This year marks our 10-year anniversary and truly it would mean nothing without the women who have walked beside me, the weavers.
Over the last decade together, we’ve built something extraordinary – an international market created not through aid or dependency, but through trade.
Every step has been grounded in trust, relationships built over time. An exchange of knowledge, through laughter, patience, my travels to PNG, our daily Facetimes, and our shared determination.
Through this work, we’ve created a sustainable and dignified source of income for the women who have long been part of what is this hidden economy. Weaving from their homes, often unseen and undervalued. Today, those same women are powerful agents of change in their communities.
When women are supported and empowered, they lift entire villages with them. Each Bilum is a thread in that larger story of equality, education, and independence.
“If the goals of economic development include improving living standards, reducing poverty and inequality, then it is natural to work through women.”
— Muhammad Yunus
In ten years, through our work with the weavers of Papua New Guinea, we have seen this truth: that when women are given opportunity and trust, the effect ripples out to families, villages, across generations.
Our journey has taken us deep into some of the most remote places on earth. This was captured in the recent ABC documentary, Wan Kantri: The Next 50 Years, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of Independence and the power of our growing Bilum industry. I did note, however, that even the most intrepid of journalists still couldn’t make the arduous journey which Lina, our cultural advisor, takes almost every week when she motors up the Sepik river in her dug-out canoe to connect with hundreds of weavers on the river’s banks. The women who guide us are strong, fearless and determined.
We’ve been lucky enough to work with an incredible creative team including Hannah Scott-Stevens who, alongside Natasha Inchley, lugged camera equipment down a thousand steps through the ravine to capture the weavers’ stories. We’ve delivered spectacles, shoes, and books for children, bags of knitwear to be unravelled and turned into Bilum, and gifts for the children. The days spent with Florence, Lina and Barbara — these are moments I’ll never forget.
The friendship and allyship we’ve built over ten years form the heart of everything Among Equals stands for. What started with 30 weavers we now count more than 4,000.
We’ve seen first-hand how livelihood interventions can break cycles of gendered violence and create opportunities for education, health, and hope. Through trade, creativity, and a decade of friendship, we’ve proven that this model works and that it can transform lives.
Closer to home
Along the way, we’ve been blessed with remarkable support from our community of collectors and customers to our generous patrons like Suzanne Julian, who hosted an event this week alongside television presenter Georgie Gardner to celebrate this milestone. These moments remind me how much collective goodwill and belief has shaped our story.
As we look to the next decade, we’re at a pivotal point: we’ve proven that creativity and connection can drive equality and lasting change and now, we’re ready to go further.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Every Bilum you carry, every donation, every shared story continues to strengthen the thread between us all.
With gratitude as always,
Carrie
Caroline Sherman, founder
