A GROUP of Solomon Islands market vendors have travelled to Fiji to build regional connections, learn new skills and explore opportunities for greater cooperation among Pacific women vendors.
Honiara Market Vendors Association chairlady Moreno Vavozo led a 10-member, self-funded delegation to the Fiji expo, bringing crafts representing communities from across Solomon Islands.
Vavozo said the group was motivated by an opportunity to meet vendors from other countries and learn how they produce, market and sell their products.
“We really wanted to come here to learn from this expo because we are all vendors from Honiara,” she said.
“We want to mingle with other vendors to know how we can do our exchange market, or how we can trade together.”
Most members of the delegation were travelling to the expo for the first time. Despite financial constraints and the difficulty of leaving their families behind, Vavozo said the women were determined to participate.
The delegation brought a range of handicrafts from different Solomon Islands provinces, reflecting the diversity of vendors represented at the Honiara market.
Vavozo said an important goal was to take knowledge and ideas back to vendors who were unable to attend.
She encouraged her team to explore the expo, identify useful skills and consider products they could develop when they returned home.
“We learn a lot, and we meet new friends here. And then we see how our other sisters here do their craft and how they do their selling,” she said.
Vavozo also encouraged Solomon Islands women vendors to join associations and participate in programmes that provide opportunities for learning and economic empowerment.
“There’s no time for jealousy, there’s no time for copycat, but it’s time that we learn, because that’s part of our hustle every day,” she said.
“Don’t be afraid of what you’re doing, because that’s what we do to put food on the table.”
