ARAWA, Papua New Guinea, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Island Passage Exploration Ltd (IPX or the “Company”) and its customary landowner company partner, Isina Resource Holdings Ltd (IRHL) are excited to announce a new partnership with Kyeema Foundation to deliver the Golden Flock Project to the people of the EL02 exploration license on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea.
The goal of Golden Flock is to significantly increase access to affordable protein for the communities within EL02 through the establishment of community-based chicken farming that will increase both local egg and chicken supply. Agreements are struck with customary landowners at the village level, who will take ownership and become the master farmers who will own and operate the farms. In addition to locally owned businesses, of which IPX, IRHL, and the broader community will be avid customers, the farms will become training centers for other community members to establish their own backyard chicken farms. Construction is completed and training is underway on the first chicken farm in the project at Siromba village, which is being configured with an initial capacity of approximately 50 chickens. A further 200 chickens will be delivered in the next few weeks.
Building from an initial investment of PGK 220,000 (AU $70,000), Golden Flock will establish organic master chicken farming operations in up to four communities. The communities will receive ongoing technical support from the Kyeema team to help their farms be as productive as possible, significantly increasing the availability and consumption of eggs and chickens to support the community’s health and livelihoods. The embedded expertise of Kyeema ensures that the farms employ best practice with respect to breeding, feed, and environmental impacts.
Island Passage practices a policy of investing 5% of exploration expenditures with EL02 into community development projects, which are chosen by the community. Golden Flock could grow to become the most ambitious of those yet, as total investment over a two-year period could exceed PGK 1 million (AU 315,000).
The concept for Golden Flock evolved from the lack of access to affordable and reliable protein in the mountain areas of the exploration license. Power and refrigeration are limited in the interior of Bougainville, and the topography is not suitable for large scale animal farming. The team noted widespread chickens in the villages, but training and infrastructure are needed to harness the potential for eggs and proper breeding. Kyeema has been running livelihood programs with the humble chicken in remote communities for over 23 years and since 2019 in PNG. Chickens provide a low-cost, low-effort, and environmentally sustainable way to access protein, particularly in remote areas. Teaching communities how to produce chicken feed from locally available materials further reduces costs and improves long-term self-sufficiency.
Project Golden Flock will be the second project by Kyeema in Bougainville. The first project was established north of Buka in 2022. Jessica Havini, the Buka Project master farmer, said, “Village chickens have been life changing for me. I can feed my children and sell eggs to pay for things. I am getting a lot of interest from people who are also interested in starting a chicken farm. Currently I sell most of my eggs to schools and I am keen to grow my business even bigger for my children’s education. I am grateful to be a part of this project and support Master Farms and our growers in EL02 as they start their farms. I am looking forward to working with the communities and share my knowledge.”
Figure 1 – Village of Siromba with chicken farm construction site
Figure 2 – Framing in June for new chicken farm with IPX and Kyeema team members.
Figure 3 – Aerial view of completed Chicken Farm
From left: Therese Mona (Siromba Ward Member and Trained Master Farmer), Debra Taumpson (IPD), Jessica (Kyeema Foundation Master Trainer) & Graham Memora IPD) after delivery of chickens at Siromba
Figure 5 – Chickens in their new home
Kyeema Foundation and Island Passage Exploration look forward to working together in a strong, practical partnership grounded in respect for landowners, community leadership, and Bougainville’s long-term development aspirations. Both organisations share a commitment to strengthening the wellbeing and resilience of local families through investments that create real, lasting value. By establishing high-quality master farms that increase access to reliable protein sources, improve household nutrition, and support healthier communities, this partnership aims to deliver immediate benefits as well as sustainable livelihood opportunities. Together, Kyeema and IPX are committed to building trust, supporting locally-led enterprise, and ensuring that communities are active partners in shaping a healthier and more prosperous future.
Marijke Frantzen, CEO of Kyeema Foundation, said, “We’re really excited to start working with the communities in EL02, bringing chickens and hands-on support to help build sustainable village farming that boosts both incomes and nutrition through more eggs and poultry. We greatly value Island Passage Exploration’s strong commitment to social investment and look forward to building a meaningful partnership with Island Passage and Isina Resource Holdings.”
Dominic Mhona – a recently trained Master Farmer, said, “I am happy about this chicken farm project and the arrival of the chickens. I believe the project will positively empower youths to be involved and learn how to look after chickens and sell to earn an income for themselves.”
Donald McInnes, Chairman and CEO of Island Passage, said, “Our community investment projects are born from our experience on the ground with our partners. From the beginning of our time on Bougainville, our partners and the landowners have emphasized the importance of improving education and health. Realizing that long term health outcomes for children in PNG are dramatically improved if they have access to even three eggs per week, we were thrilled to find such a fit between Kyeema’s expertise and the need for improved protein access in Bougainville. We congratulate the people and the master farmers of Siromba village who enthusiastically endorsed the first farm on EL02. Our goal is for this to be so successful that we build four more such farms over the next 18 months.”
About the Kyeema Foundation. Kyeema is an international non-profit organisation, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Brisbane Australia, focused on improving the health, livelihoods, and resilience of communities. They have been operating in Papua New Guinea since 2019. Kyeema is widely recognised for its impactful work with village chickens, providing a sustainable livelihood and vital source of nutrition, and is deeply committed to partnering with communities to empower them, strengthen their resilience, and create lasting, meaningful change.
About Isina Resource Holdings Ltd. IRHL was founded in 2009 with the directors drawn from the chiefs of the ten major clans and their subclans in south Central Bougainville. As the custodians of their customary clan-owned land, the directors represent the customary landowner families. In an exercise of sovereignty over their mineral rights, they applied for and were granted EL02 over their lands. The licence comprises 250 km2 and is situated 9 km SE of the Panguna open pit along the Crown Prince Range, and extends a further 26 km to the SE.
About Island Passage Exploration Ltd. IPX is a private Canadian company purpose built in 2022 to facilitate the finance, technical, commercial, and business development expertise that will be necessary to drive exploration and development on Bougainville. The Company is founded on the principle of responsible resource development in partnership with indigenous and customary landowners, and its leadership has a long track record of success on multiple such ventures. IPX holds an option to earn a 70% interest in the tenement from IRHL.
For further information please go to islandpassage.ca
Or email Donald McInnes, Chairman and CEO, at [email protected]
Or follow IPX on Facebook at (3) Island Passage Development | Facebook
Or follow IPX on Linked-In (22) Island Passage Exploration Ltd.: Company Page Admin | LinkedIn
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d68b701b-982b-440b-bdbf-cb83559f4c1b
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/766c44a9-6f85-4454-a583-15b19be21d0e
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/92a1b84d-a465-4aa0-aa5e-1d0091d8f908
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8fdd39d4-e238-4d0d-81e4-6ff0fd70c585
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/00eca59c-4668-4cc7-8639-3294e343c7cf
