By Meleasie Goviro – EM TV News, Port Moresby
Local entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to market PNG’s raw potential in the form of handicrafts to the international community at the ACP summit.
Founder of Authentic PNG, Dana Roapa, and her husband David were spotted at the convention centre selling an assortment of invaluable artworks they had collected from around PNG.
The couple displayed an impressive array of artifacts from bilums to clay crafts, wooden carvings and framed metal artwork to name a few.
Through their business, Authentic PNG, the couple invests their time in collecting artwork from local craftspeople around the country.
David said this was their chance to showcase PNG talent to the international community attending the ACP summit.
He also said they believed that this was their opportunity to showcase PNG’s unique and diverse culture on the international market.
David and his wife established their business six months ago to fulfil their passion to market raw PNG made artefacts.
The couple has so far collected from as far as the Highlands, Popondetta, Wewak and Morobe in the past six months and plan to branch out to other parts of PNG in the future.
At the moment, their main focus is to take ownership of the market as Papua New Guineans and provide an avenue for local craftspeople whose artworks go unrecognsed.