Guadalcanal Weaving FestivalIf you’re keen to check out a fascinating cultural festival, the Guadalcanal Weaving Festival will be held at Lela Beach 1-7 August. The festival is the first of its kind and is the result of a massive effort including representation of all
21 Wards of the Guadalcanal Province.
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Sunday 30th April 2017.. looking for something to do for the day.. Cruising in comfort on the 360 Flyer..beach picnic & fishing cruise
Open Air Arts & Crafts in the park..’ Honiara, Solomon IslandsOpen 10am-4pm (best times)
Part of the Solomon Islands National Art Gallery (SINAG), Honiara..
Outside, under the colourful market stalls, you’ll find an array of hand made products by local Solomon Islanders, some of the traditional skills have been handed down thru their family generations, and show a strong Melanesian cultural influence.. they also use this space as their ‘studio’ and you can see them sitting under a tree, carving, using the specific timber or stone that they have been taught to use.. one of the carvers, Billy Vinajama is 82 years of age, from Gatokae Island at the gateway of Marovo Island, Billy is very passionate about his carving career & achievement and informs me he has been carving in stone for 44 years..
The ‘Avaiki Women’s Group (Women’s Arts & Crafts Group) are hapi, vibrant & actively involved in their craft: the weavers make mats, bags/ baskets/ kete (bag), fans/ jewellery & many more.. there are makers of print/ tie-dye on t-shirts/ dresses/ lavalava & cloth, some make jewellery produced out shell beads/ paper beads into intricate pieces of wearable jewellery.. the women’s leader is ‘Janet Ramoteo’
Avaiki Women’s Group: (women’s group photo)
L-R; 1:Janet Ramoteo, 2:Ela Maesulia, 3:Lucy Bangoika, 4:Nancy Tangangiki, 5:Ruth Sina, 6:Tala Maitaki, 7:Nancy Teabaika, 8:Melina Teahe, 9:Joyce Augia, 10:Nancy Tango, 11:Tusiato Graley, 12:Nesary Taiake, 13:Rose Maenaha..
L-R; 1:Lisah Tony, 2:Marion Tembe, 3:Grace Delson, 4:Rose Sasali, 5:Tahira Joe, 6:Jewter Orelly, 7:Rosa Giaka, 8:Rosana Farodo
Contact: If you have any enquiries, please contact Janet Ramoteo, Avaiki Women’s Group.
You can also ring Janet +677 773 0174 (Women’s Group Leader)
Location: Main Street of Honiara, on the corner, next to the round-about that leads to the Heritage Park Hotel, in the surrounding grounds next to the Solomon Islands National Art Gallery, (or, if staying at the Heritage Park Hotel Honiara, it is on the right side as you enter), there is a entertainment stage, large building that hosts & exhibits up to 60 local artist’s work, from paintings, sculptures, woven craft, jewellery out of paper & shell & carvings in timber & stone.. and more, these are for sale.
Opening times: 10am-4pm/ Monday-Saturday ((Note: Some Stall Holders open on Sundays, but not all))
So, come down and have a chat, or you can watch traditional local & national Solomon Islander carvers, weavers, knitters & jewellery makers create their magic..
By Andrew MacLean
E: elucid8@gmail.com
(Editor’s note: Recntly a local teacher told me how shocked she was to survey her class and find that every student wanted to be either a shop assistant or a taxi driver. Hopefully schemes such this innovative program being established by Andrew MacLean will broaden the horizons of future students. Well done folks.)
Do you have knowledge that you would like to impart to Solomon Island tertiary students? Do have skills that might benefit young adults on their path to employment and family life? Do you just have a good story to tell?
The Don Bosco Technical Institute is proud to announce an innovation for 2017 – a weekly “guest lecture” spot on our timetable.
The Don Bosco Technical Institute in Henderson is proud to support young people from Solomon Islands as they learn technical skills and trades in a Salesian family environment. The Institute is committed to growing socially responsible students who are competent, honest, and upright in character.
The 360 day cruises were becoming a semi-regular feature of life in Honiara earlier in the year. They were a great, no-fuss way of getting out of town for the day and exploring the nearby islands.
…. And then came the disastrous Tavanipupu trip. It looked like it had it all, exclusive island retreat, a nice long cruise down and the coast to town the east and lots of happy party goers. But as some of you will remember it was all a bit of bad timing and overcommitment. The boat was running in a new engine and the seas were against them so it all became a very slow rough trip with lots of green and bilious people arriving home much later and much disgruntled.
The day trip to Roderick Bay on Saturday is much more in the style of the original and much more enjoyable model. These are much calmer waters and the big catamaran is stable and safe. There’s good coffee and other drinks available on board. (Your first drink is included in your ticket price.)
It only about two hours easy cruising to Roderick Bay through the spectacular Sandfly Passage and the Bay itself is glorious place to hang out, as you would have seen if you have read the previous post.
Your not just confined to the beach, but can go for walks around the area as well. But I wouldn’t miss out on the chance to snorkel on the coral beds or the wreck of the World Discoverer and see how the reef is rapidly reclaiming it. There’s also the flying fox and rope swings strung between the beach and the wreck.
The beach behind the wreck is gorgeous. Big old trees hanging out over the water creating deep cool shade and great climbing above the shallow, child-friendly in-shore area before the nit Ian drop off to the wreck.
