Abdul Razak Penteh, a resident of Kampung Kelebang Selatan in Perak, extracting sugarcane juice using a machine contributed by GEC.
Conceived during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kayuh D’Tonggang recreational and eco-tourism village in Ulu Kinta, Ipoh in Perak, is a community project spearheaded by Global Environment Centre (GEC).
Since its inception, the project at Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Tonggang has been drawing visitors to the village.
Located along the scenic Sungai Seno’oi, the eco-tourism initiative is managed by villagers with help from the non-profit organisation, said GEC director Faisal Parish.
GEC, he said, has over 25 years of experience working with communities in river care, forest and coastal areas as well as peatland management.
Lending a helping hand
Established in 1998 to look into environmental issues of global importance, GEC promotes nature-based solutions with conservation in mind.
It also looks into holistic and integrated management of forests, peatland, rivers and coastal ecosystems to reduce vulnerability to climate change and disasters.
Norazizan says KRT Kelebang Selatan sold close to 100,000 bottles of kerepek in the last three years.
To do this, GEC advocates for stakeholder participation in the sustainable management of natural resources involving environmental stewardship.
Besides working with local communities including Orang Asli, the organisation also partners with other like-minded companies for the success of its projects.
“The six-year Kayuh D’Tonggang eco-tourism and river preservation project, costing RM5mil, is funded by Khazanah Foundation,” said Faisal.
“GEC sees the Orang Asli as guardians of the forest. They were keen to derive an income from their village during the Covid-19 pandemic and sought our help.
“Eco-tourism activities now take place on Sungai Seno’oi.”
He said the aim was for villagers to leverage on their knowledge and traditions for a living.
“Through the project, the Orang Asli can showcase their village, culture and heritage while preserving the river which they depend on for food,” he said, adding that GEC worked hard to build trust with villagers before implementing the project.
“They often question our motive for befriending them and if we are there to steal their land,” said Faisal.
“When we go there for surveys on the land, they become wary.
“We had to build trust with the community before they were convinced we wanted to help.”
Community garden caretaker Shahfawi Hassan (left) and Karim Din checking on mustard leaves and spinach growing through the hydroponic method.
Empowering villagers
Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Tonggang Tok Batin (village head) Che Wan Alang is glad to have GEC on board to help the Temiar community earn a living.
“We got to know GEC in 2019. Our youths were involved in bamboo planting with them.
“In 2021, we set up the Kayuh D’Tonggang eco-tourism initiative and identified mountain bike cycling routes stretching 6.86km.
“The routes give cyclists views of mountains, the city, waterfall and also the river,” he said.
“Other activities for visitors include mandi sungai (river bath), hiking and walking on the hanging bridge as well as looking out for periuk kera (pitcher plant) and hunting techniques.
“Our youths are involved in managing activities here and are our spokespersons.
“They earn a living from these activities and do not have to leave the village,” Che Wan said.
Villager Kamisah Uri Anjang, 41, is a cook who prepares food for guests booking eco-tourism packages.
“Fifty percent of ingredients used for food comes from our village while the remainder is sourced from town.
“Through the eco-tourism initiative, we are able to introduce the food we eat, like pucuk ubi, pucuk pakis and freshwater fish to guests,” said Kamisah, once a full-time housewife who is now contributing to her family’s income.
Sungai Seno’oi is cared for by the Orang Asli. The river is the main eco-tourism attraction for the Kayuh D’Tonggang project in Ulu Kinta, Ipoh.
Kamisah said earning money from eco-tourism made her feel confident and important.
“Most of the women in the village have never earned an income before,” she said.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to earn and feel comfortable working from our village.
“Even young women are helping us source for items and they, too, are able to earn some extra money, thanks to eco-tourism.”
Other activities taking place at the village include cultural performances and craft workshops.
The village has been visited by people from 53 communities, from around the country, as well as two groups from Indonesia since the eco-tourism project kicked off.
The communities are part of the GEC Community Network (JKGEC).
Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Tonggang is also part of the network.
Faisal said an exchange of best practices among different groups of people was good for community development and progress.
With this in mind, a networking session called GEC Forum Discussion and Networking of Communities 2024 was held in Ipoh for JKGEC members in August.
Comprising mainly Orang Asli communities, the groups got together to exchange ideas and learn from each other.
Cooking lessons conducted for visitors at the Taman Chemor Idaman community hall in Chemor, Perak.
“We always take the bottom up approach by asking the community what it needs.
“Then we help them create programmes that they are interested in,” said Faisal.
“For an activity to be successful, it has to be long-term.
“We help them build a project and they eventually take over and teach other villagers to continue the programme.”
Besides the Kayuh D’Tonggang eco-tourism project, other GEC supported programmes that have shown good results are a cottage industry and community garden.
Other communities
JKGEC groups also visited the Kelebang Selatan Rukun Tetangga (KSRT), also in Perak.
The neighbourhood with 300 houses has a multiracial population of 3,500 people comprising Malays, Chinese and Indians.
Among the activities organised for visitors was river care management, said Kelebang Selatan RT chairman Salehuddin Hussain.
He said GEC had also helped KSRT kick-start its community garden and cottage industry projects.
“We have some retirees helping in our community garden. They also sell sugarcane drinks and kerepek.
Locals showing hunting techniques to visitors at Kayuh D’Tonggang recreational and eco-tourism village in Ulu Kinta, Ipoh.
“The machines for extracting sugarcane and slicing ubi kayu for kerepek were given by GEC.
“We receive many orders for kerepek prior to festive periods such as Hari Raya,” Salehuddin added.
Retiree Norazizan Zainal Abidin, 64, said 100,000 jars of kerepek had been sold in the past three years.
“We make around 300 jars a month, depending on orders.
“The profit is split among us, and thanks to this project, we have some extra pocket money,” she said.
Taman Chemor Idaman in Chemor, Perak, is another location that JKGEC members visited.
Residents are involved in a community garden where vegetables such as eggplant, ladies’ fingers and leafy greens thrive.
They resort to natural farming and produce organic fertilisers for the community garden.
To foster camaraderie, the neighbourhood’s women also organise cooking lessons for residents to learn new recipes, particularly involving vegetables.
Taman Chemor Idaman Rukun Tetangga chairman Karim Din Mohd Ismail said locals were also educated on caring for rivers, using a guide map put up in the neighbourhood.
“We have the ‘alamat sungai’ (river address) board at the entrance of the community garden.
“This is an educational board for people to learn how rivers connect.
“For instance, Sungai Kuang is connected to Sungai Chemor, Sungai Pari, Sungai Kinta, Sungai Perak and finally the Straits of Malacca.
“The river address board has a QR code for people to scan and learn more about our waterways,” said Karim.
JKGEC members also tasted local dishes prepared by the Taman Chemor Idaman RT, such as nasi briyani.
There was also a composting workshop teaching the do’s and don’ts of recycling organic matter for fertiliser.
