DFAT

The Brief

One of the key ways communities can benefit from tourism is through selling locally produced handicrafts. Juicy was engaged to produce three videos educating tourists about local handicrafts in Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

The videos educated travellers about the types of materials they might encounter (such as wood, grasses and shells), and which are more likely to pass biosecurity checks in Australia and New Zealand. This information empowered travellers to buy with confidence, taking home not just a memory, but a small part of a community’s story.

In addition to the video, we travelled with a mobile stills photography white-cyc studio to photograph hundreds of individual handicrafts and souvenirs from each community and district. These were used in printed vendor guides, available in markets, to help tourists make informed purchases.

The benefits of supporting local handicrafts are not only economic (with positive flow-on effects for education, health and well-being), but also cultural. The work of artisans is handed down through generations, and is intrinsically linked to history and culture. Through supporting local handicrafts, tourism maintains a strong market for traditional designs and methods.

The purchase of locally produced, traditional souvenirs also helps reduce the environmental impact of imported plastic trinkets and associated shipping.