Santubong Homestay plans to open Batik Academy
KUCHING: Santubong Homestay plans to open a Batik Sarawak Academy to teach villagers in the vicinity how to produce Sarawak Batik.
According to its founder, Jamilah Syukri, the academy would hopefully help to lift the image of the homestay, which had already won several awards.
“We have won, among others, Best Sarawak Homestay ( 20092010), Top three most beautiful homestay in Malaysia ( 2012), Asean Homestay Standard ( 2015) and Successful Homestay Entreprenuer ( 2016),” Jamilah said at the homestay’s open house yesterday.
She added that they would embrak on a major promotion in December to promote Sarawak Batik to local and overseas markets.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was also present, said the awards bagged by Santubong Homestay were signs of the capability of local entreprenuers to dream big and perform very well.
“Others should emulate the success of Santubong Homestay. Jamilah has shown that to succeed, you need to be progressive, and willing to struggle.”
The Santubong MP said Jamilah had presented the local culture to the world, through the homestay, which is mostly frequented by foreigners.
“Malaysia is among the best performing countries in terms of tourism, and we must work together with all the industry players,” he said.
Santubong Homestay consists of 23 individuals who host 28 rooms to visitors. It has received 12,592 guests from 2010 to 2016, and is listed as the top two highest earning homestay in Malaysia.