From Poroi to Port Moresby - Sago donation reaches Bel isi PNG - March 2023

Sago produced from the first ever mechanised sago mill in PNG has resulted in approximately 400kg of the finished product being donated to the Bel isi PNG safe house in Port Moresby.

The bags of sago were handed over to the Femili PNG POM Director, Ms Rose Walen on Wednesday 22 February. The donation was made possible through the partnership of the Santos funded Oil Search Foundation which purchased the sago with TotalEnergies and OM Holdings Ltd (OILMIN) who arranged logistics transport of the sago from Poroi (Gulf Province) to Port Moresby.

Sago is the staple food for many societies in Papua New Guinea. For people from the Gulf province, societies and lives revolve around sago, from harvesting to the finished product. The traditional way of producing sago is no easy feat and requires a lot of time and effort, most of which is provided by the women and girls.

For the Poroi 2 villagers around the Purari basin, the establishment of PNG’s first ever sago processing mill means women and girls will not have to provide as much labour and time in processing sago. The establishment of the Poroi sago mill was made possible through the partnership of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), local landowner group Koko Nene Henaru, TotalEnergies and OILMIN.

The donated sago will be dried, packed and distributed to other safe houses in Port Moresby as a contribution to the food security of clients in the various services.