brought from Australia.
I had three Distance Sampling sites to finish. The first was Oroulene and was the first real exercise I had undertook in four months. Of course, I suffered. Oroulene produced more scats than ever before and I also got to see my first Grizzled Tree Kangaroo in the wild. One of the Distance Sampling Officers spotted it and came rushing back to camp to tell me. It was amazing seeing this large male Grizzled happily sitting above the canopy soaking in the sun’s rays. I must have watched him for about an hour before he slowly sauntered down the tree into the lower branches to feed.
Next was Bibane which is the hardest Distance Sampling site. The landowners are Tolgete and they had nearly completed the research hut at the base-camp. I was very impressed by their efforts and it was so much nicer than sleeping under a tarp full of smoke. The wildlife highlight was seeing a pair of Little Kingfishers.
Just an aside, when Tolgete were transporting materials from the village to the base-camp at Bibane to build the research hut some young guys saw a Tenkile. This was the first time these young men had ever seen a Tenkile and it was a really proud moment for the village. Reports like these really demonstrate the success of this program and it really hits home for us. It makes us feel that what we are doing is making a real difference for Tenkile, other animals in the Torricelli Mountain Range and the people - the stakeholders in the program.
The last Distance Sampling site to survey for 2006 was Waliapilk. Waliapilk is in the Nuku District and is a long walk from Lumi. Unfortunately, the airstrip in Angugunak is closed and so I had to walk a long, long way. I had to rest a day in Mupun before walking up the mountains to the base-camp.
The Distance Sampling Officers are well trained now and most can work independently of me. This means that I don’t always have to work the transect lines and so can recover from the journey into the site. I really needed to recover here as I’d come down with something and was feeling particularly average.
It was now early December and it was a great feeling to have all the Distance Sampling sites completed for 2006.
Jean’s Bit
While Jim was away Distance Sampling I was busy conducting the Conservation Area meetings. Every village representative except for one walked to Lumi and stayed for a couple of nights to discuss the Conservation Area. Each village had representatives from each clan which was important so that each clan had some understanding of what a Conservation Area is and why it is important to establish it. Overall, most villages have the right idea but there is still a ‘conservation for cargo’ attitude which is not good.
Conservation for cargo is when the local landowners believe they are entitled to some material or financial benefit for conservation. Some have asked for direct payment - others expect to be excluded from any financial community contribution for TCA projects. Since the community development scheme project, TCA has a policy that all communities must pay 10% of the cost of any project materials. The reason for this is so that the villages feel that they have ownership of the project and therefore respect the materials and project. This will in turn lead to better management and maintenance of the project for years to come. Too often in PNG free handouts of water tanks or other projects have failed because no-one feels they are in charge or own the project. So I had to once again go over the meaning of community contributions on our projects and particularly re-enforced that establishing a Conservation Area is to protect the natural resources for the future and not for any financial or material benefit. Hopefully one day the penny will drop. Fortunately the majority of people get it.
Jim's Bit
To date I have analysed the Distance Sampling data from 2004 and 2005 and there has been a significant increase in the population of Tenkile. It seems probable that the number of Tenkile is now more than 200. This is a huge outcome and the results correlate with what the villages are telling us in terms of Tenkile sightings. The villages are also very proud of these results, now they want to know how many Tenkile are on their land and which village has the most Tenkile. There’s nothing like healthy competition.
Jean’s Bit
On the 20th of December we had a combined men and women’s meeting in Lumi. This was the first time we had combined the two. This was because it was Christmas and we decided to have a “mumu” or traditional feast. We purchased a pig from one of the villages and a heap of sweet potato and taro, bananas and greens. I had the girls dig a hole and line it with cooking stones. The stones were heated with fire and later lined with banana leaves. The food was put in the hole and covered up again with banana leaves. The food was all cooked in a couple of hours and everyone had a big feed before returning to their villages.
The meeting went well with both men and women talking which was good. We were fearful that the women would be too shy to speak up in front of the men but they proved us wrong and said quite a few things which made me feel very proud of them. We also took the opportunity to distribute materials for the chicken project. Each village has now received materials to build chicken houses. We are still waiting on chickens. There are still none available from the agricultural research institute in Lae due to bird pox. There is also the possibility that other poultry diseases could delay or even stop this project going ahead altogether. Rabbits really are the best alternative protein source. So we will see what happens.
Now it is January 2007, I can’t believe all the things we had done in 2006. When I think back to January when I was pregnant with Tadji and walking to all the villages, it seems so long ago and yet the year seems to have gone so quickly. It has been a big year for us, especially having Tadji. I returned to Australia in April and had Tadji in June. We have made a very bold and brave decision to return to PNG with a little baby in September.
Malaria of course is the biggest killer of infants throughout the world. But not only this, there are lots of other diseases that are life threatening for a young child. So why are we doing this? I ask myself that all the time. My answer is to save the rainforest. That is what I keep telling myself so that I can justify it to myself. Now that I am a mother, living in PNG has a new perspective. I think about what we could be doing in Australia and I realise that there are less risks in terms of Tadji’s health but at the same time we will be risking his life when driving in a car. I also think we could be earning a lot more money than what we are now but then again the job would probably not achieve very much in terms of conservation.
So whenever I have doubts about being here and questioning our decision to live in PNG with little Tadji I just need to say to myself, “we are here to save a rainforest. When we do that, it will make it all worthwhile”. So now, in 2007 I am going to be working full time on establishing the Conservation Area for the Torricelli Mountains. We will keep you posted. Happy New Year!
Jim's Bit
Well we’re now in a new year and we have a lot of work ahead of us. I suppose the next big venture is visiting the Weimang (Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo) villages and setting up a second base in Sibilanga. We thank all our sponsors for 2006 and gratefully acknowledge Zoos Victoria for their ongoing support and for the special mention they gave us and the Tenkile Conservation Alliance in their annual report 2005/2006.
