AS Solomon Islands joins the rest of the global community to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, a father from Lau Lagoon, Malaita Province deems it important to emphasize that a father is the breadwinner for his family.
Jack Evedubalaga is a father who struggles to put food on the table for his immediate family and he encourages other fathers nationwide to also work hard to provide for their families and to cherish their fatherhood role.
The Solomon Star spoke with Evedubalaga as he worked on his stencil designs at a small corner of the Honiara Central Market.
“This is my message to all the fathers out there in the country. As a father, you are the bread-winner for your family. You must do your best as a father to make your family happy all the times.
Evedubalaga shunned the practice by some fathers who rely on their wife to bring food home at the end of each day.
“Some fathers just wait for mothers to bring food at home at the end of each day. Fathers must not do that. A father must support his wife to provide food for their children.
“Some men want to marry but it is difficult for them because married life is very hard. That is why some people never marry until they are very old.
“So, be the best daddies and do the right thing.
Evedubalaga said he married a woman from Fataleka in Malaita Province and they settled at Burns Creek in East Honiara.
He said they don’t have children but still live a happy life like any other families in the country.
As a stencil artist, Evedubalaga cuts stencils based on different designs and sells them at the Honiara Central Market and also to his neighbours and other people for an income for his family.
He said he did not learn stencil designing by attending any formal training but on his own through his passion for this form of art, which became the source of his income.
After stating off his small stencil design business at home in 2023, he moved to Point Cruz to join other stencil designers sell their products to a wide range of customers, earning for profit than before.
“I do stencil cutting. I started this business at home, selling my products to people in my neighbourhood but in 2012, I decided to sell my products in the streets to increase my customer base.
“Stencil products are not popular, so I have to produce them mainly based on orders,” Evedubalaga said.
Evedubulaga said later in 2013, he started to advertise his products at the old Poma building in Point Cruz along with other stencil designers and from there they later they moved on to the Central Market where they remain until present.
“Our relocation to the Central Market was organized by Honiara City Council to allow us at least a dedicated space to sell our products.
“We have been based at the Central Market since then up until now.”
Evedubalaga said stencil designing is not a popular business because it because it involves a lot of work like drawing and cutting and those involved need a lot of patience.
He said most artists do not want cutting stencils because it takes a skilled cutter to ensure precision, as making mistakes only costs stencils and money.
The stencil artists use old x-ray papers to draw their designs on and cut them out.
“Only skilled artists can neatly cut designs out from the x-ray plastic papers and this is the reason why many artists do not venture into stencil designing.
“Artists can draw but to cut out designs is a different skill altogether,” Evedubalaga said.
Materials that stencil designers use, apart from x-ray plastic papers, are pencil for drawing and a sharp knife for cutting. If stencil designers want to have their designs printed onto t-shirts, sarongs, bedsheets and other clothing, then they can do so and earn extra money.
Evedubalaga said x-ray paper is becoming scarce because they usually collect this material from the National Referral Hospital’s X-ray Department but now that the hospital is switching to digital ex-ray machines, they will need to switch to other alternative material.
“There is proper stencil paper on the market but they are expensive and this is the reason that stencil artists have resorted to using old x-ray papers,” he said.
Since the NRH X-ray Department transitioned to using digital x-ray machines, stencil artists now buy old x-ray papers from people who have access to them.
“So now we depend on some people who have the x-ray papers, they usually come around at the Central Market and sell the papers to us,” Evedubalaga said.
Evedubalaga said a single stencil design sells for $500 or $600 and designs with many words and logos can be worth $700, $800 or even $1000, depending on their sizes and the orders placed.
He said he often gets orders from youth groups, government ministries, church groups and women who dye sarongs.
“During this time leading up to the Father’s Day event, my taking depends on the number of customers coming to buy my designs and t-shirts that I have printed my designs at the market.
“Each design printed t-shirt costs $70,” he said.
Those who wants him to do designs and print can contact him on mobile 7377154.
By LACHLAN SHYVES EDDIE
Solomon Star, Honiara
