7 Reasons That Keep Us Motived To “Change the World”

Being a start-up and trying to make Elevyn work can have some serious ups and downs. Connecting buyers directly to marginalized communities to purchase craft online has never been done before, so it’s a pretty steep learning curve for the team.

“Downs” include the economic climate and the shrinking of our team as Su Li’s (who was one of our field coordinators) 10 month attachment with us through a special project grant with the support from the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Program (NTFP-EP) ended.

But as social enterpreneurs – we welcome these challenges as opportunities to learn and improve. As new challenges approach, I’m taking the opportunity to reflect on all the great things that have recently happened. Here’s what has been happening which has been keeping us motivated everyday.

1. Photographers and models take a shot at Elevyn

The team taking photos in Cheng Huat's garden

Wan Cheng Huat @ Fotogelafer organized his groups of friends - Lycnx Liew, Kian Ming, Loong Yik Hoe @ Loong Photography and Alisa Wong – to help take some product photos.

Next was the ‘modeled’ shots – whom we roped in long time friend Wendy Khoo who got her friends Sharifah Syed Jaafar, Jacqui Chan, Jaycee Koh, Looi Mei Lin (Estelle) and Azlin, to help model the products. Symphony House was kind enough to allow their great looking office to be used as ’stage’.

Group photo after a long and tiring shoot!

Asther Lau who specializes in newborn and baby photography, is also pitching in her talent for some modeled shoots. Her photoshoot was rather unusual because it rained on the scheduled shoot date. Since the shoot can’t be postponed due to everyone’s busy schedule, Asther bravely shot in the rain! The result was amazing with the gorgeous models Shafinaz Suhaimi, Sharyn Shufiyan and Meera Supramaniam working the wet look.

Making the rain work for us...

Sneak preview of the photos! © Asther Lau

Asther is also taking the products to be photographed with her gorgeous clients during her shoots. What a great way to give back while on the job.

2. New interns join the team.

Mei Ting cooks too!

Good interns are hard to find. We’re lucky that Mei Ting is a fantastic member of the team! Her first field visit was at a Burmese refugee community, as we launched their online shop. This is Mei Ting’s account of the trip.

We recently accepted two interns from Monash University Volunteer Program (MUVP) from Monash University Malaysia – Heng Yee Chin from Malaysia and Wandile Mashoba from South Africa. They will be visiting a partner shop this weekend.

3. Super supporters!

In a recent call out on Facebook for sponsors to help sponsor tables for some of the shops on Elevyn to sell at a local charity bazaar (Gift of Love Charity bazaar), two generous sponsors, Arika Allen and Dawn Boey sponsored 4 shops for the event!

4. Elevyn’s in the running for Asia’s Top 50 Apps.

Don’t forget to vote for us!

5. Aki and Odu, Sinompuru Women’s Group’s oldest members recently celebrated their birthdays!

Photo by Soning Craft

6. We’ll have a video soon!

Elevyn co-founder Devan Singaram being interviewed.

Volunteers from Germany, Robert M. Linder, Felix Schlegel and Federico Jüttner came all the way to help us make a video on how Elevyn works – with a focus on the refugee shops.

7. Mang Tha’s first big open day

It’s great to see how the shops on Elevyn grow as an organization. Mang Tha only had a tiny room when we first met them. Now they have a nice spacious center to organize activities such as sewing classes and other basic skills like English and financial management.

For those based in Kuala Lumpur, they can visit Mang Tha at their special weekend Open Day this coming Saturday.

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To everyone mentioned here (and many not mentioned) – your support and help means a lot to the team at Elevyn as well as the community shops we work with. Many thanks!

A Field Report By Elevyn Volunteer Mei Ting

Elevyn welcomes How Mei Ting, who will be interning with us during her summer break from the University of Warwick in UK, where she is pursuing a degree in Accounting and Finance.

Mei Ting got whisked into action right from day 1, where she had a chance to visit a group of Burmese refugees based in Kuala Lumpur and helped launch Kaoprise Beauty, an online shop selling handmade soaps.

Here’s her writing of the experience so far.

