BY ALEX DADAMU
Mrs. Emele Aike, owner of Milkfish Bungalows in Marau Sound, Guadalcanal province is one of the few woman entrepreneurs who venture into the tourism industry as a tourism service provider and operator.
Milkfish Bay Flash Packers trading as Milkfish Bungalows began way back in 2010.
According to Mrs. Aike, “It started with community awareness to create a shift in attitude and mindset to the fact that, ‘Tourism is for the benefit of all.'”
She said initial funding inputs were sourced under EIF Project funding jointly administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau in 2016.
The project funding was aimed at empowering women to participate in the tourism industry by providing a grant of SBD 100,000.
“So work began late 2016 and was completed in the first quarter of 2019,” Mrs. Aike recollected.
She said through community involvement and participation, she embarked on building eco-friendly bungalows to offer visitors a taste of what the islands offer.
“With the preservation of the pristine environment in mind, the bungalows were built with local and sustainable materials,” Mrs. Aike said.
She expressed that Milkfish Bungalows was a testimony to the Government, particularly the Ministry of Culture and Tourism that there are people out there in the provinces who are serious and will ensure that funding opportunities are fully utilized.
“The benefits brought to the community are huge.
“Milkfish Bungalows aims to provide an alternative in terms of comfort, budget, and activities and to set the benchmark for new and upcoming local operators in the Marau Sound cluster.
“We are indeed very grateful to the stakeholders involved, that is, EIF Project funding, S.I. Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the S. I. Visitors Bureau and our Marapa Community folks.”
Mrs. Aike in the meantime admits that this the current period are indeed trying times for the tourism industry and other business sectors in the country.
“At the moment we are totally dependent on private organization’s work-related arrivals, holidaymakers, and the Iumi Together holiday arrangements, this was after being unsuccessful with our application through the stimulus package.
