Popular items: Ani showing her colourful woven baskets at the kiosk.
SIBU: Satisfaction is written on the face of Ani Mail, a homeless individual, whose handmade baskets are now in hot demand.
The baskets of various sizes and designs, made from PVC packaging strips, are being sold at the PETRONAS Barat petrol station in Jalan Upper Lanang here.
“I never imagined that one day I would be making baskets, let alone earning a living from the skill,” said the 55-year-old from a longhouse community in Song, some 110km from here.
Ani has described the past six years of her life as “meaningless”.
She arrived here after being kicked out of her longhouse following a dispute with the residents.
Since then, she has been roaming the streets, making the five-foot ways of shophouses her home while relying on Good Samaritans for food.
At times, she had to go hungry.
Her life had a drastic turnaround late last year when she was among 57 others rescued and sent to the Temporary Transit Centre (TTC) for homeless individuals, where she learned to stand on her own.
When met, the beaming Ani said she was very happy to know that many people appreciated her handicraft.
“My baskets are beautiful and the prices are affordable,” she said, adding that the items were sold for between RM5 and RM35 depending on the size, shape, colour and design.
Ani makes three baskets a day.
Asked if she would increase production due to rising demand after her baskets were praised on social media and by word of mouth, she said, “Weaving basket is not as easy as one might think. It is so difficult that sometimes I get stressed out and am unable to sleep.”
Asked where she learned the skill, she replied, “My late grandmother used to make them but she did not pass the skill on to me. One day, I dreamt of her making baskets, so I recalled memories of how she did it, practised it myself and slowly picked up the skill.”
PETRONAS Sarawak regional sales manager Abby Sukardy Mohamad said Ani’s baskets would be available at seven Petronas kiosks by next month.
As a strategic partner of TTC, he said the company’s “Another Chance for the Homeless” project is aimed at raising public awareness towards the community, assist them to make a living and to raise funds for the centre via collection boxes placed at its petrol stations.