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Hi my name is Mei Ting. I am a student at the University of Warwick in UK studying Accounting and Finance.

The reason I joined Elevyn was because I had a long summer break and decided to do some voluntary work to pass my time. Therefore, I contacted Sze Ning about any work that I could engage in.

Initially, I was unsure of what to expect. At my first meeting when the team, they asked me whether I had any special skills. Having studying accounting and finance, my main skills were accounts and maths which was not really relevant for this job. Nonetheless, they welcomed me on board and had an implicit agreement that things will work out by itself.

My first job with the team was to visit a Mon refugee community from Myanmar to witness the launch of their online shop, Kaoprise Beauty. They were based in a small apartment crowded with 22 refugees. The apartment was partitioned so that everyone had their own privacy. However, with the limited space, it felt very cramped.

Online shopping training with the Myanmar refugee coordinators of Kaoprise Beauty.

Nonetheless, they treated us with kindness and gratitude that made us feel at home. Devan went through the detail of how to run the online store. We also followed them to the post office to send their first official order.

The refugees expressed their gratefulness for the help of the team. Their expression of happiness gave me a realisation that I have joined the right cause. Also, it made me feel more grateful with how lucky and am and motivated me to help other communities as well.

I would like to that the team for welcoming me on board, and I look forward to working with the team on more future projects.

Mobilizing the craft network

Field coordinator, Puah Sze Ning, recaps on her recent trip through the heart of Sabah with other network organizations in joint effort to mobilize the craft network to strengthen ‘crafts and women empowerment’ initiatives.

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After spending 10 days travelling through logging roads in Sabah with what we’ve dubbed the ‘craft dream team’ – I’m back in the city.

During our visit to meet the Non-timber Forest Products Exchange Program (NTFP-EP)’s partner groups in the Philippines earlier this year, I met Eleanor Goroh, coordinator for Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia (JOAS), while in Manila. She was there for a conference and took the opportunity to meet up with us to meet NTFP-EP and Custom Made Crafts Center (CMCC) based in Quezon City.

Old Murut basket from Ulu Tomani (© Puah Sze Ning)

As friends and colleagues through our work with JOAS, we bonded through our passion for indigenous crafts. Seeing the work of NTFP-EP and CMCC, where they revived traditional crafts and customized them into products that are functional while maintaining elements of the producer’s culture and heritage, really got us excited and inspired.

That eventually lead to us organizing a trip through the heart of Sabah, Malaysia from 22-29 June 2010, to mobilize the craft network within Malaysia.

For our pilot road trip, we got the help of NTFP-EP to invite an amazing resource person, Jenita Eko, an indigenous T’boli woman who is the coordinator of the Lake Sebu Indigenous Women Weavers Association Inc (LASSIWAI), to share her experience in developing her women’s group over the last 10 years.

Dinner with the Sinompuru Women's Group in Kg Tinangol (© Puah Sze Ning)

Our road trip started with a visit to the Sinompuru Women’s Group in Kg Tinangol, Kudat (north of Sabah), to follow up on their shop on Elevyn and to introduce some people from the network and spend time with the women’s group.

We came back to the city, Kota Kinabalu, to meet Jenita Eko and Reita Rahim from Gerai OA, a non-profit stall which helps indigenous communities revive and sell crafts in the city, who continued with road trip with us to Kg Mengkawago.

Kg Mengkawago, Tongod

Laying out their crafts for display (© Puah Sze Ning)

The people at Kg Mengkawago are from the Sungai Rumanau ethnic group, a group whose culture and crafts are poorly represented in Sabah. The village committee (Pertubuhan Rakyat) at Kg Mengkawago is a very strong group that is currently resisting encroachment into their traditional land through the help of PACOS Trust (Partners in Community Organizations in Sabah).

Jenita shared LASSIWAI’s efforts in using non-timber forest products in their crafts, as a way of strengthening their group’s claim to the land for subsistence. The women in Kg Mengkawago make a variety of crafts for daily use but lack market access as their village is very far from town.

