Papua New Guinea is one of the last places on earth that still has blanks on the map. Over 1000 diverse cultures exists in the dense forest. About 850 languages and dialects are spoken in Papua. Most groups are made up just a few hundred people and some have been contacted by the outside world only recently.
The GOLPIRA crew is traveling through time during expeditions. The tribal communities of inland New Guinea were arguably the last peoples on earth to trade in metal goods such as knives or axes. In the remotest parts of this island this is still the case and the local people use stone axes to fell trees, bamboo slivers to slice their meat and traded shells or bamboo to hold their water. Cooking is done without receptacles, but using a method of heated stones.
The jungle is divided into clan territories. There are also territories of the spirits where no clans live. For a stranger to enter a clan's territory is viewed as a threat, potentially to life itself. Besides the daily hazards in the jungle, it seems that cannibalism is still carried out by some clans. The gold diggers of GOLPIRA know the risks it brings to live and work in such an environment and although it is quite dangerous they would not like to change shoes with someone else.
Meeting these indigenous people and working in the forest of Papua New Guinea leaves a deep, and memorable footprint in the hearts and memories of the crew.
