Resilient Peers Limited

20/07/2026

16/07/2026

We would like to congratulate Emma BJ Oliver for making the Wespac Sustainability Award Finalist. Your journey is a testament of what is possible if you trust the process and hear the calling of your Guardianship inspite of all the voices and circumstances that have been telling its not possible.

Oliver's story is our story and we celebrate her as she continues to carry the responsibilities of her people forward with the support system that enables her.

When we did one of our first Sustainaprenuer Workshop at Lamana expecting 25 attendees, Emma was the Only participant who paid for this session, we could have stopped the session instead it became a one on one session and Today because of that decision we see the story continues to impact lives when we all act upon our calling in uncomfortable conditions.

19/06/2026

The mysterious of nature!

A newborn can already be carrying her future grandchildren.

It sounds impossible.

But for aphids, it is reality.

Hidden on leaves and stems around the world, these tiny insects possess one of the most extraordinary reproductive strategies in nature.

A female aphid often does not need a mate to reproduce.

Instead, she can produce offspring through a process known as parthenogenesis, where embryos develop without fertilization.

But the story becomes even more remarkable.

Inside a female aphid, scientists have found developing daughters.

And inside those daughters, the beginnings of the next generation may already be forming.

Three generations.

One living body.

Scientists call this phenomenon the "telescoping of generations."

It was formally described by researchers studying aphid biology and helps explain why aphid populations can explode so rapidly under favorable conditions.

When a young aphid is born, much of the reproductive groundwork for future generations has already begun.

There is no need to search for a mate.

No need to wait for eggs to hatch.

The next generation is already underway.

This built in advantage allows aphid colonies to multiply at astonishing speed.

A single plant hosting only a few aphids can become covered with hundreds or even thousands within a relatively short period.

To farmers and gardeners, this ability can turn a small infestation into a major problem.

Yet nature has built limits into the system.

When environmental conditions begin to change, such as shorter daylight hours, cooler temperatures, overcrowding, or declining food quality, aphids often switch strategies.

Instead of producing identical female clones, they begin producing males and females that reproduce sexually.

This change introduces genetic diversity, helping future generations survive harsher conditions.

In other words, aphids do not simply reproduce.

They adapt.

What looks like a tiny insect on a leaf is actually carrying out one of the most fascinating reproductive cycles in the natural world.

A daughter.

A granddaughter.

And sometimes even the beginnings of a great granddaughter.

All connected through a single living body.

Nature never stops finding ways to surprise us.

Did you know that some aphids can carry multiple generations inside them at the same time?

18/06/2026

Our NPM Whakaaweawe Grant proudly supported the publication of Fifty Years of the Waitangi Tribunal edited by Carwyn Jones and Maria Bargh. The book celebrates decisions, results and reports of the Waitangi Tribunal over half a century.
Our Whakaaweawe grants aim to ensure research has maximum impact within communities and this fund will be open for applications in July. Sign up to our E-Panui for more information!
https://www.maramatanga.ac.nz/news/e-panui

17/06/2026

Thank you, Bula Sautu, for yet another collaborative piece. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute alongside fellow Melanesian storytellers. Let's continue weaving our stories into boardrooms and technical spaces, remembering that our knowledge systems have a place wherever decisions about our future are being made.

By Evengelyn Kove, Watna Mori and Gregory Roaveneo

15/06/2026

The Evolution of Intermediary Roles in Papua New Guinea Development

Over the past few decades, the role of NGOs and intermediary organisations has been evolving.

From the 1980s–2000s, many organisations played a key bridge role—connecting communities to services, resources, information, and decision-making spaces.

As the development context shifts, we are now seeing more complexity, uneven access, and interconnected challenges such as climate change and governance.

This is reshaping the role of intermediary organisations:

From gatekeeping and delivery
➡ to facilitation and ecosystem building
➡ to strengthening networks, alliances, and local leadership

At the same time, a powerful trend is emerging across Papua New Guinea.

Young graduates and mid-career professionals are returning home to their own places—villages, clans, churches, and local institutions.

Many are reconnecting and revitalising relationships between customary systems and formal systems, and choosing to lead from within their own communities.

We call this the emergence of local guardianship—people stepping into responsibility for place, people, and future generations.

But they do not need to be represented.

They need support systems: mentorship, networks, alliances, and platforms for collaboration.

At Resilient Peers, we believe the future is not defined by stronger organisations alone, but by stronger relationships, alliances, and collective leadership across systems.

09/06/2026

🌿 Tugata, Daka, Baori and Kiu — Carrying Responsibility through relationships Across Generations

In our Sirawa Bioculture journey, we were reminded again of something very simple, but very deep:

Upon whose invitation did you come? Who gave you the right to speak?

In the Binandere way, this is how relationships are recognised. It is how responsibility is carried.

