A recently implemented program in a decentralized provincial district of Papua New Guinea delays the entry of children into English-medium primary school for two years, during which time the children are taught literacy in a village-based school in their indigenous language, a pidgin, with the local customs and culture as the basis of the curriculum. The teachers are individuals chosen by the villagers themselves as representative of the village values. These teachers are given a short teacher training course. The plan was introduced in response to public pressure and the work of university students. The program is significant in four ways: (1) its conception and development at the local level; (2) the fact that it exists at all in a multilingual, newly-emerging nation with limited resources; (3) its acknowledgment that cultural differences need not be politically divisive, but with support, can promote good relations throughout the country; and (4) its resolution of the debate over native languages versus the colonial language as the medium of instruction, with neither being sacrificed for the sake of the other. Four pages of references conclude the document. (MSE)