Brunei - Two young sisters from Terengganu are currently participating in the Knowledge Convention or "Majlis Ilmu" exhibition held at the International Convention Centre, Berakas to promote batik and songket handicraft made in their hometown which has been in the forefront of Batik and crafts production in Malaysia
Sisters Fuziah Jaafar and Hasnah Jaafar of "Gn Vea Gallery", said they run a family batik and songket cottage industry back in Kuala Terengganu employing several workers from their village. "This is our first time to participate in an overseas exhibition. We are extremely fortunate to have Brunei as our first overseas destination. The local population here have an expensive taste in clothing. Luckily we brought only top-range batik silk designed in the latest trends. The batiks have been selling like hot cakes keeping in mind that the Hari Raya celebrations are just around the corner," said Hasnah.
The price of silk batiks from a minimum of B$100 per piece. They were amazed that local buyers were interested to buy their high-quality handmade batiks. Apart from batik, they also sell "songket" otherwise known as "gold cloth", which is made from a combination of cotton and silk interwoven with supplementary gold or silver threads.
"One piece of our handmade "songket" took about a month to be weaved. Since it is interwoven with gold and silver threads, the price can go up to $800 per piece," she said.
The two sisters also hope to find local companies who may be interested in distributing their batiks and songkets from Terengganu.
Meanwhile another company also hailing from Terengganu, "D Kesturi" is participating in the exhibition displaying an array of "penawar rimba" of traditional medicines including treatment of types one and two diabetes.
Their company representative, Dr Hisham Hashim, said their traditional medicines are manufactured from herbs found in the deep jungles of Terengganu and can cure various ailments.
Source: http://www.brunei-online.com (1 Agustus 2008)
