Learning from the Penans in Mulu

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/12/7/sarawak/12424502&sec=sarawak

By Constance Vanessa Victor

Friday December 7, 2012

Off we go: The participating communities all set to embark on their journey to Long Iman, Mulu.

 

KUCHING: A “Traditional Knowledge (TK) Documentation Workshop 2012” was held recently in a Penan village at Long Iman, Mulu, 45 minutes by boat up the Tutoh River (towards the Melinau River), just outside the boundary of Gunung Mulu National Park.

One of the reasons the 31-door settlement was chosen was the villagers’ vast knowledge of the forest and its rich resources.

Organised by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC), the workshop targets the state’s indigenous communities that have participated in the centre’s documentation programme.

Held annually, the workshop functions as a platform where participating communities come together and report on the progress of the project within their respective communities.

The workshop is also aimed at reinforcing the awareness of the community’s representatives of the importance of conserving their traditional knowledge and biological resources, and emphasising the communities’ capacity in documenting their traditional knowledge of useful plants.

This year, an additional component was added to the workshop – the communities were also introduced to how they can identify components in developing homestay programme incorporating conservation of their traditional knowledge.

Taking note: The participating communities preparing for their group presentation.

 

An officer from the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage, Joachim Paggang Jabong, introduced the basics of establishing a village homestay programme, while Jeffrey Simun from Mulu National Park spoke on ecotourism and cultural activities that could be incorporated into such programmes.

The community representatives also heard from an operator of a successful community homestay programme, Dawson Ringin, of Kampung Annah Rais near Kuching.

The 36 participating communities came from all over the state - Kampung Semadang (Padawan), Kampung Kiding (Penrissen), Kampung Duyoh Jagoi (Bau), Rumah Changgai (Sg. Tekalit Song), Rumah Joseph Melayu (Balingian), Rumah Skatap (Betong), Long Iman (Mulu), Batu Bungan (Mulu), Palungan (Bario), Pa’ukat (Bario), Long Pelutan (Julau), Ba’Kelalan (Bario), Long Kerabangan (Lawas), Long Telingan (Lawas), Kampung Jebungan (Mukah), Kampung Jemoreng (Matu), Long Ikang (Marudi), Rumah Ajan (Merapok), and Kampung Sual (Simunjan).

The participants were of various ethnic groups such as Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Orang Ulu and Penan.

Deputy Undersecretary for Biodiversity and Forest Management in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, K Nagulendran, officiated at the opening of the workshop.

For Nagulendran, the function would hold special memories as it was the first time that he participated in the workshop in Sarawak.

In his opening address, he stated that the workshop was crucial as it allowed communities to be fully involved in activities and share their experiences with other participants.

Interactive: Mr K. Nagulendran (third from the right) and the participants carrying out the activities during the Traditional Knowledge Documentation Workshop 2012

 

He also commended SBC for organising the workshop in a participating village as it enabled the different communities to carry out hands-on activities and also exposed them to the importance of documenting useful plants.

Carrying out such a workshop within a community also enabled the participation of the younger generation.

He called for similar workshops to be held in other participating villages as well.

Throughout the three-day workshop, the participants were exposed to the components of documenting useful traditional plants found at Long Iman.

They were also tasked to identify elements needed to establish a homestay programme that incorporates traditional knowledge.

Most of the participants found the workshop informative and beneficial.

A first-timer in the workshop, Ketua Kampung Ajan Renang from the Iban community of Rumah Ajan in Lawas, found the workshop an eye-opener and felt that similar workshops should be conducted yearly.

According to Ajan, he had learned a lot from the workshop as he was able to share useful experiences on documenting traditional knowledge with the other participants.

“I will encourage the younger generation in my community to participate in the programme which is facilitated by the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre”, he said.

Meanwhile, Denny Sebom from Rumah Joseph Melayu at Sungai Chenanun Tepus in Balingian observed that traditional knowledge had always been handed down verbally and through observations of practices.

He agreed that proper documentation is vital in order to preserve such knowledge which is very much an integral part of a community’s heritage, other than potentially holding leads to new discoveries in pharmaceutical development and other uses.

Like Ajan, Denny felt that the younger generation should play an active role and pledged to encourage teenagers in his village to come on board the programme, particularly during school holidays.

Raymond Lejau from Long Iman reported that his community had been actively participating in collecting, documenting and propagating plants that they use for food, materials and medicine, since they were introduced to the programme in 2003.