Doris from PACOS, mediated the sharing sessions (© Puah Sze Ning)

Jenita (right) and Ele (left), who helped translate from English to Bahasa Malaysia (© Puah Sze Ning)

During our trip, we found out that amongst themselves they have already initiated weaving classes so that their tradition will be passed down to the younger generation.

From this visit, the group joined Gerai OA’s network and will start making crafts for sale for supplementary income while Reita’s expertise will help them refine and develop their crafts to marketable quality. We are also eager for the community’s on-going effort in their Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) project to be followed up through this crafts and women empowerment initiative.

Kg Alab, Sook

Our next stop was Kg Alab in Sook, also belonging to the Sungai Rumanau ethnic group. While travelling through the logging roads, we passed vast areas cleared from forest to be converted to rubber plantations.

We stopped to photograph and video the destruction which we compared to the movie Avatar where indigenous sacred land was destroyed purely for exploitative commercial means.

Documenting the land conversion (© Eleanor Goroh)

We reached Kg Alab to be warmly greeted traditionally with a big party and lots of rice wine.

Playing the gong while visitors drink the rice wine (© Puah Sze Ning)

During the introductions that night, our convoy introduced ourselves and the community shared a little on their struggle to maintain on their traditional land.

In a heart-wrenching moment, Jenita said to the community “Even though I do not understand you, I feel what you are going through,” in reference to the land destruction which we passed for hours to get to this village.

The women in Kg Alab are normally overshadowed by their male counterparts. Jenita’s sharing on the importance of women in taking care of the forest, introduced the potential for the women to be in the front line, instead of just playing the supporting role in the community.

Prospects of organizing visits for the women to other craft making groups within the JOAS network is currently being discussed. Kg Alab has also joined the Gerai OA network and will receive help from Reita in product development and market access.

Jenita being taught the Kg Alab style of weaving (© Puah Sze Ning)

Kg Alutok, Tenom

Our final leg of the road trip brought us Kg Alutok in Ulu Tomani, Tenom. The people here are from the Murut ethnic group. While their culture and crafts have a strong presence in Sabah, there’s much to be improved in product development and empowerment for the group to control the sales and copyright of their craft.

Jenita Eko presenting to the group (© Puah Sze Ning)

The women there already have a women’s group called Pasisimpungan Ambatuh Ulu Tomani (PAUT). When Elevyn just started, we approached this group to start their own online shop but that has to be put on hold until they’ve grown stronger as a group.

Jenita shared with this group what they can achieve if they work strongly together. Jenita gave examples such as how LASSIWAI has been able to support the schooling fees to educate many of their member’s children and how they improved the quality of their traditional woven cloth made from the fibers of abacca, the T’nalak. The T’nalak is now known and recognized by the local and international community despite the T’boli group being a minority in the country. This has given the T’boli people leverage to be involved in policy making decisions.

PAUT also joined Gerai OA’s network and will be receiving expert assistance from Reita in product development, quality control and pricing consistency.

Lumi (center), coordinator for PAUT sharing ideas with Doris (left) from PACOS and Reita (left) from Gerai OA (© Puah Sze Ning)

Looking forward…..

This trip is significant because it is the “craft dream team“. Every organization has it’s strength. NTFP-EP with its regional network and expertise, JOAS for its Malaysian network and advocacy for indigenous rights, PACOS for its grassroot community organizing work, Gerai OA for its local market access and product development expertise, Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) for its documentation and community-based media approach, and Elevyn for online market access and media.

Here’s my personal take on the achievements through this trip and the prospects for the future:

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  Bead work by Kg Alab (© Puah Sze Ning)

  The experience and knowledge of LASSIWAI, a successful women’s group which achieved empowerment through crafts, was well shared and received by communities within the PACOS and JOAS network.
• A trip organized specially for crafts and women empowerment, gives prominence to the initiative which we hope and will take proactive steps to develop further.
• Communities visited received immediate local market access and product development expertise from Gerai OA.
• Continued exchange of ideas and experience within the NTFP-EP network.
• Formalizing the network to better mobilize the initiative, with long-term goals and a board of advisors to ensure that opportunities are offered fairly and suitably across the network in Malaysia.

