PAPUA NEW GUINEA TRADITIONAL SAILING - MILNE BAY

 

USING SAILING KNOWLEDGE TO SURVIVE

 

 
In the maritime province of Milne Bay, two canoe sailors have taken matters into their own hands.
 
Like other coastal areas of Papua New Guinea, high fuel prices have increased the cost of dinghy fares, making it harder for people to travel to town and make a profit on their fish and garden produce.
 
Two famous Milne Bay sailors, Justin and Sanakoli John, see cultural knowledge as the solution to the problem. 
 
The John brothers made headlines in 2017 when they completed The World’s First Circumnavigation of the Island of New Guinea in a Traditional Sailing Canoe.
 
And it is the canoe that they see as a key to addressing high transport costs. Over the phone, Sanakoli John explains: "When you have canoe, you can survive, you can go fishing, travel to the market, travel for free and support your own life. This is our tradition.” 
 
Unfortunately, the knowledge of building outrigger canoes and the bigger sailing canoes, known as Sailau, is disappearing, and people have become reliant on dinghies for transport. That’s why the John brothers have started a canoe building school named Pasana Group. 
 
While they teach the art of building canoes to both adult men and women, there is a special focus on passing on the knowledge to the next generation.

Justin (back) and Panakope on a sailing canoe.

 
“Our country has one of the highest youth populations in the world, so there is a great need to teach the youth our culture, so they know where they come from and can provide for themselves,” Sanakoli John notes.
 
Pasana Group are not only focusing on canoes, fish populations are deteriorating in some areas of the region. Another aim of the canoe school is to create awareness of sustainable fishing practises, such as not catching parrot fish and sharks as well as giving grace periods to certain reefs and only allowing canoes to fish on close-by reefs. 

Sanakoli John states: “There is fish enough for everyone if we are smart about it, that’s why we want to partner with other marine organizations and spread awareness across the region.”  
 
The canoe school has been up and running for a month now, and so far it has been a great success. “People are so excited about cutting canoes. Now they can go fishing and travel to market. Children want to join and people are already marking their trees (for their canoe) and some people come back and tell us they want to build a second and third canoe” Sanakoli John says with excitement. 
 
Despite the initial success, Pasana Group is still very much a grassroot movement and the bush school is in need of more tools.
 
“We only have our old axes and land and drills, but it is not enough for all these people, so we have started a fundraiser on Facebook and hope to raise enough to buy new tools and safety equipment, so our youth can travel safely at sea,” says Sanakoli John.
 
He adds: “The solution is right in front of our nose, the solution is our culture.”
 
You can follow Pasana Group on Facebook: facebook.com/pasanagroup