Determination pushes Kaki to turn passion into money

By EREBIRI ZURENUOC
Fifty-six-year-old Maisolom Kaki has been selling cane baskets for the past 34 years.
From Koiari in Central, Kaki lives in Mumeng, Bulolo district of Morobe, and travels to Lae to sell baskets.
When asked how a Central man is living at Mumeng, he giggles: “I am married to that place, I can’t let go.”
Weaving cane into baskets is his people’s well-known craft.
“I learned how to make baskets back in the village when I was only in grade two,” Kaki recalls.
“I left school at grade two. I’ve never went back to school since.
“My last job was a packer at a flour mill in Port Moresby from 1975 to 1984. I started making cane baskets in 1984.”
He says life has been tough, “but one thing is that you have to be positive, and never look down on yourself”.
“That is how one lives a life of contentment,” Kaki says.
“Making baskets is something I feel happy doing. That is the only way I can support myself.
“I sell them for K50, K100 or K150. Most of what I receive from the sales is used for my hospital bills, my bubu’s snacks or for my church offering on Sundays.
“It takes me one full day to make one basket.
“Sometimes, when I fall sick I don’t complete it, and that means I won’t have enough money for a day or two. Life is good. I am still young and I can still walk around Top Town, Eriku or Main Market.”