GIZO Women in Business (GWB) promoted their organic products at New Zealand Festival held in Honiara last Friday.
GWB’s participation in the festival was supported by its partner – the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – to promote and sell their products.
Their products included organic soaps, charcoal, laundry detergents, virgin oil, woven baskets, peanut butter and other products.
GWB Director and Founder Esther Tali Suti thanked UNDP for supporting them with boat fares to be able to come to Honiara to promote and sell their local products at the festival.
“This festival supports us to promote our business and our products.
“And it is our first time to join such this kind of festival and promote our products.
“I would like to thank our partner UNDP to support us women in the Western Province to promote our products,” Tali Suti told Solomon Star at the festival.
She hails from Simbo but is based at Gizo.
She said GWB was established in 2012 and it supports women from Simbo, Kolombangara and Vella through the purchase of their raw materials, which it then uses to make different products like soap, oil, charcoal, baskets and other products.
This organization later expanded its operation to Malaita Province, working with Langalanga women to promote and sell their shell-money.
To support local women financially, GWB buys local products from women to enable them to financially support their families.
In Western Province, GWB, encourages women to use organic products.
“We find out that a lot of women don’t know about organic products they don’t know what chemical products to do to our bodies.
“We organically make our products and we encourage women to produce organic products.
“We want them to use organic products to avoid lifestyle diseases.
“So, we encourage them to plant their food gardens without using fertilizers or any chemical.
“Chemical becomes an issue now for people because it causes sickness,” Mrs Suti said.
She added that GWB joined the New Zealand Festival to promote their products to people in Honiara.
Since GWB’s main objective is supporting rural women by buying raw materials from them to manufacture into organic products and as such do not really make huge profits.
They have a lock-up shop in Gizo and this week, they will open their new road stall outside of Museum area in Point Cruz area to promote their products.
By LACHLAN SHYVES EDDIE
Solomon Star, Honiara