The Long Iman community has established an Interpretative Centre and a garden of useful plants. The documentation committee collects a minimal entrance fee of RM5 per person from tourists who wish to visit the garden. A part of the collection is used to maintain the garden, while the rest is put aside as emergency fund.

The garden also serves the community as an educational centre for their younger generation and acts as their “green pharmacy”.

The green pharmacy cuts down on the time needed to locate and gather plants from the forest when needed. This effort also helps the community to conserve these plants.

According to Raymond, “it is still a long process for the community to document the useful plants as there are still many more plants that were traditionally used by the Penans in the forest of Long Iman”.

Since the inception of the documentation programme in 2001, there are now 13 indigenous communities in 58 locations throughout the state involved in documenting their traditional knowledge.

Those who wish to know more about the programme can call Sarawak Biodiversity Centre on 082-610 610 or send email to biosar@sbc.org.my. — Article contributed by Sarawak Biodiversity Centre

 

 

Sarawak products for the world

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/24/sarawak/6904427&sec=sarawak

Tuesday August 24, 2010

Sarawak products for the world

Story and photos by ZORA CHAN
zora@thestar.com.my


SARAWAK Biodiversity Centre’s (SBC) traditional knowledge documentation programme has come a long way from plant sample collection and recording to bio-prospecting for the production of household items, including drugs and antibiotics.

While the production of drugs, essential oils and household needs from herbs in Sarawak is at its infancy, initial research is showing positive results.

SBC senior research officer Dr Yeo Tiong Chia said that one promising compound was silvestrol, which had good anti-cancer properties as shown in animal studies.

“Lately, there has been interest from Ohio State University and National Cancer Institute of the United States to test this compound against leukaemia,” he said.

It had moved from lab tests to animal studies and then to pre-clinical and clinical processes, he told StarMetro recently.

Dr Yeo said that SBC, in collaboration with an Australian biotech company, discovered and patented the compound in 2004, and the state government was managing the patent through the centre.

“The compound comes from the rukang tree found in Ba’Kelalan in the northern highlands of Sarawak,” he said.

He said the Lun Bawang community in Ba’Kelalan claimed the bark of the tree could cure stomach pain.

SBC chief operating officer Dr Rita Manurung said the production of household items from plants was a short-term result of bio-prospecting and the development of drugs and antibiotics was a long-term goal.

It often took more than 10 years before any medicine could be put on the shelf, she said.

The centre’s traditional knowledge documentation programme was the starting point for research and development in herbs and product development, she added.

The programme started in 2001 to conserve the traditional knowledge of indigenous groups in Sarawak and encourage the communities to cultivate useful indigenous plants for their own use and later for commercial purposes, she said.

“The centre, in collaboration with the people, has documented 3,000 plants of 700 species used by 12 communities in the state. All these plants are planted in our herbarium,” she said.

The programme was formulated to ensure the communities that shared their knowledge would benefit socio-economically, she said.

Citing an example, she said that SBC had helped set up a herbarium for the Penan community in Long Iman, Mulu.

This first Penan herb garden in the world was a potential tourist draw to help the community earn tourism ringgit as sustainable income, she added.

“We hope to promote the garden as a tourist attraction because, where else in the world could you find a Penan herb garden,” she said.

Dr Rita said that SBC’s bio-prospecting work came up with many other uses for the plants.

“One plant called pahkak in Bidayuh and tenom in Lun Bawang and Kelabit is used for the relief of backache by these communities,” she said.

Through SBC’s aromatic oil programme, the centre discovered that the plant’s roots and leaves produced a composition of oil that was anti-microbial and equivalent to tea tree oil, she said.

This made pahkak oil a potential ingredient of household and cosmetic products, she said, adding that R&D by the centre and a private firm had come up with products like floor cleaner, disinfectant, soap, insect repellent and shampoo.

“Oil from the engkabang fruit can also be made into soap, lip balm and chocolate,” she said.

She said the local rice species was high in anti-oxidant properties and could be an ingredient in healthcare or cosmetic products.

Dr Rita hoped that local entrepreneurs would be interested in developing and commercialising these prototype products.

“Sarawak is very rich in biodiversity and there is much potential in just the plants alone,” she said.

The centre was pleased that its programme had become a model for others in Asia and a source of excellence in documenting traditional knowledge in the region, she said.

People from as far as Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and India had taken part in SBC workshops to learn the documentation methods, she added.