A women’s group with a mission

By JINA AMBA

A self-sustaining women’s group in Jiwaka is aiming to promote culture, traditions and knowledge and ideas on bilum weaving and floriculture.
The Jiwaka Kon and Kolum-Alim Group has been concentrating on using flowers to decorate churches, do table arrangements and weave bilums and bilum clothes. They have an existing bilum making group and a cultural group.
In Jiwaka dialect kon means string bag or bilum and kolum-alim means orchid.
All mothers in the village are busy every day with their daily activities but the Jiwaka Kon and Kolum-Alim Group members make time available to gather with other group members to weave bilums and learn new ideas.
Mothers and young girls gather during weekends and weave bilums, bilum clothes and do flower arrangements. Older and specialised women share their skills and ideas with the
young girls.
Different women make different types of bilums. So when the group members come together they share their knowledge with others. The women also make bilum clothes.
Ethelyn Peter, a group member attended a floriculture training and has been awarded a certificate in flower arrangement. She teaches mothers and girls how to do flower arrangements and decorations.
Peter started growing different types of flowers at her home, especially orchids, a few years ago. She said she has more than 100 different species of orchids at her back yard garden.
The group has come to realise that they could make money through growing and selling flowers. The group aims to expose their creativity in arranging flowers because it’s an art form of varying styles.
The group is also interested in creating partnership with others through meeting other women groups, so that they can exchange ideas.
The Jiwaka Kon and Kolum-Alim Group aims to expand and involve in doing flower arrangements during special occasions.
Recently the Apec summit has triggered the interest of the group and it has already made a number of bilums and bilum wear to showcase at the Apec Policy Partnership on Women in Jiwaka, (Highlands visitation) on May 24 and 25. They will also showcase their flower arrangement skills during the visit.
They say that if they are lucky and selected they would love to display and sell their products during the Apec summit in November.
The group currently has a membership of more than 20.
When the group wants to take part in a traditional singsing event they involve both male and female participants.
They believe that the traditional knowledge will be passed from men to young boys and from women to young girls.
The group involves young boys and girls to take part in cultural activities. Whenever there is a big event taking place, the group members dress youths and encourage them to maintain the traditional culture of Jiwaka. The youths are involved so that they can pass that knowledge to the upcoming generations.
As most cultures and traditions are slowly dying in this age, the group maintains and upholds the culture of Jiwaka.
The group also has set of traditional attires which people hire.
The group hopes to go into partnership with like-minded organisations, donors and the Government to make it big.