ENB ladies in full bloom

National, Normal
Source:

The National – Wednesday, June 29, 2011

By ABIGAIL APINA
RADAZ Paradise Bloom, a group of 21 mothers in East New Britain, completed a week-long floriculture training last Friday.
Ludi Kipau, from East Sepik but based in East New Britain, had taken the lead in ensuring other mothers in the group receive the necessary training to help them make a living through floriculture after seeing the growing demand in floral market in Kokopo.
Kipau started growing flowers in 2006 and had since been hired by several hotels and guest houses in the province to plant flowers for them.
She said the hobby had supported her family financially and she had earned K17,000 from it since 2006.
The training included ground management, cutting and preservation processes, organic and liquid fertiliser processes, identifying different chemicals to use to prevent insects and landscaping.
Training conductor Wesley Martin is expected to run another training session with them on floral arrangements for weddings and funerals.
“We have learnt so many interesting things about floriculture and it is sad that many mothers did not make an attempt to register,” Kipau said.
She said this was another way of financially assisting their families.
She said the training also helped them to look after the environment and avoid using foreign
materials which could be harmful.
Kipau called on other mothers in the province to register for the upcoming training sessions.
She also called on the town authority to involve mothers in beautifying Kokopo town.
Radaz Paradise Bloom is based in Kokopo.