Sharon, Jenny, Jacklyn sell bilum for a living

By Enamyra Ani
UPNG Journalism student
SHARON Alu, Jenny Piaro and Jacklyn (she says her surname is too hard to pronounce or spell) sell bilum at the Boroko market six days a week.
They are your typical housewives who go through a seemingly trying routine every day to earn money to put food on the table for their families.
Jacklyn sums up a typical day thus: “Weaving bilum and selling them is our only source of income. If the customers don’t buy them, then we just sit around with our bilum then go back home (when the market closes)”.
Sharon, Jenny and Jacklyn are in their 30-somethings. They hail from Pangia in Southern Highlands. They live at the Morata surburb and travel by bus daily to and from the market.

“ We face a lot of struggle. Therefore we weave and sell bilum because some of us, our husbands don’t work. So we step in to support the family in whatever little way we can.”

They are among scores of women who sell bilum and other items at the Boroko art and craft market daily for a living.
Competition no doubt is tight. There are just so many of them. So they try their best to design their bilum in a way to catch the eye of the customer because they almost look the same from afar.
“Because this is our only income, it takes us one week to weave a new bilum. It takes three to four weeks to weave the special style one.”
They agree that it is a daily struggle to sell their products because of the competition.
But they have to go through it six days a week to make sure their families’ needs are met and most importantly they are fed.
Some of the husbands are casual labourers, security officers or just stay-at-home dads.
The women therefore have to take on the role of breadwinner to pay for their children’s school fees, bus fares and school uniforms.
“We face a lot of struggle. Therefore we weave and sell bilum because for some of us, our husbands don’t work. So we step in to support the family in whatever little way we can.”

Jacklyn points out that there are some months during the year when they are kept busy because of the orders for bilum they receive. Two of the best months are September and December.
“These are the two months when customers are rushing to buy bilum for Independence Day and Christmas. During these two months, our customers buy all the bilum we bring”.
Sharon explains that at times, some women near their homes ask them to sell their bilum for them for K50 or K60.
“We take K10 for our commission”.
They never went to school. So they have no choice but to continue selling bilum.
“We have no education background because we didn’t go school. That is why we do not want to join the Women in Business or the Small Medium Enterprise (SME). That’s for educated women.
“The important thing is that at least we are earning an income by selling our bilum.
“We don’t earn much but we sacrifice our time and energy to put food on the table for our families and meet our children’s daily needs.”