Introduction
Our Story
In 2017 Isaiah was attending university in the US when Isaiah’s mom suggested that he look in to customizing Papua New Guinean designs on drawstring bags, which were popular in PNG at the time. Isaiah asked Kairu, who was living in PNG at the time, to help him create designs that were inspired by PNG art and symbols. These designs were then placed on these drawstring bags. These drawstring bags were produced sent to Wewak and a few other places in PNG to be sold through family and friends. After a lot of collaboration across two worlds and 4 more designs and production later the idea died down. The drawstring bags proved to be successful for the next few months, but there was little purpose to scale this side hustle and so the idea was but to rest.
At the end of 2018, Kairu began to attend the same university Isaiah was attending. They revisited the idea of starting to create products again. But they both agreed to start this again they had to create a business that was founded on more purpose than profit. If they were to start designing products for Papua New Guinea there needed to be a purpose that was deeper than making cool stuff to make money.
In 2019, MixBilas was started. MixBilas started with a greater purpose than profit, a purpose to preserve culture, and be a part of God’s work in reconciling .Papua New Guinea to Himself. Keep reading to understand these purposes in our Vision, Mission and Values...
Vision
Preserve Culture through Modern Style.
We, as MixBilas recognize the influence fashion, clothing, and bilas have on a culture. Papua New Guinea has faced rapid development and western influence in the last 20 years. Many of the younger generations in PNG have been drawn to the influence the western world offers. We are realizing that the more the young generations are drawn toward western culture the more our rich culture of PNG is being forgotten and even lost.
We, as MixBilas take pride in our culture and in many of our traditions. We believe there is so much good in our traditional ways and we see potential in preserving the good in our culture and reconciling the bad for the well-being of our people.
The world has become more accessible to Papua New Guinea and Papua New Guinea has become more accessible to the world. With globalization we, as MixBilas, understanding the influence the western world has on the future of Papua New Guinea and it’s culture. If we were fighting to not be influenced by western culture, we will, with no doubt, lose that fight. We can, however, choose to preserve our culture in the midst of being influenced.
We, as MixBilas understand that PNG is being influenced by modern style. However, we desire to influence modern style, at least within PNG. We see an opportunity to preserve our rich culture through modern style. We want to put Papua New Guinean beauty, art, symbols on modern styles from the western world. We want to attract our young audience with modernistic, good quality products that represent PNG culture well. MixBilas clothing is a way PNG can be relevant yet also preserve our rich culture.
Mission
To Bring Value to the People of Papua New Guinea through an Authentic Representation of PNG Culture through Our Products
Let us define two key terms and their implications found in our mission statement.
Firstly, The People of Papua New Guinea - This defines who we target with our designs and our products. Here is a list of our target market and the implications:
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Papua New Guineans living in PNG
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Papua New Guineans living abroad
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Anybody else that would like to celebrate the rich cultures and subcultures of Papua New Guinea
Secondly, PNG Culture - Papua New Guinean culture is not easily summed up. There are estimated to be more than 7000 different subcultural groups found in Papua New Guinea. So when we say we strive to authentically represent PNG Culture, we strive to represent Papua New Guinea in all of these subcultural differences and national similarities. Sounds hard? Well it is. And that is the difficulty and beauty in trying to represent our diverse counry.
Values
Identity: Living Out Who We Are Collectively and Individually
We, as MixBilas want all people to know where their identity lies. We want people to have a firm identity that is both collective and individual. Papua New Guinea is one of the most diverse countries in the world. There are various ways for a Papua New Guinean to identify themselves by. One could identify by tribe, by language, by region, by province, by nation. We want everyone to know their identity both collectively and individually.
Collective Identity: We, as MixBilas want to celebrate our nation as a whole. We want to promote peace and harmony with one another. This sense of unity needs to go beyond family enemies, tribal warfare, and regional rivalries. In the end we are all still Papua New Guinean. With our collective identity we want relationships to be central. We want to promote a sense of unity, a sense of belonging and a sense of collaboration for our collective well-being.
Individual Identity: We, as MixBilas want to celebrate our individuality. The differences that we face among Papua New Guineans are something to be respected and celebrated. Though we strive to be united as a nation the diversity is something we need to acknowledge, respect and protect. This means choosing to identify individually with a region, with distinct traditions and cultures, with immediate family, and as an individual. We want individual identity to empower people to have their own voice, to pursue their own well-being and holistic health, and to make their dreams a reality.
Belief: Being a Part of God’s Work in Reconciling Papua New Guinea to Himself
We, as MixBilas embrace and want to unashamedly represent our belief. Our primary belief is that God Is. Before the world existed God always was. God then created everything we experience and understand. This means so much, but even our very belief in God is dependent on who God has revealed Himself to be. We strive to have a theology from above which means we try to see everything as God created and designed it to be. We want this belief to define everything MixBilas does. We believe that as we seek God to lead us, He will be faithful to lead us and use us in His work of reconciling the whole world to Himself.
Transparency: Doing Business with Integrity
We, as MixBilas, want to operate with integrity as we seek to accomplish our Mission. Our goal is to bring value to the people of Papua New Guinea, so we desire to be held accountable to the people of Papua New Guinea. We value transparency and strive to be transparent in our operations. For example, we want people to be able to find out what inspired a product to how the profits of that product is being used.
Preservation: Seeking to Preserve the Beauty and Richness of Papua New Guinea
We, as MixBilas, value the preservation of the things that make Papua New Guinea beautiful. We value the preservation of our beautiful culture. We value the preservation of our natural resources and landscape. We value the preservation of our rich traditions. Papua New Guinea has developed exponentially within the last 20 years, but with the development of our country and globalization of our world we worry that what makes Papua New Guinea so beautiful is being lost and forgotten. We believe God has blessed Papua New Guinea with so much and we want to be good stewards of that by pursuing preservation of those blessings.
Development: Being a Part of Developing Papua New Guinea as a Country and Individually as People
We, as MixBilas, value development collectively as a country and individually as people. We see value in economic, community and personal development initiatives. We see business being a great tool for development on all these fronts. We, as MixBilas, want to play a role in sustainable development of Papua New Guinea. We want to play a role in developing in a way that preserves the richness and beauty of Papua New Guinea.