Tasik Bera
The initial plan was for me to be a tukang sibuk only but the friend who was supposed to drive us there fell sick the day before the trip so I had to fit into his shoes at the last minute and drove Rieta, the founder of Gerai OA to a few Orang Asli settlements at Fort Iskandar, Tasik Bera. The main reason of the trip was to collect craft products from the Semelai tribe of Tasik Bera in preparation for Hari Kraftangan Kebangsaan 2009. Gerai OA is a non-profit NGO who helps Orang Asli from all over the country to market their craft products directly to the consumers without having to go through a third party. Hence 100% of the profit goes back to them. They also conduct researches and training in order to preserve OA's heritage. Here are some photos:
Tok Wan is one of the oldest weavers and has produced very high quality products. She is 80+ years old and smokes strong tobacco!
Tok Wan's work in progress
Balai where the families meet up for daily tea and gossips
Gasing-time
Boat-making
How the Semelai boats look like
All packed and ready to leave
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Temuan tribe in Paya Rumput, Sepang was caught in quite a huge flood a couple of weeks ago and was asked to evacuate their homes and moved to one of the nearby community halls. A couple of friends and I followed Rieta to visit them one day to distribute clothes and some food and this is how it was:
It was already their third day staying in that hall and they were still using flattened boxes to rest and sleep. Some mats were distributed earlier on by Jabatan Kebajikan but insufficient (and you know how big OA's family can be right?). No pillows, no mattresses and definitely no supply of medications even for simple aches and pains. Sad isn't it?
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This is a photo I currently use as my desktop background.. it was taken during a night dive from my recent Redang trip and I found myself staring at it more and more each day... Can't wait to get back underwater!
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