FOR more than 36 years, she toils the soil to grow food, walks daily, spends hours at her garden, travels by sea and spends days to sell her produce at the main Gizo market in Western Province.
That’s her routine every weeks and months just to make ends meet and ensure her family’s survival is sustained.
The struggle is real for June Mamikera from Ombobulu village in South Ranoggah, Western Province.
Like any other ordinary rural women, Ms Mamikera is a hard worker and depends on the sales from her market produce to earn an income.
Speaking to the paper the mother of six said, her normal routine would involve waking up each morning, say her prays, prepare breakfast for her family and walk up the hills behind her home and spend hours at her gardens to work.
She had a number of gardens located at different locations. These gardens featured different varieties of fruits, vegetables, and root crops.
She was in Gizo a week ago to sell her root crops when I managed to catch up with her.
Ms Mamikera is a dedicated Christian and she does not forget God in her daily prayers.
With three boys and three girls, she had a big role to play in looking after her family.
Since she got married and started her own family and have children, her support for her children started.
This support involves school fees, clothes, food and many more.
However, school fee remains the main financial challenge for her family each year.
And its one thing that forced her to endure the long journey from Ranoggah across the ocean to Gizo to sell her market produce.
With the support of her husband they were able to travel with canoe loads of market produce.
The current Member of Parliament (MP) for Ranoggah/Simbo had supported her family with a 15 outboard motor (OBM) and this support had enabled Ms Mamikera and her husband to often travel to Gizo.
The challenge she faced is lack of a canoe. And because of that she would hire a wooden canoe from a relative at cost of $100.
She said, the journey is often taken after two weeks depending on the harvest and when they are ready.
The hardworking told that paper, that she makes a number of garden at separate locations. She ensures the gardens are ready after two weeks and this had enabled her to harvest them and bring them to Gizo for sales.
Ms Mamikera said, there are challenges she often face to sell her produce. This ranges from bad weather to hiking fuel price.
She also recalled that not all the times are good to sell her market produce.
During her lucky days she would sell off her market produce within days. Other times, there would be leftovers and she had to give them away to relatives, bring them back to the village or even throw them away.
Her return to village depends on how fast she is able to sell off her market produce.
Most times she would spend two to four days. And like other women vendors, they would spend the night at the MSG Complex near the main Gizo wharf.
The Complex has been providing free shelter for the traveling public who passed through Gizo to catch their transport to Honiara or back to the islands.
And most times market vendors are also utilising the free open space to have their rest after hours of sitting and selling their market produce.
Like other women she is also thankful to the Western Province for allowing the Complex to be used.
With the start of the academic year, her priority now is to sell her produce to meet her children’s school fees. She also had grand-children and she also supported some of them.
Most times income generated from her sales would pay for clothes, food, soap, fuel, top-ups, stationeries and other family obligation.
She is also thankful and pleased with the support she received from the current MP.
Apart from the outboard motor (OBM) her family also received a solar lighting systems. So there is no need to pay for kerosene or candles anymore to light up her home.
When the fuel price sky rocketed late last year for several months, she could not travel much to Gizo because of the cost involved.
However, she only travels after government intervened and issued a waiver on fuel duty which had resulted in a drop in fuel price.
Despite the drop in price, the rural market vendors are the most hit hard because to travel from the nearby islands on an OBM is costly. This is because you have to meet your own boat fare plus the freights for the market produce.
She said, the ongoing rise in the price of goods at the shops in Gizo and the canteens at her village is also a cause of concern for her and many other rural vendors.
“We notice the rising price of goods and stationeries in the shops and its very challenging,” she said.
She told Solomon Star that as long as she is strong and healthy, she will continue to work and sell produce from her gardens to support her family.
Ms Mamikera also acknowledged her husband and children who have been supportive by supporting her to make gardens, carry market produce from the gardens to the coast before traveling to Gizo.
“Without them I would not be able to do this,” she said.
She also thanked the Gizo residents and public for continuing supporting them.
By MOFFAT MAMU
Gizo News Bureau
