Plates, bowls and spoons made from betelnut palms, hand-painted coconut shell earrings, paintings on bedsheet canvasses, and double-choc granola bars made from local spices, cocoa and other ingredients are the four PNG-made products to emerge as winners at the judging of the Lily ‘Homemade’ Competition today.
The winners are:
1. Wearable – Coconut shell earrings by Daphne Vela, 31, Earth and Ocean Crafts PNG, Boroko, Port Moresby
2. Useful – Betelnut tree plates, bowls and spoons by Geno Geno, 38, The Seed Supplier, Gereka, Port Moresby
3. Artistic – Paintings created on homemade canvasses of secondhand white bedsheets thickened with white paint by Rayleen Taniung, 27, Ray’s Art Haven, Arawa, AROB
4. Edible – Granola/granola bars by Renata Laveil, 36, Sip Beverages, Korobosea, Port Moresby
Judges including local chef Julz Henao and fashion designers Tabu Pelei Warupi and Annette Sete inspected about 20 products sent in from across PNG before joining Lily Magazine editor Margo Nugent in announcing the winners at Moore Printing’s haus win at midday.
All four winners received a K250 gift voucher from Brian Bell Homecentres, presented by brand ambassador Leon Gawi.
The product search held throughout December last year generated over 200 entries across the categories of Wearable, Useful, Artistic and Edible.
Ms Nugent said the idea behind the competition was to give exposure through the platform of Lily women’s magazine to innovative PNG-made products.
“With a lack of startup capital being the biggest obstacle for our MSMEs, we’ve gathered over K10,000 in prizemoney from our sponsor partners to help provide a financial boost,” she said.
“But it’s not just cash that micro-businesses need – it’s access to markets and the chance to put their products in front of their customers, so we’re so grateful that Maku Gifts and the CPL Group have agreed to help work with our winners to ensure their products make it on to the shelves of a supermarket or on to an earring rack in a city boutique.”
The overall winner will be revealed in the upcoming Lily Issue #25 to be launched in April/May 2022.
Cash prizes will be K6000 for the winner, K2500 runner-up and K1000 each for the remaining two finalists sponsored by the PNG-Aus Partnership, BSP and Kina.
The winner will also receive an assistance package worth K2000 from PNG-owned online SME consultancy
agency Vai Virtual, including business name and trademark registration, and TIN lodgement.
Thanks goes to the judging panel of fashion/accessories designers Tabu Pelei Warupi (label TABU) and Annette Sete (label Lavagirl), Chef Julz Henao (The Healthy Food Co/CPL Eat Smart Campaign ambassador), and representatives from sponsor partners PNG-Aus Partnership, Kina Bank, BSP, Brian Bell Homecentres, Maku Gifts, CPL/Stop & Shop and Vai Virtual Consulting.
Comments from winners:
WEARABLE
Daphne Vela: “My product is custom-made (handmade, handpainted) coconut shell jewellery and accessories that you won’t find anywhere else in the world. If I bring joy to someone through my products, that makes me happy too. I’m a civil engineer by profession. Earth and Ocean Crafts is a weekend side hobby that I intend to convert into a registered business one day. There are a few hurdles to overcome before getting to this.”
USEFUL
Geno Geno: “My product is eco-friendly disposable plates, bowls and spoons made from fallen leaves of the betelnut (areca) palm trees that are grown in every coastal village in Central Province. This is a matchless innovation with export potential that will contribute to our country’s economy while addressing some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If buai is branded the green gold for an individual, definitely the buai leaves will be a bigger green gold for the country as leaves fall all year round without seasons unlike buai fruit/nut which has a season. Every coastal village has buai trees!”
ARTISTIC
Rayleen Taniung: “I’m a self-taught female visual artist (beginner) from Arawa (AROB). I only started painting in 2020. Most of my paintings are of my Bougainville culture. I create paintings out of pure imagination, stories and nature. My painting styles are: fine art with a bit of abstract, rock art (painted river rocks), dot painting and doodle art. Shops in Arawa don’t sell canvas so my canvases are all DYIs. I use timber, white bedsheets/blankets from secondhand shops and white paint to make my home-made canvas.
To create my canvas, firstly I dress timber into strips, make frames, measure, then staple the cut-out piece of white sheet or blanket onto the frame then give it a good amount of white coating (white paint) to get the thickness of a genuine canvas. It’s quite a long process but that’s what I do to have a canvas. I also use river rocks, timber off-cuts, floor tiles and plywood to paint on.
EDIBLE
Renata Laveil: “Growing up I remember my parents trying their best to provide for my siblings and I healthy, nutritious breakfasts. We always had muesli and Sanitarium Weet-Bix. I dreaded breakfast then, but now as an adult I realise the benefits of grains and nuts, and I would like to share them through my homemade granola and snack bars. I make them using local ingredients – Queen Emma cocoa, galip nuts, dried banana chips, organic honey, coconut oil, turmeric, ginger and cinnamon – everything except for the rolled oats and dried fruit.
The homemade granola can be eaten as breakfast cereal with milk or yoghurt, or it can be used as toppings for ice cream and smoothies. The bars can be placed in kid’s lunchboxes for snack time and even for adults at work or out and about as energy bars before mealtimes.”