“The land is sacred,” a Penan man said, “it belongs to the countless who are dead, those who are living and the multitudes yet to be born.” - ‘The Penan Hunter-Gatherers of Sarawak’ by Joanna Eede for National Geographic.

The Penan tribe is believed to be the last nomadic forest hunters and gatherers in Malaysia. While a smaller group resides in Kalimantan and Brunei, most Penans live deep in the rainforests of Sarawak. In Malaysia, the Bornean forest dwellers are considered as ‘Orang Ulu’ (Natives) by government census.

Traditionally, Penans have always lived in small family groups. Due to their constant moving from one place to the next, their society is organized around camp groups and nuclear families. All that is needed for survival is found in one of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests, which is home to the Penans. The Penans gravitate towards areas where fruiting trees and wild sago palm (a primary source of carbohydrates) grow in abundance; they move to hunt, gather food from rivers, collect materials such as tree saplings for temporary shelters, bamboos for making dart quivers, and to source for forest products which have commercial values such as gaharu (aromatic Agarwood), rattan and wild bee honey which they can exchange for other goods they need such as knives, cooking pots, fabric, etc.

To know life as it was for the Penans, one must know their inseparable relationship with their natural environment.

Image source via Dean Mullin

It is no surprise that they are the forest experts after generations of life in the forest. Imagine yourself as a Penan then, these are some of the things you would be able to do quite effortlessly:

Whether it be for survival, daily necessities, religion, culture or beliefs, the Penans sense of identity and existence are fully reliant and interconnected with their natural surroundings and phenomena.

• Survive in a forest with intricate botanical and ecological knowledge;
• Know the right plants (roots/stem/leaves) as a remedy for a range of ailments;
• One of your many hunting tricks and skills is imitating the noise of a baby deer to lure an adult deer;
• Tell time by the sound of the cicadas, birds and behaviour of animals;
• Create your own musical instruments such as bamboo nose flutes or vine stringed instruments;
• Accustomed to the rainforest’s climate cycles and receptive to the subtlest change in temperature and light, predicting the weather is no rocket science for you.

The Co-founder of Penan Women Project, Shida Mojet, shared: "The Penans still live a simple life with simple requests. When the Penans were asked what they needed most, and their replies were – roof sheeting to complete partially constructed dwellings, poly pipe to run water to the dwellings, lighting that doesn’t require generators and fuel, improved hygiene, donations of clothes, etc."

Today, very few Penans still live nomadically as most are semi-settled or settled in upriver villages, resettlement communities or with other longhouse communities. Many have also converted from animism to Christianity or Islam. Though many have embraced modernity, the transition has not been an easy one for the community.

As hunter-gatherers, the Penans are highly reliant on the rainforest to provide for their daily needs. Compounded by the fact that many lives in extreme poverty, malnutrition and disease are still common occurrences in the community. Basic necessities such as clean water, electricity, healthcare and education remain out of reach for many Penans due to economic and logistical factors.

The indefatigable Shida had visited many destitute and far-flung villages in the 9 years that she was living in Brunei.

Empowering Penan Women Through Weaving

The aim is simple - to assist the Penans to generate a sustainable income and they can help their children get an education, and The Penan Women Project (PWP) is the project to achieve this aim. The Penans are naturally skilful weavers, and the weaving project ensures the continuity of their heritage as expert weavers.

There are about 15,000 - 18,000 Penans in Sarawak with many of them still in dire need of guidance and help to adapt to life outside of the forest. Inspired by a dear friend, Jacky Mclaren who was helping the Penans by selling their rattan products, Shida Mojet founded Helping Hands Penan in Brunei and started the Penan Bag.

Seeing that rattan baskets require a long time to harvest, assemble and processed into stripes, Shida conceptualized the Penan’s traditional handwoven craft with the use of PP strapping belt that is washable, more durable and comes in exciting, fashionable colours. The diversification away from traditional basketry materials has paved the way to a community project that contributed to enriching Sarawak’s handicraft history.

In 2015, Shida met graphic designer Ann Wong (PWP Co-founder) whom she would later pass the baton to Ann had returned to her home state after living 10 years in the US and was looking for opportunities to give back to her community. Along with several fellow expatriate wives and passionate local volunteers, they took the age-old craft of weaving to the next level with the establishment of PWP in 2016.

“The guiding and teaching is an ongoing task. It took me 3 years to get the Penan women to really understand what is needed in terms of a product. Each time when there is an order, we will be there to monitor their weaving. We would guide them on size standardization and designs using colour charts. It takes about eight hours to Ulu Baram from Miri on the logging road. What you see today are bags that have travelled a great distance.” - Ann Wong.

Ann’s vision for then Penan bag was to turn it into a high-quality woven bag from Sarawak of various designs and styles. To achieve wider market penetration and to elevate the bags from mere ‘Pasar bags’ to an ‘in or must-have’ bag, a structured production was vital. PWP started by focusing on helping the Penan women in Ulu Baram, Miri weave stylish, contemporary bags with colours and designs that appeal to urban buyers.

PWP weavers are compensated upfront when end-products reach storage before sales events. All costs relating to the purchase of materials, logistics, and marketing are fully borne by PWP.

Aside from bringing them out of poverty one step at a time, the project has also greatly empowered the Penan women. Earning an income has given the Penan woman a sense of dignity and self-worth as she is learning that she too has a voice and an important role to play in the Penan community.

Each bag or basket carries a tag that lists the name of the Penan women who made the bag.

PWP is a Social Enterprise. PWP products now include dinner clutches, knick-knack holders, sunglasses pouch, laptop bag, and home living items such as laundry baskets and cushion pillow cover. All sale proceeds from the sales events go back into the fund for buying more weaving supplies and the operation of the project.

Injecting optimism into homes of the Penan families. Today, there are 60 weavers from Long Nen, Long Kevok, Long Latek and some Urban Penan living in Miri from Ba Purao under PWP.