The women of Aibom village in the Chambri lakes of Papua New Guinea (PNG), are renowned in the Sepik region for their traditional clay stove-making, a craft passed down through generations. These women are custodians of a cultural practice that embodies their traditional way of life. The clay stoves they produce are more than functional items; these stoves are symbols of heritage, skill, pride and identity.  These stoves carry stories as old as the first settlers who arrived in the area. These stoves are found in numerous hauskuks[1] throughout the Sepik area.  These are produced exclusively in Aibom village, Chambri Lakes.

The process of making these stoves is an artistical expression that is intricate and proficient. Aibom women collect high-quality red and white clay from exclusive and specific areas in the Chambri Lakes, they mix the clay by hand, moulding and shaping the stoves to a sturdy and aesthetically ornate. The newly moulded clay stoves are left out in the open to dry for three to five days and then heated in an open fire process using dried sago palm leaves. These stoves are designed to withstand high temperatures during cooking, hence, making them indispensable in the daily lives of the people in the region.

The crafts womanship involved in creating these stoves is a testament to the women’s deep connection to their stories, heritage, their past, their environment and their creative and expressive talents. Clay sourcing is a significant cultural process; families only source from their land and respect each other’s sources of clay. Each stove is a work of art, reflecting the unique style and cultural motifs of their respective clans within the Chambri Lakes. The women often work together with members of their families and clans, thus strengthening family bonds, clanship, kinship thus naturing and maintaining the importance of relationships, an essential feature of the ancient Melanesian philosophy. Besides immediate household uses, these clay stoves have also historically been used for trade.  Today, these stoves generate significant household income, which finances basic necessities for the women, their families and the communities.

The stove making faces a grave threat from a proposed Copper and Gold mine, a large-scale open cut mining project proposed in the headwaters of the Sepik River, of which the Chambri lakes and its waterways are an integral part of the Sepik River basin. The activities of the Mine, if it were to operate, poses significant risks to the Aibom people and their livelihoods. Their only home, their environment is to be annihilated. The overburden alone, even before the mine is built will destroy all livelihoods along the Sepik.  To add salt to the wound, the extraction process involves toxic chemicals and the potential for disastrous spills and the collapse of a proposed Hydro Dam (Integrated Storage facility), which could contaminate the Sepik River and the Chambri Lakes is as real as a doughnut. The environmental impact would be catastrophic, rendering the Sepik River unusable and unliveable, depriving communities of their natural resources, and forcing members of these communities to abandon their homes. For the Aibom women and their families, this means losing the very clay they use to make their stoves, erasing a vital part of their identity and cultural heritage.

The Aibom womens’ dedication, reliance and resilience to their craft highlight the importance of preserving their way of life. Today, it is a sustainable livelihood generating household income for modern day needs. The efforts of Project Sepik and the Save the Sepik Campaign, opposing the proposed Frieda River mine, are crucial not just for environmental reasons but to protect the identity, the soul, the cultural legacy and autonomy of the Sepik River and its people. This includes the Aibom women in the Chambri lakes. Advocating for sustainable development practices, climate-smart solutions, and valuing, respecting, and preserving indigenous practices and traditions will echo the voices of our forefathers—the dream of achieving development through Papua New Guinean forms of social, political, and economic organization. The world is catching up to this ideology.  

The Aibom women of the Chambri Lakes illustrates the beauty, strength and utility of their cultural heritage through their clay stove-making. The threat posed by the proposed Frieda River Copper and Gold mine highlights the urgent need to protect these traditions and the environment that sustains them. By valuing and safeguarding the Aibom’s way of life, we honour not only their history but also the rich diversity of Sepik culture and the greater Melanesian consciousness. Their lives, our lives, capricious, and fragile as never before. 


[1] Hauskuks are kitchens but could be in a house, in a shared house, in a building on its own or an open hut. it’s a general term of a place where food is cooked. 

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