Entrepreneurship, Rooted in Kastom
The First Economy: Here at Melanesian Women Today, we start with a simple idea. Long before banks or borders, our people had an economy. We call it the Kastom Economy. It wasn't built on money, but on something much stronger: our connections to each other, our land, and our ancestors. In this economy, a woman's worth isn't measured by her salary, but by the knowledge in her hands and the strength she brings to her community. This is the world we come from. It’s the world we fight for.
The Work of Our Hands: You can see this economy in the beautiful, practical things our women create. These aren't just crafts; they are the fabric of our lives.
In Vanuatu, a mother teaching her daughter to weave a basket is about more than just technique. She is passing down the core values of her culture. She is teaching binihimarahi, respect. She is teaching tomahurigi, the importance of learning from elders. This knowledge, rooted in the Nonda language of Northern Pentecost, is woven into every strand. The very same basket she creates might one day be used to honor her father as he takes his place in the community as a chief during his installation ceremony. A vibrant red mat from her hands could become the centerpiece of a bride price, a sacred object that binds two families together for generations and wealth for her trading.
In Fiji, the gentle beat of the masi cloth is a familiar sound. Our Fijian sisters transform bark into stunning art. This masi cloth wraps our newborns and becomes the wedding clothes for our brides. It’s a sacred marker of our most important moments. And today, the sale of this cloth helps pay for school fees and family needs.
Elsewhere, our wealth takes other forms. In the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, it’s the soft clink of shell money, used to settle disputes and forge family ties through marriage. In Papua New Guinea and West Papua, it’s the noken and the bilum—bags so deeply tied to womanhood that their very name means "womb." They carry our children, our food, and our cultural pride. In Kanaky, even during times of struggle, the act of weaving, of vüü-re, brings people together, creating the tools for daily life and ceremony.
Walking Alongside Our Sisters: We don't believe in imposing business models from the outside. How could we? Our sisters are already entrepreneurs in the truest sense. Their "business" is an extension of their traditional roles; it’s the bilums they sell at the market, the shell money their family is known for, the masi cloth that keeps their culture alive.
Our job is to walk alongside them. We help them navigate the cash economy without asking them to abandon their values. We provide training that respects the obligation to share with family. We help them tell the story behind their weaving, so the world understands its true value and pays a fair price. We connect master weavers with young girls, ensuring this sacred knowledge is never lost.
A Different Kind of Prosperity: For us, success isn't just a number in an account. It's a thriving village. It's a child who can go to school. It's an elder who is cared for. It's a culture that remains strong. When a Melanesian woman is empowered, she doesn't just lift herself up. She becomes a pillar that holds up her entire community.
That is the prosperity we are building; one that is woven by hand, rooted in tradition, and shared by all.
Our Approach: Honoring Two Economies
We recognize that women navigate two economic spheres: the cash economy and the vast, foundational kastom economy.
Melanesian women are masters of navigating two interconnected economic spheres: the cash economy and the vast, foundational Kastom Economy. Our support is designed to honor and fortify both.
1. Strengthening the Kastom Economy: The Unseen Engine of Our Nations
To claim that rural women are not entrepreneurial is to be blind to the very engine that sustains our people. The Kastom Economy is a sophisticated system of production, exchange, and social security. If a ceremony requires a specific pattern of mat, if a wedding needs a hundred baskets of food, or if a family needs support after a loss, it is the women in our villages who mobilize, produce, and provide. This is not mere "craft" or "subsistence"; it is the bedrock of our societal wealth and stability.
Our work in this sphere includes:
Valuing Indigenous Knowledge Systems: We work to document and promote the deep cultural, spiritual, and technical knowledge embedded in women’s work—from the specific dyes used in weaving to the songs that accompany the work.
Securing Traditional Capital: We support the sustainable management of the natural "factories" of the kastom economy: pandanus groves, traditional gardens, and fishing grounds. We help communities protect these resources from unsustainable exploitation.
Measuring Holistic Success: We champion metrics of success that matter: community health, the number of young people learning a traditional language, the strength of intergenerational bonds, and the frequency of customary exchanges. These are the true indicators of Melanesian prosperity.
2. Navigating the Cash Economy with Cultural Integrity
For women who choose to engage with the cash economy, we provide training that connects new skills to timeless values. We help them build enterprises that do not extract them from their culture, but allow them to thrive within it.
We offer:
Kastom-Conscious Financial Literacy: Training that acknowledges the cultural imperative of wanbel (unity) and wealth sharing, teaching women how to manage cash flow while honoring their obligations to family and community.
Purpose-Driven Enterprise Development: We reframe the concept of a "business." It is not just a profit-making entity; it is a modern vehicle for fulfilling traditional roles—caring for family, supporting the clan, and contributing to community well-being. It is entrepreneurship as a form of modern reciprocity.
Story-Based Marketing: We train women to be ambassadors of their culture. They learn to communicate the profound stories, symbols, and heritage behind their weavings, carvings, and products. This ensures their cultural heritage commands the respect, recognition, and fair market value it deserves.
Building a Supportive Ecosystem, the Melanesian Way
Just as a traditional garden is tended by the whole community, we believe in building a supportive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs. MWT acts as a bridge, leveraging partnerships based on the principle of wan tok (collaboration).
This includes:
Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer: Connecting aspiring young women with elders and master artisans to ensure that sacred patterns and techniques are not lost but revitalized.
Modern Nakamals for Exchange: We organize gatherings that are less like sterile "networking events" and more like modern versions of the nakamal—spaces for sharing stories, challenges, solutions, and solidarity over a cup of kava or tea.
Ethical Market Connections: Facilitating connections that help women access new, fair-trade markets for their work, while always advising on how to protect the cultural and intellectual property of their creations.
By building upon the unshakable foundation of our traditional economy, MWT empowers Melanesian women to achieve a self-determined prosperity. This is a future where financial independence is woven together with deep cultural pride, and where the ultimate measure of success is the enduring well-being of the entire community.
"If you measure an economy only by its cash, you will miss the one that truly sustains us. The women in our villages are the engine of our real economy—they weave the mats and baskets for our traditional ceremonies, our weddings, and grow the food for our gatherings. This traditional production and exchange is not a footnote to our well-being; it is its foundation."
— Melanesian Women Today
