Tapping into trove of talents

The youths showing off their artwork.

THE tourism market for souvenirs and artwork hand-crafted by talented disabled artists is still untapped, says Lada Eco Tourism Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Shuhainie Shamsudin (pic).

She said Lada Eco Tourism, a subsidiary of Langkawi Development Authority, was confident that products hand-crafted by a pool of talented disabled young artists in Langkawi could emerge as a new tourism product brand for the archipelago.

Shuhainie Shamsudin

“We encourage the development of this new niche and urge the private sector, especially our hoteliers, to lend their support to these special young talents,” she said in her speech at the annual general meeting of Networking Action For Disabled Youths (Nady) of Langkawi, held at Langkawi Tourism Academy recently.

Nady was registered with the Registrar of Societies this year to identify, train, nurture and develop talents among the disabled youth community and to market their products such as hand-painted shirts, beach bags and paintings.

Shuhainie also said Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) and Lada Eco Tourism fully supported Nady in its efforts to help these special young people, all of whom had completed their special education at government schools.