PETALING JAYA: For most of her adult life, Sasibai Kimis had little interest in Malaysia's arts and craft.
However, Sasibai's opinions changed after she founded Earth Heir - a social enterprise that creates sustainable livelihoods for Malaysian craftspeople.
The 38-year-old is determined to promote the local arts and crafts industry through products which are handcrafted locally with creations that showcase Malaysian inspired designs such as the rainbow-coloured mengkuang weave iPad cases, rattan handbags, hand-painted batik scarves, and other items.
A Malaysian story
Uncle Ng is a 59-year-old master rattan weaver, who was left with deformities in his leg due to childhood polio, in Selangor. Having practised his art for 35 years, Uncle Ng trains other people with disabilities to weave so they too can make a living.
And then there is Nelly, a mother from Miri who is part of the Kenyah tribe. After being paid for a big order of woven tote bags, Nelly was finally able to move to a bigger house of her own, set up her own business, and pay for her children's education.
Like Uncle Ng and Nelly, majority of the master artisans that Earth Heir engages come from underprivileged communities. The organisation also works with Middle Eastern refugees and has plans to work with prisoners to give them a second chance at life.
Sasibai and her two-women team at Earth Heir work closely with the artisans to turn their traditional craft products into exquisite designer pieces to achieve two goals - to find a market, and to increase the value and appreciation for their craftsmanship.
"We think the price of craft needs to rise. Because right now we don't value crafts and we therefore expect things to be very cheap and because of that, the people who make the products don't make enough," said Sasibai.
She pointed out those living in the villages and in their 20s are not interested in taking up traditional craft as it doesn't bring in enough money to make ends meet.
As a result, the skills are not passed on from one generation to the next, thus spelling the demise of such traditional artworks.
She adds that the consignment model in retail puts already struggling artisans at a disadvantage.
"You can't expect the artisans to bear the risk (of consignments). You want the person who lives in the 'kampung' to go and put their products in retail shops and then it's on consignment? (Right now) they don't get paid up front when they already don't earn enough, that is why we (Earth Heir) are here, we should be the one taking the risks, not them," said Sasibai.
She added that Earth Heir's work has a direct impact on the daily lives of the artisans as it empowers them financially for their expertise and time, saying that it has also given the younger generation a reason to preserve their dying heritage.
Sasibai said that Earth Heir plans to mentor human trafficking victims and homeless women to provide them with life skills.
Sacrificing a corporate career
Sasibai quit a successful investment banking career and lived off her savings to set up Earth Heir.
During the first three years of establishing her company, she worked without a salary. It was a struggle as she worked from home and was moonlighting as a financial consultant compared to the days when she was drawing regular paychecks working for investment banking giants like Lehman Brothers and First Avenue Partners in New York and London.
In the fourth year of her business, her operations became financially stable.
Sasibai had initially left Malaysia to build a life overseas but changed her mind and returned in 2009 to be closer to her aging parents.
Readjusting to Malaysia after many years of living abroad was difficult, but Sasibai slowly discovered a love for Malaysia she never knew existed.
"When I came back that's what I discovered, that more and more young people are coming back, not because they can make more money here but because they want to make a difference," said Sasibai.
Building a legacy
She secured a prestigious job with Khazanah Nasional, but she started questioning her legacy when a high school classmate died in the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.
"He was just another analyst like me. He was like me doing an all-nighter and he died," said Sasibai.
She added that she realised she had to quit her lucrative corporate career after she fell asleep while driving due to a lack of sleep from working on projects.
"My car didn't crash but it sort of woke me up. That's when I decided that I don't want to die for a job, even though the job was great," said Sasibai.
Sasibai also spoke of an encounter with a six-year-old girl in Cambodia when she was there to build schools and teach English.
She said the child had been raped in a brothel for many years. She also came across an impoverished family who stopped weaving because they couldn't make a living.
"I asked myself what I am doing if this is happening in the world, what am I doing," said Sasibai.
Determined to help them, she bought silk products from the villagers and sold it to her friends. This small hobby that started out of kindness slowly grew to become a business dedicated to making a sustainable change.
"I came close to giving up on Earth Heir so many times. It was hard because if you are not making money, then how are you going to do this for three years? But at the same time, I was driven by this passion, if I don't do this, who is going to?"
In 2015, Earth Heir finally got a big break when they won the British Council Social Enterprise Award. With the prize money secured, Sasibai started travelling to the depths of Malaysia looking for artisans.
Rediscovering Malaysia
The process of exploring Malaysian craft and sharing the stories with her customers have taught her a lot about being Malaysian.
"The first time we went to Terengganu, we had no idea what to expect, we didn't know if the artisans would even be open about working with us.
"I really didn't know what to expect because I didn't know how to relate to people outside of my urban life in Malaysia, but we were so blown away by how hospitable, how open the artisans were about working with us," said Sasibai.
"And I'm like 'wow', this is Malaysia and we're not building these bridges. We need to be building more of these bridges between all of the different races," she added.
Earth Heir then evolved from a business to support struggling artisans to one that celebrates the lesser-known heritage that makes up the Malaysian identity.
"We're not just Malay, Indian and Chinese and others and orang asli and whatever, we actually have so much shared heritage that is unknown to us. And that's what I feel excited about," said Sasibai.
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