This trip was not only fun and informative, it is definitely the starting point of something bigger.

Many thanks to JOAS, NTFP-EP and NTFP-TF for sponsoring the trip.

Pesta Penan – Music, Dance and Legends from the Hunter-Gatherers of Sarawak

The modest longhouse in Long Iman is usually a side visit on the tourist map, as visitors from across the world make their eco-adventure trip to the Mulu Caves in the Mulu National park in Sarawak.

Today, however, is Pesta Penan (Penan festival) and the longhouse came alive as it was the sole destination for Penans from villagers near and far, travelling for hours through boat and car.

Myself and 8 others were the only outsiders amongst the 76 other guests. It was my first time in “Penan country”, and I was there with mixed feelings of awe and sadness.

As a city dweller, much of what I know of the Penan people is gathered from news sources.

Since the 1990s, there have been many heroic stories of attempts by the hunter-gatherers to resist logging in their traditional land through the setting up of makeshift blockades in logging roads. Alongside those stories are photographs of men and women dressed in their traditional clothes and holding a spear or blowpipe symbolically, guarding the blockades.  More recently, the media highlighted news of Penan girls being raped by workers in the logging camps, where the students depend on their logging trucks to get to and back from school.

Coupled with news of poverty in the resettlement camps, it seems like the Penan people are consistently being bombarded with difficulties.

A group of the Penan folks decided to set up a committee to start reinforcing positive events for the community. Pesta Penan was one of the initiatives, backed by the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP).

“We wanted to do this because outsiders and even the government always say that the Penans have no culture,” explained Dominique Langat Sigau, a Community Development Officer for NTFP-EP.

The Festival

During the festival which fell on 3-5 December 2009, the Penans organized many activities. Starting with blowpipe competitions and followed by demonstrations of ‘jungle sign language’ where branches and leaves were arranged to leave messages to one another.

Other activities included a visit to a herbal garden in the compound of Long Iman. The elders and leaders explained to the group the many traditional medicinal uses of the plants which are found in the jungle.

Rattan mats that will get craft enthusiasts drooling

Between the activities, the verandah of the longhouse was filled with crafts for display and sale. Avid craft collectors would have a tough time deciding how many rattan mats and bags they can haul out without sinking the boat. Little trinkets such as bamboo bangles and keychains are also available.

As night fell, everyone gathered to share musical performances and dances. Sketches were performed and were well-received, especially one which required certain acrobatic skills to depict how they collect honey.

Collecting honey sketch

Excited audience

Full house at the longhouse

The activities brought out some nostalgia amongst the elders, but they were new to the younger Penans who were raised in settlements.

“This event is really good. We are very happy to be a part of this, and happy that this knowledge can be passed down to the younger generation” said Eteng Liyan, an elderly women from Btu Bunyan.

The material culture of the Penan seemed modest compared to their fellow neighbours such as the Kayan and Kelabit groups – whose traditional costumes boast many striking colors and their hats proudly wearing feathers of rare birds. Instead, it was a subtle affair with Penans dressed in loin cloth or other costumes influenced from different groups in Sarawak.

Nor did their musical instruments include gongs which can be heard from miles away. Instead they played softer instruments such as the nose flute, oren, made from the stem of a palm and sape, which works like a guitar.

Playing the sape

The Atui, a giant musical instrument made from a carved log and adorned with a beautiful piece of clouded leopard skin took center stage.

The Atui

“We (Penans) believe that the clouded leopard is very powerful. We greatly respect it because it is the epitome of perfection,” Isarai Weng explained to me.

“The clouded leopard strives for perfection in everything. For example, if it got a wound or broke a tooth, it would want to die because it is not perfect anymore.”

“An ‘imperfect’ leopard would follow a human hoping to get caught and killed. This is why it is a very special and good creature.”

As a show of respect, the Penans would beat on the Atui whenever a clouded leopard is caught and brought back to camp. The same treatment would also be given to leaders of high ranks if they visited – and only those leaders are given the honor of wearing the skin of the clouded leopard.

