KENINGAU: It was the proudest moment for Keningau traditional weaver Emily Jenable when her bamboo woven folder bag made a fashion statement on Budget Day.

       The full black weave bag was used by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz when he unveiled Budget 2022 in Parliament on Oct 29.

       The fine bamboo art piece in the middle of each cotton canvas folder was delicately handwoven in kelarai (chequered patterns), a traditional motif of her Dusun community.

       “I took three days to hand weave the bag,” she said.

       The 40-year-old master weaver from Kampung Batu Lunguyan Sook here has over 20 years of experience making traditional handicraft from bamboo.

       Emily, who is also the manager of Seri Elf Enterprise and Koperasi Kraf Batu Lunguyan Sook Bhd chairman, said she inherited her weaving skills from her Dusun family lineage. Her grandmother, mother and aunt are all traditional craft makers.

       The Sabah entrepreneur said she first dabbled in the craft at 17 when her mother was weaving bamboo trays for her customers.

       “I was really excited then, although I only knew how to make simple motif patterns, which were also among the items on request. From there, I developed an interest in weaving as it could also generate income,” said the mother of five.

       She said among the traditional Dusuf motifs, “nurungan” symbolised a pearl while “nandus andus” was based on the shape of arrowheads of Dusun warriors. “Tavaran”, which means “corn”, is patterned after corn ears.

       Most of Emily’s products are based on the “salingkawang” woven bamboo, featuring motifs from the Dusun Minokok and Murut Sabah ethnic groups.

       Tengku Zafrul’s bag was designed and produced in partnership with Sasibai Kimis, the founder of Earth Heir, a luxury craftsmanship brand, whom she met during the Kuala Lumpur International Craft Festival in Putrajaya in 2017.

       “I would usually prepare the craft based on his design sketch,” she told Bernama, adding that she had also been collaborating with Kraftangan Malaysia, especially on the design aspect.

       Emily, who has a diploma in Handicraft Business from Institut Usahawan Muda Malaysia 2019, said the materials were fully sourced from her own village.

       While she uses mostly bamboo for her products, there are also those made of rattan and pandan. It usually takes her between a week and month to craft her products.

       Emily said besides the salingkawang bamboo woven baskets, other sought after products were tikalis (tote bags), key chains, sling bags, gift boxes, folder bags for documents and knapsacks as well as wallets, which were usually sold for between RM2 and RM380.

       For her contribution to the traditional handicraft industry, Emily received the Young Handicraft Entrepreneur Award in 2018 from Kraftangan Malaysia.