Jungle Intelligence (JI) is on a mission to set foundations for development within rural communities of Gulf Province.
Pukari in Malalaua district is the first to accept the idea initiated to formally organise themselves through landowner associations.
Jerry Sarufa, founder of JI, says the idea is to network the communities with business, corporate and private entities.
But first, there has to be proper documentation and paperwork in order to enter formal arrangement or agreement with entities they wish to partner with.
Sarufa’s team travelled into Gulf on April 4 to see the progress on ground, which he said was impressive.
The community built a guest house, a hauswin and an elavo – a traditional chief’s house.
All these were completed in less than two weeks, provided with only two hammers, two packet of nails, a tape measure, bush knives and axes.
This show of commitment from their end is proof they badly need development.
Sarufa’s team included his immediate family – mother, father, brother, sister and brother-in-law.
The family wanted to see the project and figure out how to help the community through their specialities in education and health.
The three-day trip was fruitful, seeing discussions with different groups on ground.
They team also visited Karaeta in Kerema, another community following Pukari.
“The desire, the heart is all there…they know what they want…it’s just the process of getting it that’s the difficult part,” Sarufa said.
“They need people out there who are open, caring and have the passion to come in and partner up to help them to grow, expand and prosper.”
His team’s purpose is to choose partners that will fit perfectly into these environments so the villages can prosper from the partnerships.