Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
– Thomas A. Edison, American inventor and businessman
IT is a pity that there still exists a majority of Iban parents in the rural areas, especially those staying in longhouses or in individual kampung houses, who are not making use of their resources to the fullest.
By this I mean they are not maximising the economic potential of their environment that possibly offers fertile and suitable land to farm, to indulge in livestock rearing and other pursuits that could give good economic returns.
My observation is that many parents in my area could do much better than they are at the present. I know many of them are struggling to cope with their children’s educational needs but either due to laziness or ignorance, they are trapped in their present labyrinth of predicaments, especially ones that involve finance.
Two couples with at least three school-going children each are only depending on rubber tapping to provide for their children whereas I know they have ample land nearby the longhouse to start ventures such as livestock rearing and vegetable planting. The latter will certainly give very speedy return if well looked after, and so is livestock rearing too, especially rearing of fowls for meat and for eggs. For that matter, the Agriculture Department is willing to help with expertise and even subsidy.
There have been attempts on my part to open their minds into indulging in these ventures and the aforesaid four people were present and seemed to be positive of the suggestions but after five years nothing has been done by them.
However a handful of the not-so-poor parents have responded thus far and are harvesting their corns, beans, brinjals, cabbages, cucumbers and other vegetables and laughing all the way to the bank. These are parents who think outside the box too. Many of them have children who are university and college graduates but instead of totally depending on their kids, they continue working and utilising their land and energy to the maximum despite being in their sixties.
I event told them to emulate what my late father (Apai) Salok did when my brother Jon and I were still in primary school. This started in 1967 when Apai took the initiative to sell the farm products such as corns, cucumber, cucumber leaves and other vegetables from our farm at Sungai Sibau Temudok Krian about four hours of paddling following the tide to Saratok town.
During one school break I joined him using a small paddle. Since this was a follow-up trip from two days before, by the time we reached Saratok wharf, a Chinese towkay, Ah Chu of Chop Hock Guan, was waiting to buy in bulk all the items we brought. I didn’t see how much cash he received but it was certainly substantial.
For the record Apai was arguably the Iban pioneer in selling farm products in Saratok. Many people were sceptical but Apai was unperturbed and went on seriously with his agenda, resulting in better clothes, footwears and plenty of stationery for me and Jon, not to mention some extra pocket money.
Buying from him in bulk was one way of paying back to him who, together with my mom, kindly provided shelter for Ah Chu and his wife during the Japanese Occupation – this was when the Japanese demanded the Chinese to provide them a lot of items. The couple, then childless, stayed in the ulu with my parents for some months.
There are so many ways to supplement one’s income given that one is healthy and willing to toil a bit with suitable land to work on. At least six families in my longhouse have already started rearing fish in fish ponds, especially those with land near the trunk road or feeder roads. My family started ours more than twenty years ago and have many good harvests of red and black tilapia, chau hu, lampan Jawa, patin and catfish (ikan keli) as well as ‘udang galah’ (king prawns) and others.
For short- as well as long-term gains, some longhouse residents, in Saratok included, have turned to planting oranges, durian trees, rambutan, dabai, pakan (a variety of the durian family), guava, temedak (jack fruit), mangoes, mangosteen, mata kuching, papayas, banana and a few others in their own orchards or just around their individual farm houses.
We have an orchard just about 200 metres from our longhouse where the 33 rambutan trees are still standing well, a few langsat trees, about five pakan trees, a good number of jack fruit trees, pineapples, pumpkins and some vegetables are growing.
Many parents in the upper Melupa River capitalise on their vast and thriving hill padi cultivation that has made a few of them rich.
Some of these examples were used to tempt the aforesaid two couples to say goodbye to their miseries but after five years, I notice that their predicaments have remained status quo. I hope their kids could outdo their parents in the future and do justice to the idle pieces of land their parents inherited from their industrious grandparents.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
