Nanga Sumpa, located on the banks of the Delok River near the Batang Ai Lake, is a longhouse known for its artisanal woven crafts. The traditional crafts and the beauty of its surrounding nature are important factors in forming the identity, economy, and social life of its residents.
Authentic handmade crafts
Having to drive hours away from Kuching, crossing a dam, and then going upriver to a longhouse may seem like quite a feat for some, but a group of us did just that, and for a very good reason.
Together with Jacqueline Fong from Tanoti Crafts, a social enterprise in Kuching; French lady Celine Maginel, marketing and communication director of an international resort; and influencer Yvonne Yoong from Kuala Lumpur, we drove off to our destination in a smooth ride on the Pan Borneo Highway.
Our journey began at 6 am, passing by rural towns like Serian and Sri Aman, and we eventually made a stop at a market town for a local breakfast and to stock up on some snacks for our continual journey.
The Batang Ai National Park, with its artificial lake created by Batang Ai hydroelectric reservoir, is located 275 kilometres east of Kuching. To reach the jetty area where our chartered boat was waiting, the drive took approximately four hours.
The journey
City girl Yvonne Yoong took one look at our longboat and gave us a look of doubt as to how we could all fit in. “Don’t worry, we are all slender,“ we said to the bewildered Yoong. It was her first visit to Sarawak, and she embarked on an adventure to a Dayak longhouse in the Borneo rainforest.
The traditional longboat is the only access to the longhouses that fringe around the lake and upstream on the riverbanks, as water is the main method of transportation in the area.
The duration of the boat ride on the lake depends on the weather and whether the water is too shallow in the river. Ours took slightly less than two hours, and despite the sun beaming strongly down on us, we enjoyed the whole experience with curry puffs passing down the longboat.
Across the dam, the water was blue with the reflection of the blue skies, but as we moved towards the estuary, the water current moved differently, and tall trees from the verdant forest veered towards the riverbanks, casting shadows over the river. It was serene and peaceful.
The water appeared green in colour and then became clearer as we moved upstream. Our boatmen expertly manoeuvred our slender, outboard-powered longboat through and around the rapids and rocks. The wildlife may have been perturbed by our occasional shrieks of fear when the boat had close shavings with the rocks.
We finally reached Kampung Nanga Sumpa, a village on the banks of the Delok River where the local inhabitants are mostly Iban. Our visit served a purpose besides having an experience in the traditional habitat of the Dayak community.
This longhouse produces artisanal woven crafts, and that is becoming an important visiting card, forming the identity, economy, and social life of Kampung Nanga Sumpa.
Outside each room of the longhouse were the crafts made by individual artisans. Celine Maginel bought plenty for her home, as well as gifts for her friends back in France. Yvonne and I chose our favourite baskets to go with our fashion wear.
Jacqueline Fong from Tanoti has brought us to a community she supports.
According to her, Tanoti operates to pursue three critical objectives: heritage preservation, women empowerment, and rural community building.
“Traditional crafts are beautiful legacies left behind by our ancestors. Similarly, the practice of traditional handcrafting is still very much alive in rural communities.”
Tanoti has generated market opportunities for culturally linked products and contributed to business for local artisans and rural communities. We asked Jacqueline Fong to explain her role and contribution to the craft sector, both to the sustainability of Sarawak’s tourism industry and as a conduit for social and economic growth.
She replied, “We recognise the ability of their traditional techniques to generate income for craft artisans through various sources: by selling the product; by selling services around their skills; and by providing content relating to their work. What we are doing at Tanoti is acting as an advocate for the crafts industry as well as an intermediary on behalf of the artisans.
“In the past 12 years, Tanoti has amassed a community of more than 500 craft producers across 25 villages. Our intention is to deliver income to the artisans and create micro-economies within their communities while they produce crafts in situ.”
As a land, Sarawak’s tourism industry very much capitalises on the state’s rich natural and cultural diversity. Community craft tours are the industry’s low-hanging fruit, as tourists to Sarawak themselves desire experiences.
Tanoti’s light touch approach to tourism allows its guests to interact with artisans, immerse themselves temporarily in their daily lives, and purchase directly from them without causing disruption to their way of life. In this way, beneficiary communities earn income from these visits through the provision of hospitality services as well as the sale of their craft products.
Many products on the souvenir market are generic. It is wonderful to see that the ones from Tanoti are authentically produced by the indigenous communities. How do you cope with the cost as you have to make long journeys into the interiors?
Her reply: As a crafts company, we take on the role of bridging the abilities of artisans and the wants of their target market. The ability to achieve the right product is a challenge that we are constantly addressing, as is the ability to communicate the story surrounding the product. With the right design, the right construction, and applying the right communication tools, the craft product will tend to have a higher utility and provide further satisfaction to end users, hence giving us the ability to price this product more fairly.
Is your target market cultural enthusiasts, adventure seekers, or normal tourists?
Her reply: Tanoti’s target market is what I call “conscious consumers”. In my observation, these are a highly specific category of buyers who purchase products and services for the meaning (or story) embedded in their physical attractiveness.
Close to nature
We enjoyed the organic Dayak food prepared by the longhouse people, and one thing for sure one must do is to dip into the cool stream just next to the longhouse.
For those who are interested in staying overnight, participating in natural base activities in Batang Ai, and learning about the culture and lifestyle of the Iban community, there is the Nanga Sumpa Lodge, which is run by Borneo Adventure’s Tour.
Tanoti can be contacted at their website: tanoticrafts.com
