Rural Craft Development Projects : Hope in A Bottle by Rumah Merunjau Padeh

Recycled glass bottles, which would otherwise have gone into landfill, were collected from various F&B outlets, one of the few trades allowed to operate during the pandemic, and the community of weavers and non-weavers were encouraged to get creative and weave as many different styles and patterns as possible.

Our “Rural Community Craft Development Project” initiative, launched in 2016, has been a huge success, and especially imperative over the Covid pandemic. The Upcycled Woven Glass Bottles project was instigated to reintroduce and encourage weaving within the longhouse community during the Covid lock-down period.

Upcycled Woven Glass Bottles

Our project brief was creating art from trash and plant material (Upcycled Woven Glass Bottles): To create an aesthetically beautiful woven vessel for flowers, decoration, or even as a liquid container. Designs are handwoven and of natural fibre. 

A rural craft development project, initiated by The Ranee during the Covid pandemic, to bring hope and continually encourage creativity during a period of uncertainty. Our project approach was community-centric, with a strong emphasis on inclusivity, building skills, accessibility and sustainability. 

With the support of CENDANA (Cultural Economy Development Agency), they played a vital role by providing a financial grant under the “Craft Industry Choice Funding Programme” in 2020. The grant facilitated logistics of sending bottles to and from the longhouse community, research and development, and product sampling.

We were encouraged by CENDANA’s initiative to support and nurture creative initiatives within Sarawak, and I believe that our project is a good example of this synergy.

Biro Wanita Rh. Merunjau, Padeh, Betong, Sarawak