Bilum-making bags mother a better life in the city

By EREBIRI ZURENUOC
BILUM-making has been the main income-earning activity for many simple Papua New Guinea mothers.
Rebecca Mike, from Lufa in Eastern Highlands, has been making bilums for some time now.
She has five children, three married and two still living with her and her husband, who is also from Eastern Highlands.
Mike resides at 4-Mile, Lae, and travels every morning to Main Market to sell her products.
“I use to sell my bilums in front of SVS at Top Town,” she said.
“However, when the city authority removed everyone there, they told me to come and sell at Main Market.”
Mike said selling bilums was her only way of earning an income because and was an acquired skill.
“Bilums can be made in two different ways: They can be weaved or knitted to form a pattern,” she said.
“Bilums that I knit take me up to two days to complete, however, bilums that I weave take up to a week to complete.
“Once I complete a bilum I always sell it.
“In a week I can make up to K250 from the bilums, but that depends entirely on the buyers.”
Mike said the biggest concerns of mothers who sell bilums at Main Market was space.
“Every morning, it is ‘first-come, first-serve’,” she said.
“There is not much space and some mothers sell their bilums with other mothers that sell blouses.
“We share the same selling space with mothers who sell kambang (lime) and vegetables and greens.”
Mike said having a bigger space to sell bilums could help a lot of unemployed mothers like her to earn an income for their family. “Right now, some of the bilums I am selling are not mine, but from other mothers who were unable to secure a space to sell,” she said.
“This is how we help each other to sell products.