Putting the leopard skin over the Atui

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Clearly, the Pesta Penan clarified whatever misconception which people had about the Penan people not having ‘culture’, just because they are traditionally hunter-gatherers. On the contrary, the Penan people share many similarities in music, dance, traditional knowledge, oral history and pride for their culture as other indigenous groups in Borneo.

Perhaps the only thing not shared is their basic human rights, an issue leaders who are worthy of wearing the fur of the clouded leopard should act on immediately.

It may take many years to work through the complexities of finding an arrangement where the state development plans can happen while respecting the indigenous peoples as rightful forest stewards.

For now, we can only hope to read and hear of better news of the Penan people, such as the Pesta Penan, which celebrates its culture, people and tradition.

Photographs & written by Puah Sze Ning

Anywhere and everywhere Gerai OA will go ! 

If you want to see autumn in Malaysia, just head to Gua Musang, Kelantan before the seasonal March-May dry spell hits the area.

©2010-Suli

The russet-coloured trees (pic) are the Hevea brasiliensis trees or more commonly known as rubber trees.  Reita Rahim, the founder and coordinator of Gerai OA and I (the car volunteer whose duty during the pick-up trips is to drive and pack crafts) were treated to the beautiful autumn roadside scenery during our drive from Kuala Lumpur to Gua Musang using the Bentong route.

Our 4 1/2 hrs long drive (without stops) from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Betis via the Bentong route

Both of us were on our way to Kuala Betis, Kelantan, to be more specific, to meet up with the Temiar craftmakers.  The Temiar craftmakers are from Pos Tohoi and Kampung Peralong villages, about an hour, and half an hour away from the town of Kuala Betis respectively.

Reita and I had to meet the craftmakers at Kuala Betis because the villages aforementioned are only accessible via a logging trail from Kuala Betis onwards.  For this trip, we only had the service of a MyVi that is incapable of trekking through rough off-road conditions of an hour’s logging trail.

Elevyn’s first and only trip into Pos Tohoi and Kg Peralong was about 4 months ago, back in October 2009.  That trip was to seek free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from the Temiar craftmakers to sell their products online on www.elevyn.com under Gerai OA online.

Elevyn promotes buying directly from the artisans but not all artisans especially from the more rural indigenous groups, are capable to sell directly online as yet.  Some of the more rural villages are handicapped through the lack of basic amenities like electricity and running water.  Other villages are quite difficult to access that it takes at least an hour from the nearest town to get in, notwithstanding the bad road conditions (i.e. sinkholes, uneven ruts, man-sized potholes, soft muddy dirt tracks just to name a few).  Even within a village, many of the artisans stay far apart from each other that it is quite challenging to get organised as a community group at the moment.

But through Gerai OA, volunteers go into the villages with Reita (some with 4WDs) to collect crafts from door to door; remit sales monies to the respective artisans and distribute over-the-counter medicines; and bring crafts back to Kuala Lumpur to be tagged, marketed and sold at rent-free sites.  Because the volunteers are not paid, 100% of the sales monies go back to the artisans at the end of the day.  This provides an avenue of income for the indigenous craftmakers while giving a tangible incentive to “revive and revitalize the Malaysian indigenous craft heritage (Reita Rahim, 2010)”.

With the Elevyn-Gerai OA collaboration, the indigenous groups can have access to the online market giving their crafts a wider access to buyers.  However, because Gerai OA still maintains its 100% sales monies go back to artisans policy, the Gerai OA shop on www.elevyn.com has to add an extra 15% on top of the product price to defray online charges.

All the indigenous craftmakers have previously agreed to sell their products under Gerai OA but for offline sales only.  Thus, the FPIC-ing for the Temiar craftmakers.  Reita and I spent 2 and 1/2 days at Pos Tohoi to meet all the craftmakers.

Temiar settlement at Pos Tohoi ©2009 - Suli

Reita Rahim (centre) and Aishah (right) gathering history about the settlement and stories of the crafts ©2009-Suli

We did Kampung Peralong on our way out in the late evening during a heavy downpour, in a traditional Temiar house made from split bamboo and in the dark, where the only source of light came from 2 oil lamps and 4 flashlights.

