Lily PNG magazine

28/11/2025

Simply stunning new ideas in bilumwear from PNG's own Florence Jaukae Kamel - Bilum Fibre Artist at the Fiji Fashion Week Spectacular in Sydney last Saturday (Nov 22).
Congratulations!
The cowrie shell additions are gorgeous!

26/11/2025

And so it begins...
Pageant Week officially started yesterday with all nine entrants contesting the 2026 Miss Bird of Paradise PNG title arriving in Port Moresby from around the country for yesterday's official induction program.
It was also the young women's first chance to meet local media – including our new Lily Magazine writer Roselyn Erehe – who assembled at Katara Bay Retreat overlooking Fairfax Harbour at Napa Napa for this photo opp.
Here (from left) are: Ruth Elijah (Central), Annsio Posa (Gulf), Naomi Koge (Western), Lois Lavutul (East New Britain), Iampela Popena (Western Highlands), Vilousa Hehembe (East Sepik), Carol Hwena (Sandaun), Georgina Kasu (Morobe), and Kurie Endopio (Enga).
Welcome to POM ladies!! We look forward to getting to know more about you :)

24/11/2025

Do you want to write or illustrate children's books?
Let's Read Pacific partners with local creatives to bring children's stories to life and will be running a children's book creation workshop in Port Moresby in January!
If you're a budding children's author and/or digital illustrator, this is your moment!
Deadline to apply is this coming Saturday (Nov 29).
Note: Let's Read is a program of The Asia Foundation, a non-profit international development organisation.

Creative Writer Opportunity
https://lnkd.in/eW2kTpuz

Digital Illustrator Opportunity
https://lnkd.in/eaSWHXhq

📚 Explore Let's Read Pacific's free digital library with over 15,000 books in more than 70 languages: letsreadpacific.org

17/11/2025

If you're living outside PNG, and want to catch up on what's happening here, grab a digital copy of Lily's new 2025-2026 issue – now selling on our website for just AU$4.90.
https://www.lilymagazinepng.com/

24/10/2025

Mulch Made From Buai Waste
Wins Top Homemade Product Prize

PNG’s top microbusiness-made product for 2025 has been named – and it’s an idea quite literally growing from the ground up. Port Moresby agriculturalist Geno Geno, owner of The Seed Supplier and winner of the Useful Category, has taken out first place in the national Lily HOMEMADE Microbusiness Competition for her ingenious Areca Fibre Mulch – a sustainable gardening mulch made from discarded betelnut husks that not only reduces rubbish on city streets but helps water-stressed trees and plants thrive. Made from waste that once lined Port Moresby’s roadsides, Geno’s product is transforming rubbish into resource. “Our process ensures that all bacteria and unwanted pathogens are removed,” she said. “We’re working with city managers to scale collection across every suburb – the goal is to cover the base of every garden bed and tree in Port Moresby.”
Geno, who previously won the inaugural Lily Homemade competition in 2022 for her eco-friendly fully compostable betelnut palm leaf plates, bowls and spoons, was announced the winner of the Useful Category in the latest 2025 round of the competition after the judging event in May this year. Since then she has designed dedicated ‘buai-skin bins' to stop spit contamination, ordered branded merchandise (shirts and caps), and even showcased her product and the potential of converting buai skins to carbon in Germany in July at a climate-adaptation summer school that aims to help SMEs become investment-ready.
Second place goes to Wearable Category winner and breast cancer survivor Carole Cholai, an IT specialist and founder of SistaLuv Foundation, for her one-sided post-mastectomy bra that brings comfort and dignity to women after surgery. Her thoughtful designs are handmade with help from her mother and have now grown into a social enterprise offering peer support, health and patient recovery healing products, and awareness programs in partnership with the Port Moresby General Hospital Cancer Unit.
Third place is awarded to Edible Category winner and Lae agronomist Nicholar Boas, whose Warapipe Herbal Blue Salt – infused with antioxidant-rich butterfly pea flowers – was inspired by the rise in lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Since the competition, Nicholar has launched her new Blue Bloome brand to include blue soap, juice and dried flowers, and is now seeking investors to help scale production.
This year’s third round of the HOMEMADE competition drew 150 entries from across PNG, narrowed down to 15 finalists thanks to careful judging by our sponsor partners, and who attended a four-day professional development workshop at the Women’s Business Resource Centre in May, funded by the Australian Government through the PNGAus Partnership. Finalists received training and mentoring from business and finance experts at MiBank and Women’s Micro Bank (Mama Bank), retail readiness advice from CPL Group, Maku Gifts and Kulture Hub (Media Partners), and gift packs from Colgate-Palmolive. Air Niugini and SP Brewery provided return flights for the seven regional finalists to attend the Port Moresby judging, the Crown Hotel provided accommodation for the pre-judging night, while Chef Julz Henao and The Catering Co. hosted the events at the Locker Room Café and Santos National Football Stadium free of charge.
The three category winners (Edible, Useful, Wearable) each received business websites from Media Partners (valued at K24,000) and business registration support from Business Link Pacific (K4000).
In addition, substantial cash prizes were awarded today:
• Overall Winner: Geno Geno – K12,000 (sponsored by MiBank, the Australian Government through the PNGAus Partnership, and Women’s Micro Bank)
• Second Place: Carole Cholai – K5000 (PNGAus Partnership)
• Third Place: Nicholar Boas – K2500 (PNGAus Partnership)
The Homemade program continues to uncover PNG’s next generation of micro-entrepreneurs – from Bougainville’s organic cocoa- infused hair dye creator Julie Rereve (CocoVera Naturals) to Alotau coconut oil soapmaker Regina Varaosi (28 Essence & Organic Supplies) and Central’s dairy-free ice cream maker Seni Roy (Felsen Frozen Dessert) – turning clever homemade ideas into real, sustainable businesses.
The final showcase, including a 9-page Shopping Guide featuring the products of the top 50 entries, plus a full wrap-up of the competition, appear in Lily Magazine Issue #28, launched today alongside the announcement of the Homemade Round 3 winners.

