Communities in Morobe receive life skills

A FORMER primary school teacher is teaching integrated life skills in rural communities in Morobe.
The skills is to help people maximise the use of their crops to produce organic products for the home and to sell.
Gibing Oboko, who trains people in villages and urban communities in the province, said people should be equipped with basic practical knowledge and skills to use materials readily available in their communities.
“The training is mainly on how people can use resources they have access to everyday to process finished products that are of good quality and free of artificial ingredients,” he said.
Oboko said there were many resources in the village that could be used to create basic goods and staples that could replace the reliance on store products.
He said galip nuts, peanuts, coconuts, soya beans and marita (red pandanas) could be used to produce cooking oil while cassava, banana, taro and Asian taro could be made into flour.
“Instead of coming to town to buy oil or flour they can produce such products in their village or community,” he said.
“I also train them to produce stock feed using garden foods that has plenty starch for their domestic animals like pigs, ducks and chicken or fishponds.”
Okobo said there was potential to also produce soaps, kitchen detergents, cooking oil and even cordial.
He started running training programmes in 2014 and conducted them in Lae, Kabwum, Tewai-Siassi, Finchhafen and Nawaeb districts.
He had benefited an estimated 2,700 people.
“Most of those I trained were illiterate; others have some education and some were public servants.
“Some of the people attended my training sessions were disabled and widows who wanted to do something for themselves.”
Oboko said his efforts would complement the Government’s focus on agriculture and small to medium enterprises to improve lives, build communities and strengthen provinces which ultimately strengthens the national economy.
He called on the government to expand vocational and life skills training for Papua New Guineans – including in primary and secondary schools – as this would be a practical programme for the majority of the population.