The towering house posts from some of the old structures still loom protectively over the long, grassy area between the two current Haus Tambarans. Palambei women lay out their string bags, called bilums in Tok Pisin, for sale along this strip. Sepik bilums are strong, made with fairly heavy string and an open weave which expands to hold almost anything that needs carrying including babies. The designs are named. Sometimes they are bilased with tassels, seeds or shells.
Women make small bilums for their close male relatives.
The men carry cigarettes, money, betel nut and hunting or other magic charms in them. The large work bilums are the women's. A medium size is made for sale to tourists. Palambei carvings are very open and curvilinear with lots of finely painted details. Birds associated with the clans are a favorite subject.