We begin with Mr. Rodney Dowaia Kove, from the Binandere Pure clan of Jingada village. He comes from a strong lineage of storytellers and cultural dancers, and even while living in Port Moresby for work, he has always stayed connected to home—returning, supporting, and keeping those relationships alive.

In honour of the elders— those who have passed on—Rodney held a feast of remembrance and respect in the village. Through this process, he and the Clan Chiefs also passed on leadership and stewardship responsibilities the next generation of pu're leaders including Evengelyn, ensuring that this responsibility continues forward, not lost with time.

This is what we call tugata.

Tugata is not just connection. It is lineage in motion. It is how responsibility moves from ancestors, to parents, to children, and into the future.

From Rodney, this tugata continues through Evengelyn, whose work now carries these responsibilities into new spaces of learning, development, and engagement.

When Evengelyn met Yolarnie, another layer of relationship came forward.

Yolarnie carries the identity of Kiu (turtle), and Evangelyn carries Baori (cuscus).

These are not just names. They remind us that identity is always connected—to land, clan, and responsibility.

Because in our way, we are never just individuals.

We are always part of something bigger.

Then there is Daka.

“Daka” means taboo. But it is more than that. It is a system of protecting land, showing boundaries, and respecting responsibility.

A simple marker in the bush or river can signal: this place is not open without permission.

At clan level, daka is passed through chiefs, councils, and collective decision spaces like giwari oro and pu dapamo, where decisions are made together.

Daka was presented to us as a lived responsibility, linking Baori (cuscus) and Kiu (turtle) into shared responsibility—not just for today, but for the next seven generations.

So when we enter spaces like the Melanesian Ocean Summit, or when we talk about FPIC processes, we are not just individuals or professionals or the organisations we represent.

We are carrying:

our tugata (lineage and relationships)
our daka (responsibility and boundaries)
and our obligations to our clans and future generations

This reminds us that in Melanesia, participation is never just technical.

It is always relational.

🌊 And so we are left with a simple question:

Who are you carrying with you when you speak—and who gave you permission to do so?

05/06/2026

🌏 World Environment Day 2026

Today, we pay tribute to a son of Binandere whose work continues to guide us as we navigate the challenges of our time.

Professor Late John D. Waiko did something remarkable.

At a time when many believed that knowledge was only legitimate if it was written down, he stepped into the Western academic world and demonstrated that Binandere oral traditions are also a valid and sophisticated way of recording history, transmitting knowledge, and making sense of the world.

Through his work on the Binandere concepts of the Head and the Tail, Professor Waiko showed that oral tradition is not simply about remembering stories.

It is about understanding how knowledge travels across generations.

Head is the present generation — the people responsible for interpreting that knowledge and applying it to the realities of their own time.

The Tail is the source — the original ancestor, event, observation, lesson, or experience.

Between the Head and the Tail are six to seven generations of people who carry, test, adapt, and pass on that knowledge.

This understanding has become an important inspiration for the Sirawa Gen 6 Bioculture Project.

As Binandere people working with Binandere communities, we asked ourselves:

What would it look like if we used this framework to understand today's environmental challenges?

In 2023, Resilient Peers carried out assessments in the Jingada area. Communities identified increasing flooding as a growing concern, affecting livelihoods, food security, health, education, and income generation.

But instead of treating the assessment as just another report, we returned to the clans.

We sat with the five clan chiefs and their clan members at their wawa.

We shared what we had learned.

They corrected us.

We asked questions.

They shared their observations.

Together, we strengthened our understanding.

The Sirawa became more than a traditional fishing trap.

It became a tool for connecting the Head and the Tail.

Head: The realities we face today — increasing floods, changing livelihoods, food insecurity, and the need for better planning.

Tail: The wisdom of our ancestors who understood the land, water systems, seasons, governance, and community responsibilities.

Head: Young people learning how to document information through surveys, interviews, and community research.

Tail: Elders who carry stories and knowledge.

Head: Communities contributing information that can support Ward 11 planning and future development decisions.

Tail: Traditional governance systems where clans shared responsibility for community wellbeing.

One of the most powerful lessons from this process was realizing that the knowledge was never lost.

It was still there.

The challenge was that many people no longer saw how it connected to the problems and opportunities of today.

But once those connections were made, something changed.

Young people became curious.

Elders became teachers again.

Clan discussions became more active.

People began to see that our knowledge systems are not relics of the past.

They are living systems that can help us navigate the future.

As we celebrate World Environment Day, we are reminded that caring for the environment is not only about protecting forests, rivers, and oceans.

It is also about protecting the knowledge systems that have helped our people understand and live with those environments for generations.

Our next hope is to equip communities with simple tools such as recorders and tablets so that elders' stories, environmental observations, and clan histories can continue to be documented and passed on to future generations.

Because when we think like the Sirawa, we are not only planning for ourselves.

