Kota Kinabalu: Participants of the Mama Jahit dari Rumah (Mama JaRum) programme not only have the opportunity to increase their income, but are also able to deepen their knowledge of the many unique ethnic patterns of Sabah’s indigenous communities.
The Mama JaRum project is part of the Inclusive Business Value Chain Development Initiative (IB-VCDI) led by SME Corporation Malaysia, and it provides training in sewing Sabah ethnic motifs to women in the state.
The handcrafted products of the trained participants are later marketed by Chanteek Borneo, thereby boosting the economy of the target group.
For Syarifah Majunting Abdullah, 38, who joined Mama JaRum last April, the programme enabled her to learn patterns such as momogun from the Rungus ethnic group, which are rich in motifs.
“In addition, the Bajau Samah or Bajau Sama have many patterns, as do the Dusun Suang Lotud from the Tuaran area,” said Syarifah, who is a fourth-batch Mama JaRum participant.
The mother of three is confident that the handcrafted products produced under the guidance of Chanteek Borneo can introduce Sabah’s ethnic patterns to the global stage, while opening up career opportunities for housewives as permanent tailors.
She said that through the Sabah Ethnic Design Inclusive Business Project under Chanteek Borneo, participants are trained in finishing and sewing standards to ensure product quality.
“Sabah has a wide variety of very attractive and distinctive ethnic patterns that need to be highlighted so they can be more widely recognised at all times,” she said.
Meanwhile, Yahira @ Mary Martin, 51, a single mother from Tamparuli who took part in a seven-day Mama JaRum workshop in 2022, said the programme gave her in-depth exposure to the diversity of ethnic patterns in Sabah.
Having been involved in sewing since 2009, she described her participation in Mama JaRum as very meaningful, as it opened up opportunities to learn local ethnic patterns, with demand from out-of-state customers also increasing.
“At Chanteek Borneo, we learned Sabah ethnic patterns such as Murut, Dusun Lotud and Rungus,” she said, adding that she is fortunate that the income earned is sufficient to support her daily living.
Rubiah Rubin, 48, a first-batch Mama JaRum participant, said orders for sewn garments increase, especially during festive seasons such as the Kaamatan Festival, with Kadazan Dusun ethnic patterns among the most popular.
She said that before joining Mama JaRum, she had studied sewing at an academy in Tuaran and became a Mama JaRum participant in 2019 after being introduced by a friend.
“At Chanteek Borneo, we are taught about sewing neatness, but most importantly, we learn the ethnic patterns on the fabric being sewn,” she said, adding that orders are usually required to be completed within a week.
