Cane products made by Owen Lau and his brother, Laui.
By Julie Badui-Owa – EMTV News, Lae
Two young men from Lufa in Eastern Highlands Province who traveled to Lae, to sell products made from cane, are now getting help to sell their productions online.
The two men traveled to Lae last month and have been unsuccessful in making sales until they met a customer, who decided to help them.
Using Facebook, they are now reaching out to a wider market.
They’ve made their products using three different types of cane and all are made in Goroka and transported by PMV to sell here in Lae.
The cane weaver, Owen Lau said it is very difficult to sell their cane products in Goroka.
When in Lae, they tried selling to some business houses and to residents residing in Lae town, but the outcome was negative.
Owen and his brother Laui never gave up. They continued their search for customers to a street in Eriku when they met Norah Hauofa, who was their first customer.
Norah is a mother of two and is currently employed and working in Lae. After building the relationship with the two men and learning about the struggles they’ve encountered in making and selling their products, Norah decided to help them.
Norah said their challenge now is to get these products overseas to sell.
They have called on the provincial and national government, to look into this and assist small local businesses in the country.
