Despite having only one arm, Amni Ambui, 28, has picked up the basic skills of window-making, thanks to one local organisation’s initiative that provides the Orang Asli with economic opportunities.
From Kg Sungai Kelubi, Hulu Selangor in Selangor, Amni and his wife Rekha Abu, 29, have both undergone training under the Epic Homes: Windows programme and have been producing windows for Epic Homes.
Meanwhile, Bah Iyim Pintar, 26, is another Orang Asli who has benefitted from Epic’s Entrepreneurship Programme, through which he obtained grants to buy the necessary tools for his motorbike workshop.
From Kampung Orang Asli Ulu Geruntum in Gopeng, Perak, Bah Iyim also expanded the capacity of his workshop through funds received from Epic’s Community Development Fund, a pay-it-forward initiative.
With his profits, Bah Iyim is committed to contributing RM50 per month until he has paid off the equivalent amount he received, with no interest charges.
“Amni and Rekha have been contributing 10% of their income from (the Epic Homes: Windows) project to the Community Development Fund,” said Oei John-Son, co-founder and chief executive officer of Epic.
“Iyim is another inspiring individual we have worked with. After he has completed paying off the funds he received, he also intends to continue contributing a minimum amount of RM50 (as long as his business continues to operate) to further support the community,” added Oei.
The Community Development Fund is a general fund that intends to address and facilitate community initiatives such as starting a micro-business, improvement and provision of infrastructure, and other initiatives that benefit the development of an Orang Asli community.
Epic stands for “Extraordinary People Impacting Community” and is an ecosystem of companies and platforms that works together to help and empower communities in need.
Epic Homes is an initiative that aims to build relationships through the act of building homes, bridging the urban and rural divide by mobilising trained volunteers to construct homes together with the marginalised communities.
To date, over 6,000 volunteers have been mobilised to build 174 homes across several states, including Selangor (125), Kelantan (28), Perak (20) and Johor (1), improving the lives of more than 9,200 people.
“We are very proud of what the team has accomplished together. However, what we have achieved is still a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately 10,000 more Orang Asli families that are still in need of homes,” shared Oei.
The pandemic has not been kind to many people across different sectors, income levels and communities, the Orang Asli notwithstanding.
In fact, it can be said that they have more disadvantages in riding out the negative effects due to the community being marginalised by mainstream developments.
“The marginalisation sets them further apart from the general society. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the livelihoods of the vulnerable Orang Asli communities were gravely affected, putting a strain on them,” said Oei, adding that they faced job loss, health issues as well as lack of access to education.
“The community found it challenging to secure their jobs and income streams. Most villagers earn a living by selling produce.
“Up to 66% of the Orang Asli lost around 50%-74% of their income during the pandemic. This was mainly due to the difficulties they faced in selling their produce as there was a decline in demand and they were unable to leave their villages.”
When classes went online due to the pandemic, 77.5% of the Orang Asli children found it difficult to access their lessons as Internet access is limited in the rural areas and many do not own digital devices, causing them to drop out of their studies. (Source: Impak Covid-19 Ke Atas Status Sosioekonomi Dan Kesihatan Masyarakat Orang Asli, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2020)
Making a difference
Realising all this, in 2020, Epic rolled out its Sustainable Farming Programme, among other initiatives.
“Our project began as an exploration of a means to enable Orang Asli communities to have food security without relying on external sources. We began poultry farming in two communities – Kg Tun Razak in Selangor and Kg Peta in Johor in collaboration with Anak Kampung Agro Farm.
“The initiative turned out to be a success, especially in Kg Peta where the poultry farm provided a source of protein for the whole village via eggs laid by the chickens,” shared Oei.
Last year, Epic also ventured into vegetable and poultry farming in collaboration with Kira Organic Farm in Kg Gurney and Kg Serendah in Selangor.
“We approached the initiative as an economic opportunity for the community by means of selling the product of the farms to the general public, allowing the farmers to gain an income.
“Apart from that, members of the community are able to purchase the produce at a discounted price, providing savings to the community and at the same time keeping the economy within the village,” said Oei.
As a result, 16 chicken farms and five vegetable farms were established, involving 20 Orang Asli farmers. Each farming project is estimated to contribute RM2,000 per month to the local community.
To support the entrepreneurial efforts of Orang Asli communities to boost local economies for income generation during the pandemic, an Entrepreneurship Programme was also mooted.
“Covid-19 has severely impacted the Orang Asli’s income generation as the communities were unable to sell their products or hold jobs that required them to move about.
“We provided training, mentorship and financial assistance to Orang Asli businesses to recover from the impact of the pandemic and come back stronger,” said Oei.
Participants were also introduced to the Community Development Fund, where they pledged a percentage of profits to support other community initiatives.
