During the summer of 2009, M·CAM sent four university students from the United States to East New Britain, Papua New Guinea to launch a partnership for the creation of the world’s first Heritable Innovation Trust. This program, in partnership with Follywell #6 and supported by Australia’s PITIC and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, will create the foundation for a non-extractive economic future for East New Britain and serve as a model for the world.

They were based at the Follywell #6 plantation in Vunakanau to record their unique processing techniques and farmer-community empowerment strategies. Their first week was spent in meetings observing the provincial and national government systems. They then spent two weeks in and around the village of Raunsepna, an four days in the Komgi Village with the keepers of Qaqet customs. In both villages, they lived with different families, participating in everyday activities in order to experience firsthand the interplay between community, business and government. These specific locations were selected because of their pre-existing working relationships with Follywell #6, a company already utilizing the reciprocal, socially responsible business practices outlined in the Heritable Innovation Trust Framework.

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