MARANG, The TAPAi Boutique at Wakaf Tapai here has provided an opportunity to seven persons with disabilities (PwD) to hone their skills in producing batik products. With guidance from five teachers from the Wakaf Tapai Community Rehabilitation Organisation (PPDK) and two special teachers who successfully implemented the Economic Empowerment Programme by the Social Welfare Department (JKM) for PwDs, one male worker and six female workers aged 20 to 41 could be seen diligently crafting the products ordered by customers. According to TAPAi manager Wan Nur Akmal Wan Ibrahim, she has been managing the boutique since 2017 after receiving a one-off grant of RM18,000 from JKM to further enhance the Economic Empowerment Project, specifically for sewing work. "With that allocation, we began purchasing sewing machines and raw materials such as batik to produce handmade batik bags. At that time, TAPAi operated with five workers with disabilities like learning disabilities, deaf, mute and physical impairment. Now, we also have workers with Down Syndrome and autism. "Now we have seven workers daily, with five of them being trainees from the Wakaf Tapai PPDK, one who is mentally impaired and one from the Integrated Special Education Programme (PPKI) from a nearby school,' she told Bernama. Wan Nur Akmal said all the workers, including scheduled workers and five TAPAi graduates working from home, had shown positive development in terms of working and social skills and could generate their own income. She said that initially, they could only complete one pencil box a day but, with continuous training, some of them can produce 30 batik bags a day. "They also have the courage to talk to outsiders. Some even do 'live' presentations to sell the TAPAi products on their personal TikTok applications during work and there are viewers who buy them,' she said. On TAPAi's success, she said their products achieved outstanding sales at the Global Village in Dubai for six months in 2022 as a result of government initiatives as well as foreign ambassadors in Malaysia who stopped by the boutique to buy batik products to take back to their countries. Thirty-three-year-old Siti Zulaikha Abd Muin, who was born with physical impairment, said the experience of working at the boutique since 2017 has helped her to have more belief in herself. She said that she began her career in TAPAi without any sewing skills but, through the continuous support of the teachers and her family, she has produced many bags. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Nurul Syakirah Ahmad Jais, who was born with dwarfism, began working at TAPAi after completing the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination in 2019 and can now expertly produce various types of bags, including handbags, mini pouch bags, ketupat bags and coin purses. "I intend to set up my own business in the future,' she said. Source: BERNAMA News Agency
