Support Needed for a PNG Surf Film

Celebrating Local Surf Culture in PNG

Haus Tumbuna is a dedicated timber surfboard shed in rural PNG that has been established by the independent community development project, Tupira Surf Club.

International surfboard shapers Bryan Bates, Josh Martin and surfer Justine Mauvine visit Tupira to help celebrate and expand the local methods and expression while riding these ever evolving designs.

The film Tumbuna is about sharing in the journey to establish a self sustainable surfboard factory. Tumbuna is an allegory of village life in PNG. The aim is to document the connection to community, culture and the natural world as an illustration for us who may have a different way.

There is nothing to fix, we come to learn, share and explore the extremes of contemporary PNG ocean play.
The ambition is to support local shapers Ben, Robin and Peter to make home-grown surfboards for local surfers Jayway, Bernhard and Ruthy that are a sustainable local version of the modern surfing and equipment they have grown accustomed to.

Rich History and a Sustainable Future

Ocean play has been part of the coastal culture in PNG for thousands of years. Traditional PNG surfing is a form of body surfing, using pieces of broken canoe, the bark of a coconut tree or even the base of a sago palm branch to slide along the waves that come during the abundance of Taro season.

Over the past thirty years PNG has been a growing destination for the western surf tourist. The international surfers arrive with modern fibreglass surfboards that are very easy to paddle, ride and are ridden standing up. The dynamic approach that these boards brought to PNG was clearly very seductive and the locals began to desire and acquire this equipment. The key issue is that this equipment is expensive, fragile, made out of toxic materials which created a disposal issue and culture of dependence.

Tumbuna is a form of resistance that helps decolonize this impact and helps revive the traditional way, so to build positive change into the future. Haus Tumbuna is a working model that illustrates the demise of cultural dependance through the nurturing and celebration of the deeply connected spirit of the Papua New Guinean people .

Please help these local Byron filmmakers raise funds to complete their feature documentary and support the local PNG community educate, keep surf culture local, and sustainable.

Donate now and you’ll get the chance to win a modern balsa belly board made at Tupira surf camp in PNG!

Director: Matthew Hannon & Garry Parker
Producer: Nicki Wynnychuk & Bryan Bates