Elevyn managed to get the agreement of all the craftmakers at Pos Tohoi and Kampung Peralong to sell their items via www.elevyn.com /shop/geraioa.  Some of the Temiar craftmakers that have been selling their items online already are Jaja@Abong Atam, Saidi Osman, and Angah Anjang.

Back then, we had the help from GEC (Global Environment Centre) to loan their 4WD to send Reita and myself into and out of Pos Tohoi and Kg. Peralong, because they were also concurrently running a project within the area, which ended at the end of 2009.  It was also during that fateful trip that I, an ignorant city girl, was exposed to the adventures of living a rural life.  Having nothing to do on a sweltering hot day while waiting for our ride out of Pos Tohoi, I decided to wait out a pregnant hen, which has been clucking for the longest time ever since the day we arrived at the village, to lay her egg.  I think I was the source of amusement for the village (i.e. the mothers and children cooling off at their verandahs) as I ran to catch the freshly laid chicken egg that was tumbling down the baking hot zinc roof above the verandah of our host’s plank PPRT (the Malaysian Hard-Core Poor Development Programme) house.  The egg fell onto the grassy ground before I could catch it though but fortunately it did not crack.  Phew ! It ended up as a kid’s dinner later…

But I digress.

The first person to meet us at Kuala Betis was Aishah, our coordinator and our host from Pos Tohoi.  She came on her old faithful – a 2nd hand underbone motorcycle or locally known as kapchai – all covered with dirt from the logging trail with a giant bagful of crafts from her village strapped to her back and neck.  We quickly relieved her of her load and followed her to an Orang Asli transit point to meet the other craftmakers there.  As soon as I drove into the compound, a small entourage from Kg Peralong on their underbone motorcycles trailed in.

The small entourage from Kg. Peralong offloading their crafts at the transit point ©2010-Suli

Reita dealt with the craftmakers one by one, making a list of new crafts brought in, remitting the sales monies and paying the advance for the new crafts.

Reita looking at the pandanus baskets from Kg. Peralong ©2010-Suli

Aishah helping to sort and label the crafts from Kg. Peralong ©2010-Suli

Angah Anjang (60 yrs old) getting his sales monies ©2010-Suli

Angah Anjang looking at a screenshot of his "Bubu pacik/ked" that was sold off on www.elevyn.com ©2010-Suli

Reita and I also brought with us some donated items for the Temiar people.  There was a flurry of activity as soon as we opened the boxes as the people rushed to grab any clothes that could fit them or their children.

Picking out clothes and towels for themselves and their family ©2010-Suli

Special note: Thanks Kak Juliana Abdul Rahim  for all the donated items !

After dealing with the craftmakers at the transit point, all three of us – Aishah, Reita and myself – went out to a small warung (Malay roadside stall) to deal with the rest of the crafts from Pos Tohoi that Aishah brought with her.

Aishah with the crafts from Pos Tohoi in front of the warung ©2010-Suli

Two hours later, all sales monies were given to Aishah to be remitted to the respective craftmakers of Pos Tohoi and new crafts loaded into the Myvi for Elevyn and Gerai OA !

And off goes Aishah... ©2010-Suli

“The Temiar are the second largest goup within the Orang Asli, the indigenous minorities of Peninsular Malaysia. Reita Rahim (2010)”

Elevyn in Philippines Round-Up

Our journey in the Philippines began on 10th January 2010 in Manila, where we met up with the Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP), who work with communities in sustainable management of forest resources.

Sze Ning discussing the idea of selling online with the team from NTFP and CMCC

Alongside its marketing offshoot the CustomMade Crafts Center, our goal was to enable their lineup of products to be showcased on elevyn.com.

Introducing Elevyn to members of LASIWWAI

NTFP also recommended us to visit the T’boli indigenous group that they are working with. We departed a few days later to Lake Sebu to spend some time with Jenita, leader and founder of LASIWWAI (Lake Sebu Indigenous Women Weavers Association).

