MOUNT HAGEN, Papua New Guinea -- This is a tough town, its streets full of bearded men from the Papua New Guinea highlands chewing and spitting betel nut, overlaid with the noise and fumes of revving minibuses, trucks and four-wheel drives.
But the covered market across the highway from the shops and offices is a world of calm. This is the realm of women, sitting behind counters laden with green vegetables, bright fruit, piles of sweet potatoes and live chickens. In a far corner are the products of women's skilled hands, a corner where I always browse and often buy on my periodic visits: the bilum section.
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