By Matthew Vari
Sunday, June 7, 2015 (Sunday Weekly Magazine, PNG)
THE public service machinery is by far the biggest employer in the whole country. So capitalizing on this market in terms of providing meals to feed such a beast has been somewhat a profession for one food seller selling along Kumul Avenue in the nation's capital, Port Moresby.
Kumul Avenue is home to many government departments and state agencies, thus a hungry, ever ready customer base for Barbara Awaita.
Barbara, who hails from Oro province, has sold food along the famous strip of road for over a decade.
Selling succulent hot beef stew with rice at K6 for a small pack to K10 for a large pack, has by far been her signature dish which she has perfected over the years.
A trip today to Kumul Avenue, one will observe a full row of food and drink sellers lined up along the famous government office stretch of pavement.
“When I first started there was about four of us here and the whole road area was empty,” Mrs Awaita said.
“Sales were very good because there was just the four of us, and all the public servants here would rush for our food and within one and a half hours everything is gone.”
“But now there is lot of competition here, and the customer base is all spread out and it takes longer to finish, but business is still good.”
Having sold various stews from beef and chicken, to sandwiches with lettuce and tomatoes, and even spring rolls, she said her roadside sales has done well to support her over the years.
“I’ve done this on my own supporting my family through this way of living. My husband is working but I do not want to wait for his fortnight which is a long time- it is better to sell so that at least we have some money in our purse on a daily basis,” she said.
“I wake up as early like 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning and start the cooking. I start chopping the meat up. For me, I do not know about the other ladies, I get blade steak where I select the best parts and I do not go to wholesale but from retail shops so that I can see what I select.”
“Chopping up the meat is one of the hardest parts, as I can get K120 - K180 worth of meat every day from Monday to Friday.”
“I then cook only Jasmine rice using a rice cooker as it cooks faster- as you can taste the meat must be hot, as I want to make sure that just before I come I fill it up in the esky to ensure that it still stays warm when I get here.”
Barbara stressed that the secret to having a good customer base was to ensure that the first impression is always the best one. Adding that she always makes sure that every new batch for the day is always freshly cooked for her customers.
She also sells Fried chicken with boiled potatoes, lettuce and boiled bananas to complement her trademark stew.
Believe it or not, she has a degree in Health Science obtained from the La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia- working for organizations like AusAid and other private outfits.
“While working, I found out that what I was getting is not enough. I compared with the qualification I gained from La Trobe and the money I was getting, I thought that was just peanuts so I gave up.”
Asked about the secret to starting up in the food stall business for those interested- she said that it all starts with giving it the good old try saying.
“You shouldn’t say that it is not going to work. You must try, because there is nothing wrong with trying.”
“Just because you’re sitting back and thinking ohh I don’t think this will work. It is easy because everybody eats food, not like selling clothes or other areas. Everyday people are hungry so they should not be discouraged.”
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