We had to walk up this stretch as the road conditions made it difficult to ascent

Here, we had an opportunity to witness life in the villages as we travelled around on a dirt bike across back-breaking, gravel-filled hilly roads.

Puerta Princessa, the capital city of Palawan

Our next stop was the pristine municipality of Palawan, widely regarded as one of the cleanest and most well-managed province in the Philippines.

Product photography session with the enthusiastic NATRIPAL crew

Here, we were introduced to NATRIPAL, an NGO working with local indigenous artisans in developing and marketing of pure wild honey and handmade crafts. Despite the tight schedule (our visit lasted only 3 days), NATRIPAL managed to launch their online shop on elevyn.com.

View of the Cordillera Central

Tasks completed, we took the chance to visit the northern region of the Philippines. The long, windy roads carved alongside the mountains were dangerous at times, but offered spectacular views of the hilly countryside.

The famous rice terraces of Banaue

Hiking in Sagada, a small town known for its beautiful caves, pine trees and hanging coffins

Baguio City, a youthful, bustling city thanks to its universities and colleges

Many thanks to all at NTFP, CMCC, NATRIPAL, LASIWWAI and the kind individuals (Nancy, Norli, Jenita and Manang Lily) who played gracious hosts to us. We wouldn’t have been able to experience all the remote wonders and the great indigenous communities of the Philippines without the guidance from you guys. Hope to see you all again soon!

Mabuhay, Philippines!

Update from Manila!

Elevyn’s expansion plans this year kicked off with a 3-week trip to our neighbours the Philippines.

We had initially made plans to meet up some organizations here back in October 2009 but Manila’s recent flooding forced us to postpone the trip.

So here we are now, absolutely knackered after a day-long meeting with our hosts the Non-Timber Forestry Products (NTFP) and its offshoot organization and potential online shop, the CustomMade Crafts Center (CMCC).

Things have been pretty good so far in Manila – the people are friendly, English is widely spoken, wifi is easily accessible and there’s McD’s, KFC and Starbucks just around the corner if we ever miss good old KL!

The meeting today was a good one. Both NGOs are very well organized, work well with the artisan communities and most importantly, have very interesting handmade crafts.

Besides Manila, our hosts have also graciously helped made our travel arrangements to visit several indigenous communities around the country. It’ll be interesting!

How web surfers built a house

Aunty Imboi's House - before and after

Materials: Photos and Text

Tools: Web 2.0

Results: A house for Aunty Imboi

The first 6 months of Elevyn’s launch saw us embarking on a challenge to assist Malina Soning in raising funds for a new home for Aunty Imboi.

Aunty Imboi (left) sitting with Aunty Ahat (right)

Aunty Imboi, an elderly member of the Sinompuru Women’s Group, was living in a rickety house that was threatening to collapse at anytime.

We used our Causes application to highlight Aunty Imboi’s plight and to raise funds for a new home.

By March 2009, USD 975.98 was raised with USD 32.58  of that collected through the Cause application and the rest from anonymous donors through the efforts of Gerai OA passing the word around.

(View the full update on accounts here.)

A big thank you to all who helped Aunty Imboi build her house.

Lets hope that the other great Causes will find their way to reaching their goals.

News from Aunty Ahat

Soning Craft’s Malina Soning gives an update on the recent operation which one of the Sinompuru members had to go through, sharing the challenges faced by rural villagers needing medical attention.

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Image: Aunty Ahat (right) holding up a craft she has proudly made.

Aunty Ahat @ Inugiring Bokulop is a member of the Sinompuru Women’s Group. She is a widow with four children under her care. She went through a breast operation on 7th July 2009 in Hospital SMC Damai Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, to remove a swelling caused by a long term bacteria infection.

According to Aunty Ahat, “I first realized a small swelling 6 years ago. The swelling was probably caused by hardened breast milk which might had happened when I stopped breast feeding my youngest daughter, Anna.”

“I felt the swell grow bigger by the day and I knew this was not a normal swelling. But because of my eyesight problem and that my children were too young to accompany and care for me in the hospital, on top of not having money to pay for medical treatment – I did not consider seeking medical treatment as an option,” Aunty Ahat added.

