BY LYNTON AARON FILIA
THE North West Guadalcanal constituency will establish a new market for fresh produce late this year at the Mataniko River Bank.
Market vendors from North west Guadalcanal will no longer have to lay their produce on the floor of the market as they have been doing for many years.
Member of Parliament for North West Guadalcanal Mr Bodo Dettke has stepped in to address the hardship women of his constituency are facing.
Dettke will build a new market particularly for vegetables called the North West Guadalcanal Constituency Rural Farmers Market at the Mataniko River Bank.
North West Guadalcanal Subsistent Farmer Association’s Chairman Mr Francis Orodani welcomes the initiative by Dettke, saying that it will remove one hardship the women of the constituency face every day.
He says it is mentally degrading for women to have to put their fresh produce on the dirty floor of the market, but have been forced to do so in the past years because they did not have any choice.
It also affects the quality of the produce too, he adds.
Orodani said every day about 100 women in the constituency come to Honiara Central Market and spend the whole day in such conditions, wet or hot and dry.
Thus, MP Dettke decided to offer his block at the Mataniko River Bank to build a market which the new proposed market will contain 40 tables designed to accommodate two vendors each, thus allowing for 80 in total.
“If the pilot the project works perfectly and gain popularity among women then its permanency will be around white River area,” Orodani said.
HCC Market Master Jimmy Hanson Riunga said if HCC’s authority aware about the new market setting, he welcome such initiative as it will address issues central market currently face in terms of spaces.
He explained in legal side, if market setup within town boundary it should be under HCC’s mandatory.
However, Riunga said he support the idea MP Dettke has in place for people of the North West Constituency.
Currently, construction is progressing slowly at the Mataniko River bank.
Each woman will have her own market space, and no one will be allowed to use another’s spot.
Vendors will also be using identification tags.
The market also designed to have a storage container to avoid half price or free supplying of produce goods at the end of the day which commonly practices.
No betel-nut and coconut is allowed (unless it is clean, and this is purposely to avoid littering around the area) —only vegetable and sea foods.
