Apo Meri

KAM, YUMI STORI : Meet Makai.

Makai is not from Bena but from Gouno, in the Lufa District. Makai is a widow. Her marriage was arranged, and when her husband from another village in Lufa died, she could not return to her own village because life there would have been difficult for her. So Makai remained with her husbands family (who had arranged the marriage), and when they moved to Bena, where their other daughter was married, she also went there.

Makais role in the family is to help with the gardens and look after the families goats and help with other chores as and when required.

As you can imagine, Makai herself has no land at all and just lives off a small plot on the boundaries of the hut she lives in.

She is unable to start up "big" businesses such as selling chickens or opening trade stores because she is an outsider and can't be seen to be better of that the people originally from the village. So Makai sells scones mostly during village gatherings to get extra money. Now, with the bilums, Makai has been able to meet all her needs , have some savings, and live a comfortable life in the village.

KAM, YUMI STORI 🇵🇬
(Come, let's tell stories)

So, we would like to share our stories with you all on a regular basis now. We would like you to meet the champions behind Apo Meri and get to hear about their lives.

We will be dropping one story every weekend until the end of the year.

We hope you enjoy reading about us!

Laikim.🙏♥️🇵🇬

🌺 SEPTEMBER UPDATES 🌺

Hey Lovlies, we have our usual Sunday Waterfront markets dates confirmed. The first one is tomorrow!

Also, we will be introducing a new spotlight series where we feature one story every week until the end of the year. We have called this "Kam, Yumi stori". This is an opportunity for you to meet us and our talented weavers, artisans, etc.

Laikim 🙏♥️🇵🇬

THE BILUM – REDUCING DISPARITIES
In every society one goes to, one can often observe the different classes of people within the community. One can usually tell if a person is well-off or going through some challenges by the way someone dresses, the kind of home someone lives in, and the type of food they eat. This, in turn, impacts how one carry themselves in the community.

People who have “cargo” are often confident and speak up in public gatherings because they are able to make noteworthy contributions while the others usually sit quietly as observers in the corner.

In the Bena district, and in a lot of other rural districts too, we can determine "how a woman is" by the way she dresses. Women who are well off wear the matching “Kolos na Laplap” set (Meri blouses with matching skirts), have footwear (even the humble slippers) and wear scarves. In the town and city context, that would probably be the equivalent of wearing designer brands or the RM Williams line, which is gaining popularity now in PNG.

The weavers recently told me proudly, “We all wear meri blouses now, and we have several sets too!” Upon hearing this, I did a double take, looking more intently at the women. Indeed! They were all well-dressed! (for the village standard). They had pretty meri blouse sets on in the latest material at the Asian shops in Goroka and all had some sort of footwear. Mind you, it’s considered normal to walk around barefoot. They all looked “Okay”, and for the first time, I was unable to differentiate between the “Haves” and "Have nots” because the bilum had bridged that divide. They continued to tell me they were all equal now.

If someone wanted to eat protein, they could. If they wanted to buy solar lights, they could. This newfound financial freedom also resulted in the women being highly respected in the community because they could now contribute in a lot of gatherings, where they were previously merely spectators.

We never imagined this would happen. It has been such a rewarding journey. Thank you, one and all from the bottom of our hearts. We appreciate YOU ALL.

🌿🥥 LEMON GRASS OIL 🥥🌿
🏷K25 for 100mls
Handmade with Fresh Lemongrass and virgin Coconut Oil
Available at Level 1 Rangeview Plaza

📣 It's on this Sunday!📣

See you!

So proud of our weavers who continuously strive to improve their craft.

I've had a peak at the new bilums, and all I'll say is I'm blown away. Hope to get them into POM next week, and they will be available at our Rangeview Plaza and at our usual Sunday pop-ups at the Waterfront. We will toksave ! 💗

Thank you Natasha!
Our bilums presented as gifts in Honolulu. Hawaii USA 🇺🇸

A woman's best accessory is her bilum!

Larim mipla Bena bilasim yu!

Getting ready for our usual pop-up market at the Waterfront tomorrow, Sunday 28 July.

W E A V E R F O C U S
Mama Lagi plans to build a new house with the money made from the sale of her bilums.

Her current house will be converted into a chicken house where she will look after chickens to sell in the village. When her husband left her, Mama Lagi was very concerned about how she would be able to look after herself and her children. Refusing to return to her village, she took on the roles of mother and father and raised her children. Now she says she has money in her bilum and she is able to contribute towards cultural obligations in the village.

All this is possible through the selling of her bilums.

💥KAINANTU POTTERY - MUGS💥
We just restocked, and this time, we have much larger Mugs!
Pricing is determined according to size. Available at Rangeview Plaza

💕

Curious about disability data reporting? 🤔

Join us for an insightful webinar co-facilitated by Pacific Disability Forum and Pacific-Community-SPC.

Learn how to enhance your project’s impact through effective data collection and removal of barriers for people with disabilities.

💻🎥🗣 Register your interest today ➡ https://shorturl.at/mikaG

❤️

Curious about disability data reporting? 🤔

Join us for an insightful webinar co-facilitated by Pacific Disability Forum and Pacific-Community-SPC.

Learn how to enhance your project’s impact through effective data collection and removal of barriers for people with disabilities.

💻🎥🗣 Register your interest today ➡ https://shorturl.at/mikaG

❤️

Appreciate the team at FSVU. They are fundraising tomorrow(Friday) out front of Boroko police station, if you in Boroko looking for lunch, stop and buy a hotdog or lunch pack. Thanks ladies for dropping by tonight, glad was able to contribute to your efforts to lift up your unit 🫶🏽

💥SUNDAY POP - UP MARKET💥
See you at the Waterfront, Kone this Sunday!

We have beautiful vibrant new colours in stock!

🌿🥥 ROSEMARY OIL 🥥🌿
Made with Fresh Rosemary from Gembogl and virgin Coconut Oil

Available at our shop, Level 1 Rangeview Plaza

Thank you for choosing our bilums!
📌Cairns, Australia 🇦🇺

Larim mipla Bena bilasim yu!

💥OLD STOCK MUST GO💥
📌Rangeview Plaza, Level 1

✨️BEES WAX✨️

📌Now available at our shop. Rangeview Plaza, Level 1
🏷K10/ bar

To those of you who wear our bilums, THANK YOU lo larim mipla Bena bilasim Yu!

🌟LUFA CANE WALL HANGING 🌟
✔️ We can post to provinces
✔️We can fumigate and ship overseas
✔️Available at our shop now and for online customers
✔️Lay-by always welcome. K50 to secure and pay the rest over 2 fortnights

🍯RAW BENA HONEY🍯

🏷K65 (690g), K18 (240g) & K12 (180g)
Apo Meri Shop, Rangeview Plaza, Level 1

ℹ️You may find crystallization. That's normal because our honey is unprocessed. Just place in warm water and stir. Properly kept honey can last decades

Thank you for coming by lewa!
🥰

✨️Lufa Cane Dry Flower Vase✨️
🏷K100
The flowers and card are on us (free)
Available at our Rangeview Plaza Shop

💐HAPPY MOTHERS DAY 💐
With Love and appreciation from us to all the mum out there. A special shout out to all the dads, aunties, uncles, grand parents and siblings who take up the mums role in your family in the absence of mum.
❤️❤️❤️