Kristina showing the herbal charcoal facial soap made by The Women of Orang Asli Tapah.
ORANG ASLI women in Kampung Batu 10, Tapah in Perak, are transforming their lives and their community through beauty products made from everyday ingredients like oats, turmeric and coffee.
Known as The Women of Orang Asli Tapah, the group of 15 Semai women aged between 24 and 53 comprise housewives, single mothers and women with disabilities.
What began with a soap-making workshop under the Perak Children’s Aspiration Centre (Pasak) in June 2022 has blossomed into a social enterprise.
Through the Koperasi Wanita Orang Asli Semai Tapah Bhd (Kowast), the women now produce and sell a variety of personal care items including facial masks, lip balms, body scrubs, face oils, and perfumes.
Their creations are sold at local carnivals and community exhibitions, offering a natural alternative to mainstream beauty products.
Chairman Kristina Bah Uda told Bernama the group’s growth accelerated after receiving a RM100,000 grant under the Sejahtera Madani Community (SejaTi Madani) programme in October last year.
“The grant was a game-changer. It helped us meet key cosmetic industry standards, including licensing and product registration with the Health Ministry and Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO),” she said.
A Kowast member showing how to use a beauty product, which is made by the cooperative comprising 15 Semai women. — Photos: Bernama
Among their standout products are the Ubtan Soap Bar, which is made from fennel seeds, chickpea powder, oats and sandalwood.
Other popular products are herbal charcoal soap, avocado soap and coffee soap.
The funding also covered laboratory testing at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and equipment purchases such as microwave ovens and digital scales to boost their manual production capacity.
“National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) cosmetic approval alone cost us RM18,000, UKM testing RM10,000 and MyIPO registration about RM6,000.
“All of it was possible through SejaTi Madani,” said Kristina.
Looking ahead, The Women of Orang Asli Tapah is eyeing national and even international markets, encouraged by strong support from Pasak, Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) and the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM).
Though still in the early stages of branding and promotion, the impact is already being felt.
“Most of us were housewives without a fixed income.
“Now, some are earning RM300 to RM500 monthly from product sales,” Kristina added.
The SejaTi Madani programme is part of the larger Madani Economic Framework aimed at improving community well-being and tackling hardcore poverty.
Grants ranging from RM50,000 to RM100,000 are awarded to eligible communities in five key sectors: agriculture and food, tailoring and handicrafts, herbal and wellness, tourism and hospitality as well as green and recycling activities.
