IN the remote community in the Western Province, where access to modern services is limited, a mother’s remarkable talent has become a beacon of creativity and resilience.
This woman, who makes exquisite handcrafts from tree barks and other bush material, faces the harsh realities of life in rural Solomon Islands.
Despite her talent and dedication to utilizing it, she finds it increasingly difficult to turn her passion into profit, as cashflow challenges take a toll on her family’s livelihood.
Meet Gularade Grazina, a 54-year-old mother of five from Sibilando community in North Vella, whose lifelong passion for craftmaking faces challenges due to limited market access.
Grazina developed an interest in sewing during her youth when she joined the Girls’ Brigade of United Church.
Today, she continues to create intricate crafts using bush material.
Her products include headbands, table mats, garlands, hairbands, hairpins, women’s fans and purses and other items.
These products are either made from the bark of the Varu tree, pandanus leaves or other bush material.
Speaking to Solomon Star, Grazina explained her dye creations using traditional methods.
For example, she cooks the barks of Varu to produce an orange dye.
The yellow comes from boiling special mangrove barks, while black is derived from soaking young coconut fruits with bush leaves for a week.
“Only a few times, I use dye from the shop,” Grazina shared.
However, Grazina struggles to sell her products.
When asked about her clients, she mentioned that most of her orders come from her village or her wantoks (relatives) in Honiara.
However, many of these orders do not bring in money as relatives often fail to honor their orders.
In the past, her family and relatives ordered some of her products to sell in Honiara but they never give her the money and she was saddened by their dishonesty.
“The money never returned, so I stopped taking orders.
“And this is a big loss for me. However, I kept best from what I’m doing,” she said.
Her crafts are reasonably priced. Most of her crafts cost below $30 per item but the quality and neatness of her work speak for themselves.
On a productive day, Grazina can make up to 10 fans, earning up to $100. However, her biggest challenge is finding a reliable market.
Living in a remote area, she is confined to selling her crafts within her village.
To overcome these challenges, she often resorts to trade, exchanging her handmade items for food and clothing.
“Usually when I make a lot of products and crafts and I’m unable to sell them all, I exchange the leftovers with my neighbors and friends for clothes and food.
“This is the only way that I’m able to put food on the table although we have abundant garden crops and marine resources,” she added.
She further added that transporting garden produces to the market for sale is a challenge that women in North Vella faced for decades now.
“The distance, the remoteness, access connectivity, transportation fee and freighting from our community to Gizo is very expensive.
“So only a few women often travel to Gizo using private boats and passenger boats to sell their produces.”
Besides weaving craft, Grazina also engages in fishing and gardening with the support of her husband.
She hopes for improved transportation access, which would allow her to reach potential buyers outside of her remote community.
Gularade calls on the government and relevant authorities to support women like herself by providing market spaces and opportunities to sell their products.
“This is how I can earn money to feed my family so we need good access to the market,” she emphasized.
Grazina’s story is a testament to the resilience and creativity of women in rural communities.
With the right support and market access, her traditional crafts have the potential to thrive and provide a stable source of income for her family.
By ULUTAH GINA
Solomon Star, Gizo
