December 16, 2008 - Twenty-six students from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) are getting a chance of a lifetime to stay in the homes of the Orang Ulu communities in Sarawak for a whole week from Dec 12 to 18.
Styled after a tourism-oriented homestay programme the students will spend their time discovering Sarawak’s “indigenous treasures” in culture, handicraft, food, ethnic costumes, folk lore, customs, dance, dialects and more.
A few lecturers are accompanying the students as they have been involved in running several handicraft workshops before this homestay progamme.
In exchange, the communities in the Bakun region – where the Bakun hydroelectric power dam is being constructed – will be shown ways of improving the quality of their handicraft towards global and digital marketability.
Eye-opener: Shaleh (on the floor) with the participants of the programme looking through their handicraft efforts at the end of a ‘Bakun Craft’ workshop.
The tourism-oriented homestay programme is spearheaded by Shaleh Mujir, UiTM senior lecturer in the Industrial Design Department, Faculty of Art & Design.
Many of the local ethnic groups live in longhouses in two key settlements called Sungai Asap and Belaga.
Sungai Asap has about 10,000 residents while Belaga has close to 6,000 households located predominantly along the river. These communities settled there when work on the Bakun dam first began in the early ‘80s.
The homestay week is part of Malaysia-China Hydro Joint Venture’s (MCHJV) – contractors of the Bakun dam – commitment to community development and share a joint role with UiTM in organising and sponsoring the week-long event that is packed with handicraft-making sessions and eco-friendly activities.
“The overwhelming response from students, teachers and the Orang Ulu has indeed determined the future and continuity of the Bakun homestay programme. There were more volunteers from among the students to participate in the homestay than there are places to accommodate them,” said MCHJV public relations manager Capt Baharuddin Abdul Jalil.
There will be 15 host families: 11 in Sg Asap Resettlement Scheme, two in Uma Sambok and two in Long Menjawah in Belaga.
The programme provides training opportunities for potential homestay operators to enhance their organisational skills in basic “how-to” in tourism management. Their longhouses and local culture are a boon and an attraction to both local and foreign tourists.
During a briefing at UiTM for the students recently, Shaleh said the programme was a dynamic way for the students to learn a different culture and lifestyle.