23/10/2025

WHO HAS THE MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCT???
Tune in from 10am today as we go live to announce the overall winner of our annual HOMEMADE product search competition –and find out who takes home the K12,000 cash prize!!
Thanks to our cash sponsors: the Australian Government through the PNGAus Partnership (K4000 for the winner, K5000 for 2nd prize and K2500 for 3rd prize), MiBank (K5000 for the winner), and Mama Bank (K3000 for the winner) for their generous sponsorship, plus Media Partners which has provided brand new business websites for the top 3, and Business Link Pacific for providing business registration setup costs for each one.
What a great helping hand for these fantastic and innovative businesses!
We wish you every success!

17/10/2025

Love this spotlight on two of our Homemade finalists in yesterday's Port Courier for International Day of Rural Women!
Lae pineapple farmer Denise Aitaba makes beautiful earrings from the woven fibre of dried pineapple leaves, while agronomist Nicholar Boas uses the vivid blue butterfly pea flowers that grow on her Nadzab farm (also near Lae) – and which are rich in vitamins – to create a healthy table salt.
Great work ladies!

16/10/2025

Thank you Media Partners PNG for helping us get the message out!!
xx

There is a wealth of young and talented entrepreneurs in Papua New Guinea whose creativity, passion, and determination continue to inspire. Earlier this year, during the judging of

13/10/2025

EDIT: Breaking news direct from Delwin just now: her own brand Gigiova Dark Chocolate + Galip Nuts (using the same beans as the Cocoa Sisters bars) will be on sale at her Port Moresby shop next Monday, October 20!!
Find DJ Organic Produce - Bougainville shop at Garden City SME Centre - Room 121.

Shout-out to PNG's own Delwin Ketsian – who is now officially one of the 'Cocoa Sisters', with her likeness on chocolate bars sold under the new Cocoa Sisters brand launched in May in the United Kingdom!!
The Bougainvillean cocoa farmer SME met British brand founder Sarah Payne at a chocolate workshop in the Solomon Islands last year. Delwin had been part of a UK-sponsored delegation of eight PNG cocoa farmers, while Sarah was attending as a cocoa buyer.
Meeting female cocoa farmers face to face and hearing their stories inspired Sarah to develop Cocoa Sisters. In the cocoa industry worldwide, women carry out 70% of the labour but receive just 20% of the income. Sarah was determined to develop a female-focused ethical chocolate brand that would empower women at every step of the cocoa supply chain including sourcing beans directly from female farmers, ensuring they receive fair recognition and income for their work. “I truly believe that when you give something to a woman, she knows instinctively how to make something good with it whether that’s land, resources, or opportunity. The women I work with are living proof of that,” she said.
“By sourcing directly from female cocoa farmers, I can support them not just financially, but also by telling their stories and bringing more awareness to the imbalance that exists in chocolate’s supply chain.”

Story credit to PNG Bulletin

04/10/2025

It's been a LOOOOONG time coming... but our new issue is now on the press!
Taekwondo Paralympian Manega Tapari makes a gorgeous, confident and fearless cover girl in this beautiful capture by RoanPaul Photography & Arts
Are you ready?