NOVEMBER 2019 Stargazing in New Zealand

MY Guide to Colombo, Sri Lanka ■ Melbourne’s Chef Ang Ling Chee of Parklife Love Affair With All Things Creative ■ Traditional Pottery Making In Perak

•_Nov 2019_Cover_OK.indd 2 17/10/2019 12:32 PM 18/10/2019 4:23 PM The LitSara products range from soaps to from range products The LitSara Local villagers picking the Litsea berries and 1. & 5. 2.–4 air fresheners, and soon insect repellent sprays sprays and soon insect repellent air fresheners, wipes and biodegradable posing with their harvest; the tiny fruits posing with their harvest; 1 de Janerio Convention on Biological Diversity de Janerio Convention an addendum Protocol, and the 2010 Nagoya the right which recognises to the Convention, communities to manage the indigenous of and to benefit in their area, biological resources its commercialisation. from is community that there wanted to ensure “We the start, to make theengagement right from the decision-makinglocal community a part of Tiong said Dr Yeo process,” and development SBC, adding that Officer of Chia, Chief Executive the benefits, of a share the communities receive in both monetary and non-monetary terms. In non-monetary terms, the documentation with full knowledge local traditional the of great is of its ownership of acknowledgement any new Subsequently, value to the community. knowledge their traditional from insights derived with the community. also shared are

Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Biodiversity indigenous communities. On that trek guided by Taie and his son Ukong Taie guided by On that trek team mapped out the indigenous the Taie, Longplants commonly used in the villages of both located and Long Kerebangan, Telingan the nearest from road by hours’ away three over clambering up and remembered Margarita town. hours to search muddy slopes, walking for down andused locally as medicines, food plants for there we kept asking ‘are other purposes. “We laughing.yet?’,” she recalled, the team set outBack in their labs in Kuching, the Litsea cubeba to analyse the chemistry of their excitement, berries and other cuttings. To its oil composition to be markedly they found in the similar Litsea plants found from different they where China and Taiwan, highlands of medicinal purposes. This used for also are Sarawak the local tree, SBC to register allowed Intellectual for Litsea, as unique to Sarawak protection. Property Litsea oil to the Sarawak The team also found as tea as effective properties anti-microbial have and fresh oil, while emitting a revitalising, tree started them off These discoveries scent. vibrant and development, research on a long journey of 10 years until the Sarawak which took over Litsea oil was turned into delightfully-scented products. personal care LitSara®, Marketed under the brand-name the Litsea and Sarawak, a combination of soaps, body wash, shampoo, includes range oil, sniff jar and air handwash, aromatherapy as pure Litsea oil is also available freshener. diffusers, and soon, Litsara- essential oils for and biodegradable sprays based insect repellent wipes will also be on the shelves. jungle to marketThis essential oil’s journey from to because SBC strove has been remarkable equitably shared that all benefits are ensure with the local communities. This is in keeping Rio the 1992 set by with the global standards

| Photography courtesy of

Commercialising essential oils harvestedCommercialising Carolyn Hong from the Sarawak rainforest to empowerfrom the Sarawak SarawakLitsea

Words |

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Scents of the Rainforest The sun was low in the sky and the dark as Margarita was growing rainforest the Sarawak Naming and her team from (SBC) trudged back to the Centre Biodiversity a zesty scent filled the air. village. Suddenly, sultry scent in the many , a sudden To without lookingjungle is a signal to hurry away team, it was cause toback. But to Margarita’s stop to take a closer look – their exhaustion their senses awakened immediately forgotten, and their curiosity piqued. citronella of scent, reminiscent The invigorating tiny was emanating from or lemongrass, their forest berry-like fruits being picked by guide and local medicinal plant expert, the late to Taie, According a small tree. from Puret, Taie such as the Lun in Sarawak ethnic groups several used generations, for and have, Bawang these berries as a spicy condiment to eat with to ease remedy as a natural rice as well stomach and back aches. Taie was from the was from stomach and back aches. Taie community. Lun Bawang the cuttings from team took several the Excited, and as tenem to the Lun Bawang known tree, them backpahkak to the Bidayuh, and brought the capital ofto SBC’s headquarters in Kuching, further analysis. for Sarawak, This scent-filled jungle walk had taken place in to document the SBC’s effort 2005 as part of the indigenous plant with a scientificuse of ethnic the different Litsea cubeba by name of this and to preserve in Sarawak groups knowledge. traditional team had visited the mountains ofMargarita’s plant to document the traditional east Sarawak a small community, the Lun Bawang use of are Lun Bawang The Sarawak. of ethnic group of with deep knowledge mountain-dwellers lived they have where the highland rainforests generations. for

goingplacesmagazine.com | 48 | November 2019 _Nov 2019_Explore-Rainforest Essential Oils03.indd 48 _Nov 2019_Explore-Rainforest Essential Oils03.indd 49 5 4 producing the Litsea essential oil, with a producing theLitseaessentialoil,witha Today, seven villagesare involved insustainably product salestothecommunity. subsequently returns apercentage of the produced by thelocalsatafair price,and products, theSBCbuysessentialoils products are commercialised. For theLitsea Monetary benefitscomeintoplayoncethe from theoils. to enablethelocalsmaketheirown products the fruitsandleaves, andsoap-making sessions holds classesonextracting essentialoilsfrom cultivating andnurturingtheLitseatrees. Italso regular workshops toshare newinformation on In thecaseof theLitseaessentialoils,SBCholds remedy to ease stomach and back aches. condiment to eat with rice well as anatural as have, for generations, used these berries aspicy as Sarawak such the as Lun Bawang and Bidayuh According to Taie, several ethnic groups in 2 3 scent inadankrainforest. come alongwayfrom thatfirstwhiffof itszesty of prideintheranks of essentialoils,having heavenly-scented tinyfruits –hasearnedaplace The unassumingLitseacubebatree –andits that theyalsousetheplant. Bidayuh communitiesonceitwasestablished started working withtheKelabit, Ibanand the originalLunBawang villages,theSBChas production target of 100litres ayear. Besides (KCH), Sarawak. flights fromKualaLumpur(KUL)toKuching Airlinesoperates57timesweekly ■ 18/10/2019 4:24 PM

goingplacesmagazine.com | 49 | November 2019