“Safeguarded and promoted the bilum art and the value of the culture behind the patterns and arts.”

The Goroka Bilum Festival is fast gaining popularity now attracting women from all over the country showing their wares.

The festival has flourished over the years from its humble beginning with handful of women in the Eastern Highlands Province coming together to put together their creative handworks for recognition.

This was evident on September 13 when more than 1, 500 women from all over the country came into Goroka in Eastern Highlands Province to display and sell their handiworks. Bilum weaving has become a household event by women in many bilumweaving provinces throughout the country.

The 14th Goroka Bilum Festival this year saw women coming from as far as West and East Sepik, Western, Morobe, Madang provinces and the entire Highlands region.

They displayed artistic bilum arts and the galore of all kinds of patterns, shapes and sizes that attracted not only the local people but the tourists as well. The festival was staged from 13th to the 17th September and attracted many people including corporate sponsors and supporters.

National Cultural Commission supported the festival with K10, 000. The cheque was presented by NCC’s cultural service development manager, Bola Noho, at the Bird of Paradise Hotel in Goroka on the morning of September13.

Festival chairlady, Florence Jaukae Kamel, upon receiving the cheque, said the support by NCC was to ensure women throughout the country preserved, safeguarded and promoted the bilum art and the value of the culture behind the patterns and arts.

She said the financial assistance from NCC would go a long way in assisting them to run the festival while preserving and safeguarding the intangible cultures and art of weaving bilums.