It was not our tradition but my dad learnt the ideas and skills somewhere in Port Moresby in 1970s and then he was one of those creative carver in our village. Now it earns us a living in the village.
While attending the University of
PNG’s 13th Tourism Convention at the Port Moresby campus by the
final year Tourism and Hospitality Management students. My attention was caught
by this lone stall towards the end of the display arena. On that day; there
were many business houses and SMEs with stalls that were showcasing various
products from arts and crafts to catering, body care and many more which
resulted in one of the successful events ever staged by the students.
Nevertheless, the focus of this
story is on the fifty-seven year old father of seven (7) children, Mr. Lohan Rove
who comes from Karawa village in Rigo, Central Province. Mr. Rove dropped out
of Grade Six in 1985 from Wood Lagoon Primary School. Whilst in the village, he
learnt some carpentry skills with the interest to help is dad who was already
into his carving business which he started in the 1970s from his stints as a
student at Indubada Vocational School now Port Moresby Technical College.
After grade six, Mr. Lohan become
a builder in the community and started building houses for people on contract
basis. However, there was no way he was able to earn a consistent income with
his carpentry skills and he opted to help his father with the carving business.
Life in the village became harder
for Mr. Rove when he got married in 1989. Karawa village being located further
inland from the sea, there was no easy options available for Mr. Rove and his
family to make money or venture into any fisheries business or cash crop
farming activities to earn a living. The accessibility to the area from Port
Moresby also contributes to the hardships the Karawa community endures.
Towards the late 1980s, Mr. Rove
involved fully with his father in the carving business and ensured that he
learn all the skills and ideas to be a skilful carver like his father. Once the
carvings have been completed, the different types, sizes and shapes made of
Rosewood, Walnut and Mangroves are then taken into Port Moresby city by road to
sell at Boroko Arts and Craft Market or sell at other convenient places in the
city. Mr. Rove admitted that; this was only way he can sell his carvings which
is the hardest way around for him in the city. Sometimes it takes weeks and
months to sell a caving whilst living with his close friends and family in the
city.
The carvings like, coffee tables,
Kundu drums and ukulele are not easy sell out items in the city, the family
usually lives with friends in the city and sells the carvings daily at the
Boroko Craft Market. Sometimes when he is lucky, few of the customers do place
their orders for a specifically curved item and that makes his work easy. When
asked about how many bigger orders he did managed to delivered since he started
to took over from his late dad, Mr. Rove said; ‘’We do not take bulk orders but less than ten
(10) of the same type or different types within ten piece was our limit since
we started but we can take more than that.’’
The tables have a special folding
leg frame which is skilfully curved out of a piece of log which can give three
or four poles to support the wooden table top (either square or round) when
loosen and straightened.
According to Mr. Lohan, the trade
of designing and curving out the folding leg frame from a piece of log was
learnt by Loha’s father in the 1970s at a market stall at Koki Girl’s Guide in
the 1970s. The design seems to have brought from India by the Indian teachers
who were teaching at the Indubada Technical College which is now Port Moresby
Technical College.
Now Mr. Lohan is a creative carver
with expert skills to curve out dinner and coffee tables to ukulele and other
souvenir items on request or as his usual products. One of his fastest selling
curved item in Port Moresby and in the village is the eight (8) string ukulele
curved out of Rosewood and Mangroves. The local churches and string band groups
have been using his ukulele product and it became one of the fastest selling
item for him. The ukulele is cost K250.00 and comes with standard fret from
Keynote Music House and strings doubled to effect the pitch and tone quality of
the ukulele to attune into the standard musical pattern and rage.
When asked if he have other
interests to pursue in life apart from carving, he said; ‘I took over this
trade and skills from my dad who raised us through the income from carving and
now I have done it for my family and I will maintain what I’m doing to keep my
father’s legacy. I have been teaching my children about carving skills while
the Karawa community youths are also into carving to earn an income.’’ The
competition in the carving within the Karawa community seemed to have set some
standards in quality which was the reason why Mr. Loha’s products seemed to
have originated from a well-equipped workshop with and the prices worth their
value with the following range;
Coffee table (big) K1200.00
Coffee table (small) K800.00
Kundu drum (standard) K550.00
Ukulele (standard) K250.00
Out of the items Mr. Lohan has
been producing, the Kundu Drum, which is the hardest item he has been producing
so far. Because of the hallow and opening on either end with one side for
beating and the other for the sound emission, it takes a lot of time to create
one to the shape of the Kundu Drum with decorated patterns and handles outside.
Apart from carving some of the
unimaginable items over the years with his father and now himself and his
children into the curving business, he also makes himself available for
carpentry work in the village and Rigo area. There are few challenges that are
beyond his control, hence he only wish if one day there will be a market
specifically for carvers in Rigo District or in Port Moresby where there is
storage area for safe keeping of the carvings as well.
Indeed carving is really a tough
artwork which comes with commitment that turns time into creativity. The works
of the artisans, carvers, porters, artists and painters are some ways of
looking into our past to ensure those items of cultural significant and
cultural heritages coexist with the modern influences of the 20th
century. It would be rational for a leader to provide subsidy or incentives for
such people who have taken their own initiatives to hold on to the skills and
knowledge that are important to our societies as a livelihood support.
Photos courtesy of; #raonraonpng
Link to The National Newspaper article of the same story; Rigo villager carves a living
Link to The National Newspaper article of the same story; Rigo villager carves a living
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| Mr. Loha and Naithan after the interview at UPNG Campus |
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| Mr. Loha with his products and the special folding leg frame for tables |
