Bartering at Korogu

"This is my cousin-sister" Mathilda says waving at a woman in her canoe. "We sit next to each other at the market". As we cross the lake, we greet more than a dozen other 'market mothers' from Korogu. Our host, Mathilda, is one of them and has her bag of fish to exchange with women from the inland villages of Selai, Aulimbit, Kosingbi, and Yamuk. If she is lucky, she will sell some and make a small profit.

The barter system is well established in Korogu, explains Mathilda. "First we need to buy betel nut and look at the garden food". For a good hour, not much seems to be happening. Market mothers from inland continue to arrive and display the garden food items. The women carrying fish sit in their respective areas but don't display their fish yet. People with money in their hands buy betel, sago, vegetables and fruits.

Suddenly, as if someone had rung a bell, women display their fresh and dried fish. A few people buy some and then the barter system kicks in. Inland women walk around carrying handfuls of food to exchange for fish. Five small lumps of sago for five small fish. The market is buzzing with activity. The young girl who sold betel to Mathilda this morning comes with kaukau (sweet potatoes) in her hands and exchanges them for fish. They had agreed on this earlier. The process runs smoothly and, as they complete all their exchanges, the market mothers depart. The clearing that was busy a moment ago has emptied until tomorrow morning when other women will arrive to partake in the barter system.

It will take some inland women almost the day to go back. We are lucky; it will only take us about 15 minutes in our motor canoe to reach Korogu village on the Sepik river. Mathilda is quite happy. She's made 7 kinas profit today. I am also pleased with my purchases: bananas, papayas, peanuts, cucumbers, green vegetables, and a big lump of sago. Frazer and Tolly, our boat crew, have big smiles on their faces now that their supply of betel for the trip is replenished. We are ready to go but not before Mathilda cooks us a big and delicious piranah fish.

As I give her a hand in the kitchen to make sago jelly to eat with the fish, Mathilda tells me about some of the work she does with women in the village. "I tell them not to feed their husbands if they spend their days doing nothing in the 'haus men' (spirit house or haus tambaran). It is true that women do most of the work in the villages. They are the main food providers (looking after the gardens, making sago, fishing, going to the market and cooking) and they look after the family and the house. The amount of work men do can vary significantly based on three factors I observed. These are gender roles (based on tribal customs which can vary from tribe to tribe but often vary per area), education and skills, and personal drive and initiative. Mathilda's husband, Collis, was a very busy man contributing significantly to the family by fishing daily and looking after their guesthouse. He also had other projects on the go.

One of those involved raising awareness about the potential environmental threats of the projected Frieda mine upriver. With Mathilda, he is organizing a big weekend of activities in September called 'Abisa (the river) is bleeding'. They have soccer teams from across the country and England coming for a tournament, and numerous other activities including a canoe race and cultural events. I can't imagine what will happen if the mine opens and pollutes the river as the vast majority of people living on the Sepik river rely on it as their primary source of drinking water. It's also where they fish, hunt crocodiles and wash.

I wish I could have spent more time with this inspiring couple. As we depart, we exchange contacts. Thank God for Internet!

Nadya

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