This company depends upon a crew of fieldworkers, some of whom act as Principal Investigators for one or another project. Most are graduates of the PNG Studies Department of Divine Word University here in Madang, where I have lectured in anthropology, ethnographic research methods and PNG history.
These are my associates, not just my staff, because they surpass me in the field and support all the documentation and report writing that has to be done afterwards. Over the last few years we’ve all forded flooding rivers; climbed limestone escarpments; slept with rats, fleas and aching muscles; eaten nearly everything in the PNG palette, from slippery grubs to tasty baked tapioca.
We’ve been cursed and threatened (by factory management and missionaries), chased by dogs and drawn arrows, but most of the time we’ve been received with the kind of effusive graciousness typical of villages everywhere in PNG.
Amongst a fluid crew of ethnographers (including Nellie Allman, Moses Angasa, Jennifer Kunoko, Lawrence Mamadeni, Kia Nema, Daniel Tira, James Topo, and Nancy Warkia) our Associates are:
Francis Akuani is a former DWU student with extensive fieldwork experience, including community development work for the Bismark Ramu Group NGO. She’s from Bogia, has excellent writing skills and specializes in women’s issues. But most of all she offers a calm and intelligent analysis of any situation, and can be counted on to recognize the core concerns or priorities of a community. It’s not easy to be a female boss in PNG, but she commands respect from everyone who works with her.
Thomas Warr is a long-time community development worker, having worked for several years the Bismark Ramu Group before coming to us. He is also a former DWU student, runs a his own smallholder business in his Rai Coast home, and was recently snagged by the Law NGO, Village Development Trust, because they could pay him better. But we hope he continues to work with us because there is no better fieldworker, no more diligent interviewer, no more perceptive analyst of village life in PNG than Thomas.
Joseph Rainbubu is a graduate of the PNG Studies Department at Divine Word University, where he was one of the school’s most outstanding and popular students. Joseph is very smart and has been one of our most valued Principal Investigators, along with Thomas Warr. The two have been a team on several projects and can be depended upon to bring in every last tidbit of information required. We especially admire Joe for some of the underwater photography he captured of the RD Tuna factory in Madang. Note: Joe passed away in 2005, but we are forever indebted to him.
Yunus Wenda is our local hero, a West Papuan refugee and activist (formerly imprisoned by the Indonesians) who adds depth and integrity to all our projects, because he will go off on his own, befriend the right people, and come back with the goods. He’s a born investigative journalist who now and again slips back across the border to expose Indonesian military violence against his brothers in West Papua. When we have him in our service he appears as dedicated to any short-term project as he is to the long-term poltical one.
Christian Dominic is a research assistant originally from the Karawari River who has now worked with the company on virtually every one of its reports, and whose unflagging enthusiasm for getting the data in any way necessary has become one of our secret weapons.
Malawa Wong is a new team member who also has extensive experience with Madang NGO's and community development work, and has now completed an arduous survey of the Ok Tedi impact communities in the Western Province, with Simon, Chris, Frances and Nancy.
Maria Huaniangre is a Divine Word graduate and teacher at St. Benedict's College in Wewak who is an expert in women's and children's issues and has been crucial to the success of two important studies in the East Sepik, one of SST Tuna cannery and the other of the vanilla boom in Maprik.
Kritoe Keleba is another DWU exceptional graduate who has worked on two of our big projects so far, the social assessment of oil palm in Oro Province, and the analysis of the EU Rural Coastal Fisheries project with fishing groups in Madang. Smart, dedicated, hardworking, and from far away Western Province, Kritoe is a real asset.
Paul Hukuhu comes to us from wide experience in conservation and community development, having worked for Research and Conservation Foundation in Goroka, and then HELP Resources in Wewak,. He’s got experience in health issues, land tenure, ecology, and community development and capacity building. We are lucky to have him.
Dickson Mandengat is a DWU graduate with long experience in social research, beginning with coursework for Nancy Sullivan, and running through various short and long-term projects for the company. He’s a great team player, smart and personable, and he gets the job done. He’s Sepik, and like a member of the family. We hope he’ll even go on to graduate school eventually.
Rebecca Emori is one of our Principal Investigators, with experience running research teams in the field, analysing data and writing reports. She’s a natural ethnographer and not only raises the right questions, but brings in the data. Part Trobriands-part Central, she is an island girl who can nevertheless trek difficult highlands terrain and coax important confidences from intractable villagers, young and old. Another DWU grad, she’s been with us for many projects now, and hopefully for many more.
Joshua Meraveka graduated in Physiotherapy from Divine Word University. He is also part of the HELP Resources family, and so is especially experienced in community work. He is the Team Leader of our Karawari Caves Project and has been the guiding force behind the project, standing in for me in the field when I am not there, and transcriving and recording most of the data.
Aiyoh Gubag, another Divine Word graduate, began working for us as a trainee in 2006, and then helped us on our Pathfinders survey of reproductive health in Madang Province—endearing herself to everyone when we left her in the field one afternoon, by mistake, and she made her way back nonplussed. She has been our sole female (apart from myself) on the Karawari team, holding her own and recording women’s stories in all the cave communities.
Livai Roland is a new addition to the Karawari cave arts team and has been an enormous asset to the team, especially as support for Aiyoh, and another strong trekker and caver in the field. He contributes equanimity, good nature and a willing hand.
Frank James is one of our Karawari kids, a long time Madang resident who has lived with us for years and is now indispensable in clearing the way for our team back in his home territory of the Upper Karawari, especially in the Simbut and Inyai areas.
Jeffrey Otto , another Karawari resident, was living with us in Madang for some time until he went back home for a visit, fell in love with Colleen from Ambonwari, and now three kids later, is back on board as a critical member of the cave art team, trekking to remote and dangerous sites, negotiating local politics, and taking a turn transcribing on computer.
Robert Fidelis Tapain is an Awim villager, and in fact was one of the young kids who introduced me to the caves over twelve years ago. Now a father of young kids, he is an important member of the cave art team, leading us to some of the most remote caves and introducing us to most of their owners, who, because of Robert’s involvement, have so readily helped the project.
Fred Kasi is from Yimas 2 and another important cave arts team member, who contributes everything from logistical support to plain footwork when it comes to finding and recording the details of all these caves.
Steven Mambi Yakaitapan is a crucial member of our cave arts team, as one of the original informants for the ethno archaeologists Rhys Jones and Paul Gorecki, when they made their initial survey of the Awim caves in 1987. Little did they know that the twenty or so caves they listed would one day grow ten-fold under this more extensive investigation.
Sebastian Katuk and Anna Tisip are
No one has been more important to the cave arts project than Sebastian Katuk in Awim, and his wife Anna Tisip and kids are close seconds. Sebastian has constructed our team house, and the new camp structure, and worked hard to get all the villagers behind us in this effort, not to mention leading us to most of the Awim caves.
Daniel Kennedy is the only PNG would-be archaeologist we have ever met. His enthusiasm, computer skills, and general curiosity were an enormous help to the Karawari cave arts team over Christmas-New Year 2007-8. Son of our beloved friend, Adrian Kennedy, Daniel is one of PNG’s the best kept secrets.
Roderick Molong joined the cave arts team, along with Daniel, for Christmas-New Years 2007-8 and was a great addition to our trekking and investigating for that period. A terrific sport, he is excellent in the field.
Terry Dominic is from Karawari and has been with the team from the start, helping with stores and logistics for the team. He’s also a great team member and helps in many undeclared ways.
Roderick Molong
Terry Dominic
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