“Now that a few years have passed and my daughter Anna is older, and with the support of friends and family such as Dr Puah Ser Hon, and Ms Reita Rahim and Coney’s family who helped with some of the expenses – I accepted the fact that I need to go for surgery.”

Aunty Ahat knocking holes into snail shells from the beach, which would be later made into these lovely accessories.

Initially before Aunty Ahat had the operation, she kept insisting that she did not want to stay in the hospital and trouble her children. She is also haunted by the memory of her late husband who died in the hospital from cancer. But with the support and encouragement from many people and her daughter Anna, who patiently accompanied and took care of her mother – Aunty Ahat finally accepted being warded in the hospital.

Since her operation, she has returned (from the village) to the hospital for a follow-up check up on 20th July 2009 and is very relieved and happy when the doctors informed her that she is recovering well. She also seems much healthier, happy and energetic.

With that she wants to wish everyone again, many thanks for their support and help in whichever way.

–

Written by Malina Soning based on her observation and her exchanges with Aunty Ahat.
Translated by Puah Sze Ning.

Photos of Aunty Ahat by Wendell D. Gingging

Meeting the Artisans

Last Saturday, we brought the team from Tongue in Chic and contest winners Cheah Hsu Jen and Eudora Maluna Manggala to visit Tompoq Topoh, a group of artisans working with Elevyn.

“They are… well… erm…. they write about fashion on a website,” I explained to Tompoq Topoh a week before the trip as I explained to them who their guest will be. I wondered if these women who grew up planting their own food and catching fish and crabs from the sea, understood what I meant.

“Oh.. so they’re fashion people,” Maznah, the chairperson of Tompoq Topoh echoed, affirming that they understand.

The day of the trip arrived and we meet the two contest winners who graciously spent time writing about Elevyn on their blogs and told all their friends about the artisans on Elevyn. From the Tongue in Chic team were Joyce Wong who helped model Soning Craft/Sinompuru Women’s Group’s accessories, and her assistant editor, Claudia Low.

Every time I bring a city people into the village, I worry that they’ll be very uncomfortable and complain about the heat and mosquitoes (which particularly like to feast on new people). This group however were a great sport and perfect guests in the village.

We first had a look at Tompoq Topoh’s range of crafts in their workshop. The girls took on the challenge of solving the marriage puzzle. One has to finish the puzzle to be able to marry.

Did they solve it? Well, we can only wait and see if they do get married!

Next we went to see some well toned wood carvers at their craft.

Traditionally, when people were sick and ill – a woodcarving of the spirit that is making that person ill is carved. The spirit is then cast into the woodcarving and drifted out to sea.

Now they are made as high quality handicraft using a very durable wood called nyireh batu.

We then settled back to the hut where Maznah told us a little about Tompoq Topoh while we waited for lunch.

Lunch was delayed a little as there was a storm in the morning therefore Maznah’s husband could only go out to catch the fish a little late that morning.

Worth the wait? Mostly likely as the traditional kampung menu had fresh fried fish, fish curry, homemade belacan (chilli) and oil palm tree shoot. The mouth washers were kampung durian and mangoes.

As the afternoon heat wore on and made eyes droopy, the women demonstrated their weaving and later brought some life back to the group as they jammed with their traditional instruments, playing a song which is traditionally played and sung during their Ancestral Day.

Our group left Carey Island by late afternoon, leaving a world of old traditions, customs and belief system deeply rooted in their unique culture and the environment.

Once, the Tompoq Topoh women played a song for me to hear and explained that the lyrics were directed to visitors to their village, singing about how you ever miss us just come back and we’ll be here, same as ever and ready to welcome you with open arms.

To the group that just visited and to those who have ever been there – if you miss Tompoq Topoh, remember that they are now just one web link away

Written by Puah Sze Ning
Photographs taken by Puah Sze Ning

Reflections from the contest winners

Read Tongue in Chic’s Claudia’s account of the trip here

Read Hsu Jen’s thoughts of the trip here