REGENERATIVE BILUM BAGS: LIFE+LEISURE

PNG women tell their stories in woven bilum bags, writes Nina Karnikowski.

Here’s a truth for our tumultuous times: small actions lead to bigger actions, which can (slowly) make a big difference.

This is something textile designer Caroline Sherman realised in 2015 when she first saw a Papua New Guinean bilum bag at a Sydney exhibition, and decided to start her not-for-profit brand Among Equals.

By purchasing large numbers of the handwoven bags directly from the women weavers at a premium price, she realised she could help keep an important cultural tradition alive and provide the women with a more stable, guaranteed income.

“From the beginning, the weavers told us consistently that they wanted a wider market of buyers for their bags,” says Sherman. “It has always been our ultimate goal and purpose to empower these women weavers through trade, ensuring their craft is passed down through the generations.”

Among Equals now works with more than 1000 weavers to create the wanderlust-inducing bags, sold both online and in their sunlit boutique in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs.

Each bilum is a one-of-a-kind artwork particular to the weaver and her home in Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, Highlands or Telefomin regions. They look as good hanging on your shoulder as they do on your loungeroom wall. 

Woven into the geometric designs, in electric shades or more natural palettes, are spiritual and cultural stories about the weaver’s life: if a woman marries, for example, her mother will weave her a bag with a diamond pattern.

Sherman then adds colourful tassels and pom-poms to offer a fresh, modern pop to the traditional product.

The epitome of slow, regenerative fashion, bilums take six weeks for the artisans to weave, and are made from either unravelled yarns from woollen jumpers, or fibres made from local vegetation that is dyed using plants, ochres and berries. It all means the bags can be popped straight into the compost at the end of their life.

“Among Equals was built around the idea of hope and change, and certainly that’s the driving spirit,” says Sherman.“My focus now is to continue working with these communities of incredible weavers, to grow their industry so it becomes an even more stable and viable form of income for generations to come.”

Bags sold via Among Equals range from small to extra-large, with prices from  $180 to $660. For more information, see amongequals.com.au


This story first appeared online here