By Soon Li Wei
KUALA LIPIS: With today’s soaring prices for fresh wood and increasing environmental concerns, furniture makers are turning to wood waste as a resource and gateway to new, sustainable business opportunities.
At KZ Bakti Enterprise, a furniture workshop at Kampung Chegar Perah, about 47 kilometres from here, visitors would not have guessed that the exquisite furniture pieces on display are made of wood waste and tree branches that are collected from nearby rivers, forests or caves.
In fact, using wood waste rather than virgin wood can be an eco-friendlier option. For KZ Enterprise owner, Faizuri Abdul Kadir, 36, there’s no need to cut down trees as it can result in the loss of habitat for animal species, which can harm the ecosystems.
With his creativity, he has been able to produce various quality handicraft and furniture, among others, vases, ladles, mortars, door knobs and dining tables from wood waste.
It all started at end-2018 when he saw piles of wood waste which were still in good condition by roadsides, in nearby forests and around caves, during the floods.
“At that time, the piles of wood which were floating in the waters were solid, and in fact, some people had thrown them in front of my house. I noticed that the wood was still in good condition, and it dawned on me that I should put them to good use.
“Coincidentally, I was short of wood and to save cost, I started collecting the wood waste, which were already cut to pieces or were ready for producing furniture and wood-based products,” he told Bernama recently.
He said some wood were mainly from overloaded logging trucks crossing bridges as well as from fallen trees after the rain, adding that getting hold of the discarded wood in Tanum River was not difficult given that his house is located just a few metres away from the river.
JOINTLY MANAGED WITH HIS BROTHER
Fazuri, who runs the business with his eldest brother, Isamazazarudin Abdul Kadir, 42, was previously working in the banking sector in Kuala Lumpur for nearly 10 years.
He was drawn into furniture-making after watching a video on YouTube.
Besides focusing on wood products as well as building materials for houses such as decorative carvings for gates and door knobs, the workshop also produces small items such as ladles, mortars, spoons, chopping boards, carving boards and souvenirs.
To date, Faizuri has been overwhelmed by demand for his products from local and foreign visitors who either purchased them directly at his workshop or through Shopee and Lazada platforms.
“We produce eight types of wood-based products that are sold at prices ranging from RM25 to RM4,000.
“The highest price is for our dining table set measuring 2.7 metres x 1.2 metres which costs about RM4,000. We usually take about a week to get them ready for our customers after securing our supply of wood waste,” he said.
According to Faizuri, he would usually ride on the motorbike with his brother in search of of wood waste in their village including caves around Merapoh and Kuala Lipis.
Besides Gua Temalong, they also covered other caves around Tanum Valley.
“There were times when our cousins and other villagers would ride on a boat together to collect the wood waste floating in the river and take them back to the workshop for drying, and later to produce wood products for sale,” he added.
RESTORING ORIGINAL FORM
Most wood found are of kemuning batu, kerbau, nangka, tembusu and halban species.
According to Faizuri, the halban species are solid and are used as firewood for cooking during a gotong-royong event.
He also leveraged on his expertise in restoring the wood waste at its original state including making it as natural-looking – decomposed and cracked in the middle – as possible as he transforms it into furniture.
“In fact, such products are highly in demand as my principle is to retain the wood’s original condition and not ‘change’ its form. Natural shapes like that of wood are unique… they don’t need to be worked to become beautiful. You just need to transform them.
“Most of these wood species are kemuning batu which are found around Gua Temalong, either under trees or inside caves,” he said adding that, the kemuning batu type is rarely found at other places, except in caves.
Besides its fine craftsmanship and wood colour, the low prices offered have made his products attractive, especially among foreign tourists on their visits to Tanum Valley for kayaking and nearby caves.
“They would usually buy two to five products to be brought home to their respective countries. Most of the items bought are ladles, spoons and chopping boards, not only for household use but as decorations to be hung on walls as well as souvenirs,” he said.
CRAFT SHOWCASE
Faizuri said his calendar of events for this year is packed with invitations for him to promote his products from wood waste at various exhibitions and sales programmes nationwide.
Such exhibitions provide an opportunity for them raise awareness on the importance of protecting the forest biodiversity without cutting trees in order to get quality wood for making furniture.
“Actually, wood waste can also be turned into furniture and products of quality, but many people are not aware of its benefits and unfortunately, they throw away the remaining wood that has been cut (for other purposes).
“We make every effort to utilise all wood waste that are left by roadsides, near caves or in rivers and indirectly we help to clean up the river, hence helping to ensure the safety of boats that ply the river,” he said.
According to Faizuri, besides accepting customised customer orders for furniture from exhibitions and through online platforms, interested parties can purchase their products via Shopee and Lazada by keying in ‘KZ Bakti Enterprise.’ – BERNAMA