The catering on-shore is being done by Roderick Bay Beach Haven and is a much improved, more cosmopolitan version of local food in great quantity.
Then it is back through the Passage and back to Honiara as the sun sets.
The only problem you have to cope with is getting into the 360 Office and buying your tickets in the next couple of days. Places are limited so don’t leave it to the last moment or you could miss out.
Hopefully this will be the new beginning of regular day trips. So if you, like me, want this to be available as an option in Honiara get your tickets and now and show them that we support it with wallets
Tickets:
Single adult $650
Child $450
Family (two adults and up to three children, so spend a couple of days to pick your favourite three) $1800
Some tickets may be available on the day on board if not full $750
Ticket Office:
360 Office
Commonwealth Ave
Point Cruz
(Next to Lime Lounge and Boaro and Associates)
What to bring:
Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, etc
Snorkelling gear, towel, coral shoes and gloves for climbing on wreck, etc
Walking shoes/thongs
Some cash for extra drinks on board, beer and wine also available as well as soft drinks
Musical instruments for jamming on boat on way back
Great to bring the children, but also great to leave them at home
Departure 8.30 Honiara Wharf front
Arrival Honiara about 6pm
H
Do you want your environment to be clean?
Please come help us stop water pollution
Saturday 19th November
8am till 10 am at the Art Gallery
(Between Heritage Hotel and Breakwater Cafe)
Point Cruz
Organised Vaiclehi, Casssandro, Nahala, Loise, Jolyn and Hendrix
Then afterwards you can visit the great exhibition of some of the best of the Solomon Islands Arts Association in the Gallery. There are paintings, based on or inspired by local culture, history or myth, and prints, carvings, weaving and fabrics. All work is for sale. 10am- 4pm everyday.
Whether it s the waitress casually emptying the ash trays over the balcony straight into the water, or the “Eco-lodge” bailing up its garbage into plastic bags and boating them out into the current off shore, or the casual dropping of everything and anything into the street, or local business emptying its rubbish down the banks of the Mataniko River, Honiara is a cesspool of garbage.
Who would ever guess, before coming here, that a tropical paradise could be so filthy?
The dramatic increase in population alongside the introduction of plastics and other non-biodegradable rubbish have not integrated well with traditional approaches to garbage disposal.
If you are sick of seeing rubbish everywhere come along for a couple of hours tomorrow morning and do you bit; set a good example and not only help clean up a little but spur the sort of cultural change so sadly needed in this city. Nothing changes behaviour better than seeing people you know practicing and exemplifying another way of doing things.
The general clean up day at the Art Gallery follows on from the GoGreen – Annual School Clean Up, sponsored by BSP, today Friday 18th November.
I recommend you bring your own gloves and bucket and garbage bags and any other clean up gear you have.
You can easily make yourself and kids a handy rubbish “picker-upperer” and save your back.
Requirements:
(Piece of dowel,old broom handle, or roughly straight stick about 120 cms long,
String, raffia, plastic tape or anything to tie with. About 1 metre,
Glue, any sort,
Strong wire coat hanger, or other firm wire
Pliers or wire cutters, or you can break the wire by bending it back and forth around the same point, but it takes a little longer.)
* Simply cut two or three pieces of strong wire coat hanger about 20 cms long. 
Firmly tie the lengths of wire to a piece of dowel, broom handle, stick with string with about 12cms overlap, as in the diagram below.
Coat the string with glue and allow to dry.
You now have a handy rubbish picker-upperer to help make Honiara a little more beautifuller and rubbish conscious.
See you at the Art Gallery 8 – 10am Saturday 19th November
Sure it’s easy enough to buy cheap DVDs down town but there’s something about a B-I-G screen and surround sound. You just can’t beat going to the cinema, as we did on the weekend … in Honiara!
Taloa Cinema at Rove has been open for some weeks now. It’s just across from the Mambo Juice bus stop and the Ngossi/Tasahe turnoff, a few doors back to the east on the Rove seafront. It’s behind the DVD shop in a spacious airconditioned room with a couple of big standing fans, about 40 seats and a couple of light mattresses on the floor at the front. It’s comfortable and clean – a great escape in every way. More…
By Andrew MacLean
Senior students at Don Bosco Technical Institute have just started work in the Servanthood And Leadership Training (S.A.L.T.) Program.
Organisations in Honiara are invited to “adopt” a trade class, which will be available to complete any tasks, activities or services as appropriate to organisational need and student skill. Don Bosco Technical Institute trains young adults in the following trades:
Automotive (repairing and maintaining engines / machinery)
Construction (carpentry, joinery and cement work)
Electrical (wiring, installation and repair)
Information and Communication Technology
Life Skills (hospitality and textiles)
Machine Fitting and Maintenance
Welding
Please note that students are not restricted to working within their trade area and are available for general volunteer tasks.
Through the S.A.L.T. Program the school hopes to encourage the leadership skills of our senior students via acts of service. The Institute has made 12 hours of service compulsory as a minimum before students attend their On-the-Job Training and Graduation.
For further information please contact Deputy Principal Tommie Kaekae (kaekaetommietomscoll@gmail.com) or by leaving a message at the school office (ph: 36555).
The Pineapple Post 