To date, 29 individuals have participated in the Entrepreneurship Programme, out of which six Orang Asli women presented their business pitches and applied for financial assistance to expand their business efforts, added Oei.
In addition, learning sessions and skills training programmes have been introduced aimed at giving the Orang Asli a brighter future.
“We strongly believe that no matter how small the initiative, the hard work and efforts of the team make a difference in the livelihoods of the Orang Asli community in the long run.
“Through the Entrepreneurship Programme and the Local Builder Capacity Training (LBCT) initiative, the communities have enhanced their knowledge and skills, increased their personal management and leadership abilities, and expanded their access to new jobs and income opportunities that increase quality of life.
“We are proud to witness how individuals trained have not only contributed to their families, but also their surrounding communities by sharing the skills they have gained,” said Oei.
He attributed their results to joint efforts with business communities and private corporations.
“We cannot make a change alone. Our work revolves around people, bringing forward the strengths of their communities while facilitating opportunities for them to shape the places and spaces around them.
“We focus on a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach, where volunteers and targeted communities lead and organise projects together. Our projects often bring together public and private sectors and government to form an ecosystem in supporting one another.
“We raise funds through crowdfunding and private corporations that want to sponsor the Orang Asli community as part of their corporate social responsibility or team building activity.
“We are thankful to have different partners supporting our projects,” said Oei, adding that Epic also takes part in emergency relief efforts.
In the long run, their aim is to ensure sustainable income growth for the Orang Asli community.
“Recently, we have started to expand our focus areas to include food security, economic development, education, and health and wellbeing.
“We are seeking to grow a network of partnering solution providers to collaborate with to create an integrated development model where the solutions can complement one another and not exist in isolation.
“The pandemic has brought about many challenges for our team to continue the previous model of bringing masses of volunteers into the Orang Asli communities. “Therefore, there’s been a lot of focus on building internal capacity within the communities so that they can help themselves and their neighbouring communities,” shared Oei.
For example, the group has trained a few teams of Orang Asli to build and repair homes, allowing them to be self-sustaining.
“To take it a step further, we also want to channel more projects to them, giving them greater income opportunities. We hope that these initiatives would then give them the capacity to contribute to their communities, lowering the dependence on external resources and eventually leading to long-term sustainable income growth,” he said.
In ending, Oei has this to share.
“We strongly believe that the challenges of the marginalised Orang Asli communities are not the sole responsibility of the government, but a shared Malaysian responsibility.
“We as individuals of the public need to step up to be the solution. The government needs to learn how to be honest and vulnerable about its challenges, trusting and engaging Malaysian citizens to solve the collective challenges together.
“If we can do that, we will be able to do amazing things. This is our testimony at Epic,” he said.
Boosting learning and skills training
Part of Epic’s initiatives include conducting classes and training among the Orang Asli communities to equip them with knowledge and skills. Here are some examples:
Digital Learning Hubs
Last year, in collaboration with Teach for Malaysia and Samuel Isaiah, Epic set up several Digital Learning Hubs as platforms to cultivate the interest of learning in children.
The hubs include a physical learning space and tablets to enable learning through a cloud-based platform, with content specifically designed to suit the pedagogical needs of Orang Asli primary school children.
“The current content focus is on literacy and numeracy. This is intended to supplement learning in schools to enable Orang Asli children, who are often left behind in the formal school curriculum, to catch up at their own pace and at their own level.
“This also provides an opportunity for locals to be trained in facilitating learning amongst the students. We believe these skill sets can open future opportunities for a career in education,” said Oei John-Son, co-founder and chief executive officer of Epic.
To date, Epic has set up five hubs, trained six local facilitators, deployed 90 devices and impacted 100 students.
Local Builder Capacity Training (LBCT)
The Local Builder Capacity Training (LBCT) programme was initiated in 2020 with the aim of providing a pathway for the Orang Asli to gain basic building skills and become an Epic Homes specialist, eventually gaining marketable construction skills on par with the construction industry.
The participants then used their knowledge to build and repair basic infrastructure like homes, toilets and water systems in their villages as well as neighbouring villages.
“Our focus is to transfer the building skills required for Epic Homes to develop localised builder specialists within the villages for builds, repairs and maintenance. “Eleven participants have graduated from this programme so far, with seven homes built and 27 homes repaired,” said Oei.
Production for Epic Homes: Windows
The Epic Homes: Windows initiative first launched in Kg Sg Kelubi in Hulu Selangor with the objective of setting up window production hubs in villages. The initiative outsourced the production of windows for Epic Homes to the Orang Asli communities.
Interested members undergo basic builder training to learn construction skills and ways to utilise power tools safely, followed by a workshop on window production.
This initiative not only equips them with building skills but also provides them with economic opportunities through each window built. To date, the Orang Asli villagers in Kg Sg Kelubi have built 80 windows.
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