KUCHING: Decades ago, she thought her weaving skills using the ‘bemban’ plant were limited to making sleeping mats at a longhouse.
However, a turning point came for Manoi Jarau from Serian, when she visited Kraftangan Malaysia (Sarawak branch) in 2003 where she learnt about turning traditional art into fashion.
Today, the 60-year-old grandmother is making between RM4,000 and RM5,000 sales per month, from making and selling ‘bemban’ bags.
Like many other Iban women, she learnt weaving skills from the elderly at her longhouse when she was a teenager.
She started weaving when she was only 13, producing baskets and mats using the ‘bemban’ plant, which was harvested from the jungle.
“In the past, it (weaving) was something common for the Iban women as the skills were normally passed down from generation to generation.
“We weave for things that we will use or need at the longhouse, for instance, the ‘bemban’ mat was used for sleeping as it is very cooling. Besides, it is used during a traditional wedding ceremony or festive celebration,” she told New Sarawak Tribune recently.
“I did not see any commercial value (in weaving) back then, so I stopped weaving and started to take up various jobs to earn a living,” she said.
In 2003, Manoi visited Kraftangan Malaysia (Sarawak branch) where she was exposed to various ideas on how to turn her skills in weaving sleeping mats or baskets into other fashion items, such as purses, document bags, handbags, coin bags, among others.
She was also briefed about programmes for the craft community to enhance their skills and marketing knowledge as well as exhibitions to promote and sell their handicrafts directly to the customers.
“From that moment, I realised the potential of my ‘long-abandoned’ weaving skills.
“Thus, I took part in various programmes and courses actively on how to improve my traditional methods and also to make my designs more adaptable for commercial sale,” she said.
In 2005, Manoi set up her own company at Kampung Antayan Kropok in Serian, making and selling ‘bemban’ bags in various sizes and shapes.
She would sell her bags by participating in exhibitions and also accept orders from online as well as from the government agencies and corporate companies.
“When I first started, sales was not much as people (customers) didn’t know about me yet. But I did not give up as I was confident of my skills and the quality of my products.
“Now, I have my regular customers and make about RM4,000 to RM5,000 in sales per month, which is quite encouraging,” she said, adding that she also received incentives and financial aids or support from the state and federal government.
Focused mostly on designing, the handicraft entrepreneur also assisted two part-time weavers from the village, paying them between RM35 and RM45 each day.
Sometimes, her assistants would also help to harvest the ‘bemban’ plant (the local Sarawak reed) and from the jungle and process them by trimming (the outer skin), drying and cutting them into strips of suitable or equip sizes and lengths.
According to Manoi, though the plant is freely available as it grows naturally in the jungle, the harvesting process is not easy and quite risky during rainy days as it grows in swampy areas.
“If we have too many orders to complete and do not have time to harvest the ‘bemban’ ourselves, I will buy it from other villages, for RM75 per kg,” she said.
Although her sales is considered ‘quite stable’, she is not resting on her laurels as she continues to improve her designs by searching fresh ideas online.
“I will google and see what’s the latest fashion trend, what gadgets (the size) the working adults are using… so, I can design handbags for example, that can fit an i-Pad, or a working bag for laptops,” she said.
Manoi hoped that expanding the use of ‘bemban’ on a variety of contemporary products will help keep this precious weaving traditional art alive.
