Meet the sustainable brand keeping the sacred Bilum weaving craft alive

Among Equals is a Not-For-Profit that exists to bring the timeless beauty of Bilum to the global fashion market. They support women weavers in Papua New Guinea to earn a sustainable income to support their families and communities, and continue this remarkable art form for generations. The Together Project are huge fans of their work and are proud to stock them and help support their mission to preserve and honour the tradition of bilum weaving. Shop their products here.

“Among Equals is a social enterprise. We're all about the women, helping the women weavers, empowering the women of the highlands of PNG and their stories told through the age old practice of Bilum weaving. In keeping with the traditional craft, we add to it with pom poms and tassels but we're retaining the knowledge that's been retained through generations, and the also the fibre, the whole process, and we don't want to take away from that. ”
Caroline Sherman, founder, Among Equals

Among Equals merges art and fashion, showcasing the ancient practice of Bilum weaving with a contemporary twist. Each Bilum bag in our collection is a work of art handcrafted by a Papua New Guinean female artisan and communicates her spiritual and cultural heritage.

 

The Blue House was built with money raised through the sale of bilum in 2017 at the request of the Fanuifa community as a place for women to come together to weave, receive training and as a safe place.

In 2015 Caroline made her first trip to Papua New Guinea to meet the weavers and attend the annual Bilum Festival held in Goroka. Here she met other key ambassadors from different regions and started what is today a wonderful relationship with Barbra Pagasa from Mt. Hagen and Lina Singu from the Sepik River. Since its first inception, Among Equals has worked with communities across PNG, including but not limited to Goroka, Mt. Hagen, Telefomin and Madang. Through the trade of bilum we have also funded the construction of The Blue Haus, a safe shelter for the women to weave and produce Bilum bags.

 

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