Maybank spends RM1.8 mln to expand women eco-weavers initiative in Asean

VIENTIANE: The Maybank Foundation has spent RM1.8 million to expand its Maybank Women Eco-Weavers initiative to preserve, sustain and promote traditional textile making techniques in Asean.

Maybank Foundation chief executive officer Shahril Azuar Jimin said the initiative was in support of the Asean Community Vision 2025, which, among others aimed to promote a more inclusive Asean by strengthening women’s empowerment and gender equality in the region.

The programme, which was launched in 2016, is currently running in three countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos. To date, it has successfully trained a total of 345 women, giving them an average monthly income of between US$100 (RM4.15 per US$1) and US$240.

“In Laos, in the first year of the partnership, we had invested RM350,000 mainly in weavers training and mulberry planting sponsorship and also by building a hostel. In the next phase, we will look into upgrading the weaving centre.

“Most of the investments were in Indonesia and Cambodia, where we had spent around RM700,000 and RM800,000 for each country in support of the programme this year,” he told reporters after the launch of the hostel building here, recently.

The hostel was officiated by chairman of Maybank and Maybank Foundation, Datuk Mohaiyani Shamsuddin, and founder of social enterprise, Lao Sericulture Co Ltd (Mulberries), Kommaly Chantavong, the programme partner in Laos.

AlsopresentwereFirstSecretary of Malaysian Embassy in Laos Johan Arief Jaafar, Defence Attache, Embassy of Malaysia, Colonel Mohd Mahmud Ahmad, Cabinet Deputy of the Governor’s Office, Xiengkhouang Province Bounhom Thepthani, and Paek District Governor, Xiengkhouang Province Sivilay Sengchalern.

Shahril Azuar said in choosing the community programmes that have impact on markets it is operating in, Maybank, which has a presence in all 10 Asean countries, discovered that seven countries in the region had something in common, that is culture and tradition of weaving.

“As the industry is dying, and efforts to preserve it are concentrated at the national level, Maybank feels it could champion and help the industry at the regional level as the bank is big enough to help out,” he said.

He said the assistance provided was based on the requirements of each individual countries, for instance, in Indonesia the bank helped its four cotton-based weaving facilities – two in West Sumatra and another two in Lombok, in terms of micro financing.

In Cambodia, he said it was the silk-based industry but their problem was the absence of expertise due to the civil war, therefore, Maybank had built a weaving training centre which has trained over 100 people after two years of operation, as well as supporting communities to plant mulberry trees. — Bernama