KUALA LUMPUR, , Nov 19 —The craft is fine. Batik sourced from the East Coast is transformed into plush toys and tote bags, perfect souvenirs for the discerning tourist.

Yet these aren’t the work of generations-old artisans looking to start new product lines; these are made by single mothers and refugees. For them, each cushion cover or key chain is something to be proud of because each sale helps feed their families.

All this is made possible thanks to UmieAktif, a social enterprise project founded by Nik Sin bin Nik Man (known simply as "Nik”), a Kelantan-born surveyor, and Lawrence Anak Abus, a lecturer who hails from Sarawak.

Participants during an UmieAktif class at Kampung Melayu Ampang

UmieAktif works with economically challenged women in areas such as Chow Kit, Kampung Melayu Ampang and Kelantan. Lawrence explains, "Our aim is to empower the community by teaching them some skills that they can use to generate their monthly income.”

Before Nik and Lawrence started UmieAktif, the pair who are good friends and house-mates were involved with the project called Chow Kit Kids Programme.

Lawrence says, "This programme provides free alternative education to under-served children in Chow Kit area. We realised there were other problems faced by this community, such as is having a steady income.

Spot the owl on this tote bag

"For us, in order to help the kids, you have to start with their parents first. From that, Nik and I started to think about how we can help the community.”

Their discussions led to the idea of UmieAktif, which is focused on teaching the women — many of them single mothers — sewing skills. Nik says, "Once they mastered the skill, then we will guide them to produce their own products such as tote bags, plush toys, cushion covers, key chains, T-shirts, fabric posters and more. Besides that, we also guide them in terms of marketing and selling the products.”

At present, there are three different communities being assisted by UmieAktif. Nik says, "The first is the Chow Kit urban poor community; some of them are single parents and refugees. The second group is the Kampung Melayu

This design should prove popular for those born in the Year of the Rooster

Ampang group, which includes home-makers, single mothers and also women who want to learn about entrepreneurship. Lastly we have DEWI Kelantan which is initiated by the Jabatan Pembangunan Wanita Kelantan.

"We were invited to be their programme facilitator. Most of the DEWI Kelantan participants are home-makers, single mothers as well as skilled teachers from their community centre who wanted to learn these skills and share them with their community.”

To make the handicraft, UmieAktif chooses to work specifically with batik from Kelantan and Terengganu. Lawrence says, "First and foremost, it’s because of the beauty of the batik itself. We want it to represent and be the trademark of our product.

Ride for a good cause with this UmieAktif tapir design tote bag (left). Pretty pots of flowers adorn these cushions (right)

"Nik and I also want to introduce Terengganu and Kelantan batik to the younger generation. By doing so, we can help batik makers in these two regions by buying and promoting their work.”

While the social enterprise is certainly a noble cause, it wasn’t always a smooth journey for UmieAktif. Nik recalls, "During the first six months, we did not manage to sell a single item of our products.

"The participants started to leave one by one. We started with about 40 participants in the Chow Kit group but only 15 still remain with us. We changed strategies by joining bazaars such as Art For Grabs. More people got to know about us this way.”

Deft batik craftwork recreating beautiful blooms

While the change to the affected community has been slow in coming, the impact is real. Lawrence says, "It might not be on a big scale, but we managed to give them a monthly income. We can see the confidence levels among UmieAktif participants rising.

"Beyond acting as an empowerment project for the community, we create a support group for the participants where they can share their problems and help each other.”

UmieAktif plans to continue their programme to include school children by approaching schools. The team also hopes to expand their efforts to East Malaysia and is now in midst of recruiting new members in Sarawak.

Colourful plush toys made by UmieAktif participants

According to Nik, what makes UmieAktif different from other social enterprises is their focus on having participants manage the business, and not simply producing the products. He says, "In future, we want them to manage the business on their own once they are ready. Everyone has their own potential. We need to give them a chance.”

To learn more about UmieAktif, visit www.facebook.com/UmieAktif/