The 2021 Passage Application - PNG
Cultural Immersion
As a participant in the 2021 Passage Expedition, you will take part in a very unique opportunity assessing sacred rainforest sites specifically related to womanhood, pregnancy, birthing, and/or postpartum for inclusion in future itineraries. Accessing these remote rainforest sacred sites will involve long-distance foot travel that may include swift river crossings, steep, slippery, treacherous terrain, inclement weather, potential encounters with hazardous plants and animals and generally rough conditions. We will have female guides and female bag carriers to assist us, but this part of the Itinerary is not for the faint of heart. Sleeping accommodation will be personal backpacking tent or weatherproof hammock, though the rainforest camp will include a bush material house where the participants, guides and bag carriers will gather for meals and conversation.
At the bush camps we will be hosted by women, however men from the villages will likely accompany us in order to hunt and gather firewood, etc. During our visits we will gather exclusively with the women to make sago, tend the garden, catch fish, gather wild herbs, food, medicines and cooking materials. Near each bush camp where we stay there will be a fertility, birthing or sacred feminine site and we will have ample time while there to share stories and develop lasting connections with the Kosua women. Village stays will provide more opportunities to share stories, play with children, gather together and relax after the rugged hikes and bush camp experiences. Our guide will be facilitating behind the scenes with the Kosua throughout the expedition to help create a positive experience for everybody and ensure village men/husbands do not interfere with the women’s group dynamics.
It is important that applicants are aware of the challenges and hazards of this adventure and what it entails, but we hope it will install a sense of excitement rather than foreboding. The geography and environment of the Bosavi area is rugged and to fully take advantage of the exclusive, incredible opportunity we’ve been afforded, participants need to be prepared to push their physical, emotional and intellectual boundaries.
Expedition Itinerary
Day 1-3:
Arrive Port Moresby international airport. Freshen up at the Grand Papuan hotel.
The team will gather together for the first time in person.
These first two days will provide opportunities for the team to acclimatize, build relationships with one another and take in some of the local culture. Priority will be given to going over preparations and team building.
Fly from Port Moresby to Mt. Hagen and transfer to MAF charter flight to the village of Fogomaiyu (2 hour of breathtaking twin-otter flight over pristine rainforest) and arrive to a warm cultural welcome in a Kosua Tribe ‘haus tambaran’ scenically perched on a small plateau above the mighty Kikori River.
Day 3- 14:
Daily activities will include:
- · Participating in home visits to pregnant women and mothers and babies, observing treatments, asking questions and offering support when sought.
- Check-in, discussion and sharing of observations, thoughts, and insights with the team.
- Reflective time for journal writing and compiling notes.
- Bush camping and walking/trekking to visit fertility, birthing and other sacred sites for women.
- Time to share stories and develop lasting connections with the villagers and other members of the team.
- Conducting conversations with indigenous women, young girls, traditional midwives.
- Learning traditional midwifery practices through observation and listening.
- Bushwalking to collect medicinal plants and observing how medicine is created with them.
- Recording the traditional knowledge, practices and stories through writing and audio recording.
- Observing and possibly participating in birth rituals or other rites of passage and ceremonies.
Overall team objectives will include:
- Building respectful relationships through listening, and having an open, curious, non-judgmental attitude toward others.
- Creating the foundation for the development of collaborative educational programs that will satisfy the needs of women and girls in the community.
- Identifying common health concerns during birth, pregnancy and postpartum.
- Identifying the hopes, needs, concerns, dreams, and challenges of village women and girls.
- Holistic midwifery knowledge sharing that is complimentary and supports healthy outcomes of mothers and babies
- Learning about the pregnancy process, birth rituals, rites of passage rituals (hopefully observe and participate) for the purpose of travel immersion experiences.
- Recording oral histories and genealogies, birth sites, medicinal plant use, and other cultural sites of importance through a database of land maps associated with indigenous use on the land
- Contributing to the empowerment of women and mothers to know and advocate for their health and birth rights
- Contributing to greater awareness around women’s and mother’s health and birth rites at the government and policy making levels.
- Contributing to the acknowledgement and recognition of the role of the midwife in larger contexts, ensuring the role continues and is passed down to future generations.
Day 14-16:
Travel back from the village to Port Moresby. One night in Moresby before our international flight.
- Itinerary may vary slightly
Cost:
$ 5,995 USD
Terms And Conditions
Fee Structure
The cost of the trip includes
Food, Accommodation, Kosua Tribe Support, Landowner Resource Compensation, Kosua guides, Ground transportation, Moresby-Hagen flights, MAF flight to village,
It does not include international air travel to and from PNG. Dates, prices, and itineraries are subject to change.
Terms
These policies are in place to ensure you, our customer, receive the highest level of service. As group sizes are limited, all cancellation / rescheduling deadlines will be strictly adhered to. All cancellations must be received via e-mail. Verbal cancellations are not accepted.
Trip Payments
Trip deposits are Non-refundable
All customers are requested to confirm trip bookings with payment in full at least 60 days prior to the trip. Full payment ensures participant registration on the trip selected.
Cancellations
You may cancel a by submitting a WRITTEN NOTICE via e-mail. The deposit is non-refundable and the balance of the trip is subject to the following cancellation fees:
· If cancelled over 2 months before the scheduled starting date of the trip, no payments are necessary and where full payment has been made, we will refund the trip balance back to the individual (except for the deposit)
· If cancelled within 2 month but more than 30 days before the scheduled starting date of the trip, a 50% cancellation fee will required by the company or individual.
· If cancelled within 30 days before the scheduled starting date of the trip, a 100% cancellation fee will be required.
Questions About Your Payment?
If you have any questions about paying for your expedition, please contact Alegra ally at [email protected]
EXPLORE
NURTURE
REVITALIZE
The 2021 Passage Expedition will serve as an incredible first step for Adventure Midwives. Our intention is to take the module we co-create with the communities in Papua New Guinea and reproduce it in other communities across the world, such as the Amazon, Africa and Siberia, according to each communities needs. Our aim is to have collaborative initiatives in midwifery and cultural land mapping that will help to support the following outcomes:
- Holistic midwifery knowledge sharing that is complimentary and supports healthy outcomes of mothers and babies
- Recording oral histories and genealogies, birth sites, medicinal plant use, and other cultural sites of importance through a database of land maps associated with indigenous use on the land
- The acknowledgement and recognition of the role of the midwife in larger contexts, ensuring the role continues and is passed down to future generations
- Protection of indigenous women’s birthing rights and access to culturally sensitive care that respects language, culture and customs while minimizing risks of institutionalized violence in the face of contact with outside authority and medical systems.
- Empowerment of women and mothers to know and advocate for their health and birth rights, while contributing to greater awareness around these rites at the government and policy making levels.