Learning From The Environment

Before there was cement, before there was electricity, and of course before there was air conditioning and piped water the approach to living 'comfortably' was by incorporation of resources that the environment provides. Natural behavior of the environment and other living systems are taken into consideration as part of the design.
Environment and ecosystem were dominant in the scheme of things, including in the design and construction of dwellings. The design makes use of the path of the sun, North-South orientation, exploitation of topology of the site, streams and lakes, as input variables or boundary conditions. The construction made use of available resources. The environmental impact was minimal then. The design of the traditional Malay house for instance incorporate means for collecting rain water. The floors are raised above ground level, ranging from about 1 meter to several meters high, enough to park a car, to provide air circulation that cools the house. The windows usually are just like doors, with openings right down to the floor level, equipped about half way with decorative wooden railings as safety measures.
As fans and air conditioning became available, and water can be distributed by piping system, environment becomes less and less of a constraint. It is no longer an element in the design and construction. Linked terrace houses have only two paths for air to enter or exit: the front door and the kitchen door. Corner units have one extra path. But no matter. We can air condition the space, the room, and everywhere.
Buildings, according to a report, use about half of the global energy consumption, and is set to increase as urbanization progresses. There are efforts to re-look at traditional philosophy of incorporating the environment in the design. Efforts to use more energy efficient materials; to capture wind to cool the space; capture, collect, and store rain water; making nature as part of the construct of the house. That is the green house, not the kind used in agriculture research, but 'green' as in the context of environment friendliness. This is where we have to re-look and re-visit traditional technology. They look old, simple in design and construction but sophisticated in concept.

Tapai Nasi (Fermented Rice)

Fermentation, one of the oldest food preservation technique, is still being used today - both in traditional sense and in large industrial processes. Tapai, a product of such technique is still made by traditional means, in small scale quantities, and sold at food stalls. It's not mass-produced in large scale production process.
It is a very popular delicacy in some parts of Malaysia, particularly in the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu, or among Kelantan and Terengganu people residing elsewhere. Rarely is that tapai not served especially during festive seasons. Tapai nasi, made of rice, is more popular compared to tapai pulut, made of glutinous rice. Tapai is also made of tapioca, tapai ubi, but it is not as easily found as the tapai nasi.
Tapai seems to be available also in Kuching, Sarawak. To say the whole of Sarawak may be over stretching the fact as Sarawak itself is as big as peninsula Malaysia and diverse in population. A noticeable difference is that coconut leave is used as the wrapping. Rubber tree leaves are almost exclusively used to wrap tapai nasi in Kelantan and Terengganu. Tapai ubi, especially in the state of Perak in Malaysia, is usually wrapped using banana leaves. Again, the process is the same, but the materials used are dictated by local preferences.

Gong of Kampung Sumangkap

Traditional way of doing things in a particular community is different from another as they were separated from each other by physical distance. Means of communication for interaction was limited or non-existence. Each therefore is self-sufficient in their own way, making use of resources within their reach, and developing their own ways of doing things. Thus, a particular implement developed by one community may not be useful by another, even if the implement is for achieving the same results. As communication developed and travels became affordable cultural exchanges took place, and a larger community was formed.
The gongs made at Kampung Sumagkap, Sabah is different from the one made in Terengganu. The copper gong of Terengganu is made by the lost wax method whereas the gong of Kampung Sumangkap is made by forming the shape using some kind of mallet. In Sabah gongs are made of brass or bronze. The sounds coming out of the two are different. In fact it is different even between gongs of similar manufacturing method. Each gong has different names depending on the sounds they produce. Gong is prevalent in Sabah especially among the Rungus, Kadazan Dusun, and Murut people. Kampung Sumangkap is one that is specializing in gongs production under the one village one product concept.

More Keris (Wavy Blade Daggers)

It is heartening to know that there are still three keris (wavy blade daggers) makers actively in operation in Perak. We visited one in Kampung Padang Changkat near Kuala Kangsar recently. Although the operation is similar in some respect to that practiced in Terengganu, there are slight differences. The 'musang' is made of planks in square pipe formation instead of hollow wooden log as in Terengganu. The concept of mixing iron from various sources to make the keris is similar. The code 7P for seven type of sources from which the keris is made is also practiced here. 7P for example stands for keris made up of pieces of seven implements or objects with the name beginning with the letter 'p' in the Malay language such as parang, paku (nail), pisau (knife), and penyabit. So, don't throw any old pieces of implements or objects, collect them and better if they are all having names beginning with the same alphabet. I guess it could be names in the English language too: blade, brake pedal, bicycle wheel, boat anchor, bulldozer, etc.

Pots, pots, everywhere

The village is not far from the royal town of Perak. A bit isolated, but accessible. We can easily spend several hours there looking at the various designs and shapes of labu sayong, as the product is known. Those made by hand fetch a higher price, almost three times as much as the one made by casting method. The designs are various, each depicts the area from which the pot come from. It can be used as indoor as well as outdoor decorations.