We are planning for the generations yet to come.

02/06/2026

The Sirawa Gen 6 Bioculture Project emerged from a concern that many of our young people are becoming disconnected from the knowledge systems that have guided our communities for generations. Influenced by modern ideas of development and the belief that opportunities only exist elsewhere, many no longer see value in the knowledge, practices, and stories that helped our ancestors thrive in this landscape.

The project takes its name from the Sirawa, the traditional Binandere fishing trap. Through Professor Late John.D. Waiko's thesis *Bejijimo*, the Sirawa became more than a fishing tool - Traditionally it symbolized how knowledge was passed from one generation to another. We are adapting this metaphor to bridge knowledge gaps between generations by integrating traditional and contemporary knowledge systems.

What does 50 years, 2,000 years, and 50,000 years look like?

This was one of the questions we explored on Day 1 of the Sirawa Gen 6 Bioculture, Guardianship and Self-Determination Workshop.

Facilitated by Yolarnie Amepou, volunteers physically stepped out different periods of time:

👣 50 steps to represent Papua New Guinea's 50 years of Independence.

👣 2,000 years to represent the time of Jesus.

👣 50,000 years to represent the depth and continuity of Indigenous knowledge systems.

As participants watched the distance grow, it became easier to appreciate just how ancient our knowledge systems are. Long before roads, mobile phones, and modern institutions, our ancestors were observing their environment, building relationships, adapting to change, solving problems, and passing knowledge from one generation to the next.

We also explored two different ways of thinking about leadership and governance.

Using a triangle, participants reflected on hierarchical systems where authority flows from the top down.

Using a circle, they reflected on Indigenous governance systems where everyone has a role to play in maintaining the wellbeing of the community. In this model, leadership is not carried by one person alone. Chiefs, elders, women, youth, and clans all have responsibilities that contribute to the strength and survival of the whole community.

One of the most moving moments came from an elder chief who shared:

"When you first came, we thought this was mainly for the young people. But now I am happy as an elder because it is making us think about how we can help our young people value the knowledge that is important for our survival and continuity."

What struck us throughout the discussions was that many young people still know their clan stories. They know where they come from. They know their histories.

The challenge is not necessarily that the stories have been forgotten.

The challenge is whether they are still valued.

Living in a remote swamp environment, many young people have been told that opportunities only exist elsewhere. Some dream of moving to town, while others wish town life could somehow be brought into the village. As a result, there can be a growing disconnect from the knowledge and ways of life that have sustained communities for generations.

The purpose of these exercises was not to romanticize the past.

It was to remind us that our ancestors survived, adapted, and thrived through thousands of years of change. Their knowledge systems evolved over time, and perhaps there is wisdom in them that can help us navigate the challenges we face today.

As we reflected on the history of the Pu're Clan, known for its fearlessness and protective spirit, one question emerged:

What is the Pu're spirit today?

And how do we carry that spirit forward in a world that is changing so quickly?

01/06/2026

Welcome to June—the halfway point of 2026.

Over the coming weeks, Resilient Peers Leadership (RPL) will be sharing stories, reflections, and highlights from our Sirawa (Binandere for Fishing Trap) Gen6 Bioculture Project, which was undertaken from February to March this year. We will also share some of the important events we participated in during April and May that connect closely to our work on bioculture, guardianship, and self-determination.

First, we would like to thank Global Greengrants Fund for supporting this project. This is the second time they have invested in our work, following support for our community assessment and resource centre initiative in 2023.

On behalf of the people of Jingada Community, the Pu're Clan of the Binandere Tribe, Ward 11, Tamata LLG, Ioma District, Oro Province, thank you for believing in our vision and journey. Every project has helped us take another step forward as we continue learning, growing, and strengthening Indigenous-led approaches that honour our own systems, knowledge, and ways of engaging with the world.

This project was also our first collaboration with @ Piku Biodiversity Network and its Director, Ms Yolarnie Amepou. Building on lessons from the first Bioculture Project trialled in Kikori in 2024, we worked together to adapt and contextualize the approach for Jingada Community.

Yolarnie, thank you for your generosity, wisdom, and humility. Your experience, leadership, and commitment to your people and place have left a lasting impression on both the RPL team and our Pu're Clan leaders and members.

One of the most powerful parts of this journey was seeing learning happen in both directions. As we learned from the community, community members were also challenged to reflect deeply on their responsibilities to their land, stories, clans, and relationships.

In the coming days, we look forward to sharing more about what the Sirawa Gen6 Bioculture Project is, what took place during the project, and some of the fascinating insights that emerged from the process.

We will also be sharing reflections from:
Sukumundu Walks Before Film Launch by Project Sepik
The Inaugural Melanesian Oceans Summit

Stay tuned as we continue this journey of learning, guardianship, culture, and community-led action.