When you first meet Lina you immediately get pulled in by her energy, she is the most remarkable spirit. For the past 22 years, Lina has made it her mission to connect women living in remote villages along the Sepik River in PNG by training them to become independent and highly-skilled Bilum weavers. In a small motorboat, she travels up and down the Sepik, it’s an arduous four-day journey under the hot sun. At each village, she meets groups of women at the river’s bank to help sell their weavings and this has proved an invaluable life source.
ON HER ULTIMATE DREAM:
“I never stop dreaming, I’m always hopeful. I feel strongly, you must never give up hope and I’ve always pushed that point with the women. Together, we can do anything. We are fortunate in that we are a wonderful community of women and we all support each other. My home is not in an ideal place to create a studio for the women, it’s muddy and the land is polluted [by oil], but we do need a space where the weavers can come together. That’s something I dream about and the income generated through Among Equals goes towards that dream. I know we will get there.”
