MEET Anna Lauka from the Autonomous Regional of Bougainville, a thriving local businesswoman who faces the struggles and challenges to better what she does.
The struggle in bringing crafts from a far is real for Anne, owner of ANKA CRAFT who has faced the struggles and challenges in her travels. Her items come from Siwai, Bana & Central Bougainville districts.
Being a business owner comes with responsibilities and it requires more to become successful. This includes getting your logistics done right and as safe and reliable as possible to bring your commercial products into the hub of the city to sell to tourists and city dwellers.
The drive from Siwai takes about one and a half hours to the villages in Bana District to purchase the infamous Haki Baskets, then it’s another two hours travelling to Central Bougainville for more crafts from Arawa.
Her travels in getting all this purchasing, packing and transporting done for her crafts start as early as 5am and the road trip in an open back Landcruiser on a merciless, rubble filled road and the crossing of rivers has a few beautiful scenic views during a six-hour drive.
Arriving in Buka is then a dinghy ride across Buka Passage, then onto a truck straight to the airport for checking in. The fear of power outages leaves her looking for storage space before finally travelling 940km to Port Moresby.
The travel is far from land, sea, and air but it is worth it when her crafts find themselves in good homes from a great day of sales.
