Company facilitates training for locals

IN efforts to encourage sustainable living after a mine life, Barrick (Niugini) Ltd (BNL) continues to facilitate capacity-building training for locals in Porgera Valley.
The Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training was started by BNL.
The first in November last year saw 60 people graduate with Certificate of Attendance.
The recent one, from May 31 to June 9, saw 71 people participate.
Many of them were from co-operatives in the district.
The training was delivered by Port Moresby-based Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Corporation.
According to BNL economic programmes superintendent Daniel Sosi, the recent training was facilitated at the request of the Porgera Agriculture Cooperatives Association Ltd chaired by Nickson Pakea.
It is an umbrella organisation that includes the cooperative societies of Porgera Vegetable Farmers (PVFCS), Porgera Inland Fish Farmers (PIFFCS), Porgera Paiela Coffee (PPCCS) and the Porgera Livestock Farmers (PLFCS).
“They requested PJV to help them build their capacity in terms of basic business skills and knowledge and so we requested for the SME Corporation to come and help facilitate the training,” Sosi said.
He said the training was aimed at shifting focus to sustainable activities such as agriculture, fisheries and tourism from mining.
“We’re trying to get them to understand that they need to use the skills, they need to use the land to make a living out of those non-mine related projects and business activities.”
SIYB coordinator Andrew Mai said the training was about planning a business.
“Most of the time in PNG, we try to do business without planning at the first stage, so when we get into business we are looking more like conducting trial-and-error sort of business. Most of the time it’s unsuccessful and it fails,” Mai said.
“So the outcome of this programme is to teach participants to plan their business before they can get into their businesses.”
Participants Ramson Liwame and Naiyala Mark thanked BNL for facilitating the training.
Liwame, who did not get a placing in tertiary institutions after Year 12, said he was motivated to embark on some business ideas.
Mark said she was privileged to have received such training as it saved her the cost of travelling elsewhere to receive the same training.
She intends to improve her small agriculture and livestock farming business.