IF ITALY is known for its Gucci Bags, France for Louis Vuittons then Sarawak may one day boast of its very own close to designer quality handbags through the Penan Women Project, bringing “traditional handmade quality” bags to new heights.

Ann can be fairly described as being the “Fairy Godmother” of Penan bags, having somewhat waved her magic wand in transforming the appearance of these bags, from once being thought to appear as another run-of-the-mill bag to those that are stylishly and trendily crafted!

For Ann who is the Co-Founder of Penan Women Project (PWP), her interest in crafts also attracted her to be part of PWP in lending her skills to improve the product; from craftmanship, product quality to design in reaching and targeting larger segments of clientele.

For the uninitiated, the Penans are one of the indigenous tribes of Borneo. They are believed to be the last nomadic hunter-gatherers in Malaysia, calling the rainforest their home and are also known for their rotan-weaving skills.

Although the Penan women have been known to live in poverty, depending on their husbands’ meagre income, their weaving skills have somewhat brought them some financial relief, with further help of PWP founder Shida Mojet and Ann Wong who helps them with the sourcing for materials, marketing and product development.

Its stylishly urbanised designs with contemporary colours have started to pique the interest many; from the working class to youngsters, a breakaway from the notion that such rotan women bags are only to be carried by grandmas!

According to Ann, PWP has innovated its way into making the PWP bags from being “just a bag” to becoming homeliving products of premium quality including handbags in various designs up to tablet holders!

“In the past, many shied away from using rotan bags due to safety concern as they had a large opening without safety features despite its durability so we took this into consideration and came up with designs that cater to the needs.

“Taking this into consideration, we tried to innovate the products further to meet functionality , durability and trendiness, trying to tear away from the mentality of ‘asal boleh pakai sahaja’ or as long as it can be used,” she told Marianna Wong, the host of TVS’ Brand Pulse.

Ann explained that PWP buys the bags from the Penan women at fair value and helps to market them in community fairs bazaars and also overseas shipping.

When asked why the bags are woven using plastic instead of rotan, Ann reasoned that the material used, polypropylene is actually a type of material used in cargo strapping belts that is more durable and also due to the dwindling numbers of rotan found in the rainforest these days.

Seeing the potential and quality of the Penan women’s weaving, Ann tried to dabble in urban interest, color coordination and quality control to create a niche market for the urban folk while preserving the durability of the product.

“When you buy a Penan handwoven bag, know that your support helps empower the Penan women. The Penan woman relies entirely on her husband but if her husband doesn’t have a job, they will have no income.

“They resort to hunting and selling whatever they can obtain from the rainforest which is not a sustainable way to live so instead of just handing them fish (food) we help then by giving them the rod to fish,” she added.

Explaining further, Ann shared that the PWP will further bring the products of Penan women to greater heights by introducing premium quality products at reasonable prices.

“In the past, we would get feedback that the handle of the bags broke easily so I’ve worked with manufacturers to produce handles made from leather that are interchangeable along with other durable materials to further enhance product quality before we market them as premium produtcs,” she said.

To date, PWP has a group of about 40 Penan weavers under its wings, weaving their way into empowerment.

Of of them, who has been with PWP for the past six years, Wendy Lyn Lolle, 34, said in the past her income was not consistent as she had solely relied on collecting and selling rotan.

“Yes I do weave but I didn’t have a proper platform to sell my products.. I was surviving on RM400 a month and also my husband’s income as a farmer; I couldn’t leave home much as I have to take care of our two children.

“PWP has brought about changes for me, they supply me with the materials and all I have to do is weave and make income from home,” the mother of two told TVS.

Catch Brand Pulse on TVS every Sunday at 9.30 PM, and 10 PM on Thursdays (repeat). Premiering on YT at 12.00pm, next day. Only on channel 122, Astro & MYTV