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Most families in Sabah have had a jar, a bag or a corner of the kitchen dedicated to collected pop tabs and bottle caps, saved up to sell for a few ringgits. One Kota Kinabalu couple decided theirs was worth something more.

A grandmother’s jar and a big idea 

It started, as many great things do, with family. Calvin Patrick Mojinun’s grandmother, Mailis Jounin, had a habit that many Sabahan households would recognise.

She collected aluminium pop tabs, saving them the way people here have always saved small things, with the belief that nothing useful should go to waste.

She never quite knew what to do with them. Her grandson did.

Shaped by his father’s knowledge of Sabah’s indigenous traditions and his mother’s love of creativity, Calvin began transforming those discarded pop tabs into handcrafted art, and not just any art.

He wove linangkit patterns into his pieces, drawing on the traditional needlework of Sabah’s Kadazan-Dusun and Rungus communities, a craft stitched across generations of ceremonial dress and passed down for as long as anyone can remember.

To place linangkit onto a pop tab wallet is to do two things at once: keep something out of the landfill while keeping something meaningful alive in the culture.

"It started with curiosity that gradually evolved into a passion for creating handcrafted products from materials that others considered waste," Calvin said. 

"By transforming waste into products with purpose, we aim to inspire positive behavioural change and encourage more sustainable lifestyles,” he added. 

The wife who said: Show them

Calvin might have continued making beautiful things at home indefinitely if not for his wife, Cheryl Joanne Chan, who looked at what he was creating and said, “The world needs to see this.”

Cheryl handles the business and strategy side of their venture, Live2Learn Ideas, and encouraged Calvin to bring his work to local artisan markets.

The early days were not glamorous. Sales were modest, profits were thin, and the road ahead was anything but clear.

But something kept happening at those markets that made it all worthwhile. People would pick up Calvin’s work, turn it over in their hands, and ask about it.

They wanted to know the story. They wanted to understand what they were holding.

That was the moment Calvin and Cheryl realised they were not just selling a product, they were starting a conversation.

"We did not make much profit in the beginning, but people were interested, they were buying, and that gave us the confidence to keep going," Cheryl said.

"Calvin brings the craftsmanship, cultural knowledge and artistic vision. I bring the business and environmental advocacy side. Together we share a common vision of using creativity to promote environmental awareness, cultural preservation and positive social impact,” she said. 

From a hobby to a movement

Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and unexpectedly, it turned out to be a turning point.

As Malaysians stayed home and rethought what they bought and why, handmade and locally made products found a new and eager audience.

Live2Learn Ideas rode that wave, earning features in newspapers and magazines, while also fielding calls from schools and organisations interested in workshops.

"One of our biggest challenges has been changing perceptions about waste," Cheryl said. 

"We overcame this through storytelling and demonstrations that show how discarded materials can be transformed into something beautiful."

But the real turning point, the one that changed everything, was still to come.

The programme that gave them wings 

When Calvin and Cheryl joined Shell LiveWire Malaysia in 2025, they did not just win a grant. they found their voice.

Since its inception in 2015, Shell LiveWire Malaysia has focused on nurturing entrepreneurs with ideas rooted in real communities.

It identifies entrepreneurs with ideas rooted in real communities and equips them with the tools, mentorship and platform to grow from promising to impactful.

The programme takes participants through workshops on business development, financial planning, pitching and impact. By the end of it, they are not just sharper businesspeople, they understand why their work matters and how to make others see it too.

"Shell LiveWire taught us valuable lessons about entrepreneurship, business planning and impact measurement," Calvin said. 

"More importantly, it helped us see how our initiative could create wider social and environmental impact beyond the products we make. The mentorship and networking opportunities were especially valuable."

Standing up to pitch their story, the grandmother, the pop tabs, the linangkit, the vision of a more sustainable Sabah, in front of judges and fellow entrepreneurs was one of the most memorable moments of the entire journey. 

"It was inspiring to meet other passionate entrepreneurs who were equally committed to solving challenges in their communities," Cheryl said. 

"Winning the programme gave us confidence that our vision had the potential to create impact,” she said. 

Since their win, Live2Learn Ideas has grown into a full sustainability and cultural awareness initiative, organising workshops, talks, exhibitions and community programmes for schools, youth groups and organisations across Sabah. 

The linangkit work, always at the heart of what they do, has become a deliberate and proud statement about what Sabah's cultural heritage deserves in the modern world.

They are doing it for her 

Ask Calvin and Cheryl what drives them now and the answer has nothing to do with revenue targets or market share. 

They are parents. They have a daughter. And every product they make, every workshop they organise and every pop tab they turn into art is ultimately about the Sabah their daughter will grow up in.

"When we became parents, our purpose became even stronger. We started thinking about the kind of world we wanted our daughter to grow up in, one where sustainability, creativity and cultural identity are valued and preserved. 

“Winning Shell LiveWire further reinforced our belief that creativity, culture and sustainability can work hand in hand to create positive change,” said Cheryl. 

Now is your turn 

Calvin and Cheryl's message to anyone sitting on an idea right now is short and to the point.

"If we had waited until everything was perfect, Live2Learn Ideas might never have existed," Calvin said. 

"Sometimes you have to believe in your idea before anyone else does. Seize the opportunity, take the first step and trust the process. The time is now,” he said. 

Shell LiveWire Malaysia 2026 is now open and searching for the next person who sees something where others see nothing. The next entrepreneur who has been building something worth backing.

Shell Malaysia is calling on entrepreneurs in Sabah whose ideas touch on environmental sustainability, social impact and business innovation to register before the June 22 deadline.  

Five winners from Sabah will each receive a seed grant of RM10,000 before going on to compete at the national level, where five national winners stand a chance to walk away with an additional RM30,000. 

All winners receive three years of mentorship from Shell LiveWire Malaysia facilitators and stand a chance to enter Shell's supply chain or partner with Shell retailers, a doorway into a commercial world that most small businesses only dream about.

If your parents or grandparents ever kept a jar of pop tabs in the kitchen, you already understand more about sustainability than you think. Shell Malaysia wants to help you do something with it.

Register today before the June 22 deadline, at https://livewire.shell.com.my and live your dream!