By Martha Taumata Faavae
The coronavirus lockdown has kept the guilds of women weavers in the villages from coming to display their brand new fine mats in Apia as part of the Mothers’ Day Celebration.
The display highlights the long back-breaking work the village women sit through all year to weave finely stripped strands of the pandanus leaf into brand new fine mats.
The displays are held every year on Mothers’ Day Week where the weavers are paid premium price of $1000 for their best fine mats ranked as Number 1s.
Other mats are ranked lower depending on the quality but the women still get money for them.
The Ministry of Women and Social Community are the organisers of the event with the Prime Minister himself at the head of a special committee in charge of the women weavers.
“The coronavirus and the measles epidemic before that restricted the women from their weaving groups but they were encourage to work from home,” explained the Minister of Women Tuitama Dr. Talalelei Tuitama.
The Minister is not sure if it is possible to re-schedule the women’s display sometime during the year as this depends on the decision of the PM’s committee.
Tuitama said the this is the 17th year of the weaving programme and it costs the Government around $50,000 with most of the funding going into the purchase of the fine mats.
A woman weaver from Puapua, Savaii, Apaula Mose Mauga, told Newsline that a team of officials from the Ministry of Women visited them this week to inspect their completed work so far.
“ We are told that the special organising committee will go over our work and bank the money for our mats into our bank account,” Mauga said after being told by the visiting team to expect their money either this week or next week.
The Puapua weaver also invited anyone who wanted to buy fine mats at whatever category from the top downwards to let them know.
‘We still have mats to sell.”