Beautiful Handmade Bilums (bags) of Papua New Guinea
June 27th, 2012 | Craft, D.I.Y., How-to, Sustainable, Traditional, art, bag, bilum, eco, farmers market, fibre, green, handcrafted, handmade, local, Papua New Guinea, PNG, shopping, Sustainable, tote, traditional, weaving, women
Click here to buy a unique handmade bilum on www.artfire.com now! Limited number available.
The last time I spent more than a couple days in Papua New Guinea I learned how to make a bilum from a wonderful highland woman by the name of Kapaim. She was very patient with me–I was determined to finish before I had to leave to begin culinary school. I worked day and night, stubbornly insisting on rolling most of the string myself. I finished the job in time–I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to figure out how to finish if I didn’t get it done. Even then it took me at least three weeks and this is a small bilum! Unfortunately I didn’t manage to remember how to start a new one and haven’t been able to make another one since. I have just discovered these great detailed instructions for making a bilum on The Papua New Guinea Bilum facebook page.