Who Is Reita Rahim

In an Orang Asli village just an hour’s drive away from Kuala Lumpur, a group of 20 women, young and old, are gathered under a hut on an overcast Tuesday morning.

The women, from the Mah Meri tribe in Pulau Carey, are artisans who collectively form the Tompoq Topoh crafts workshop situated in Kampung Sungai Bumbun.They have come to the hut, situated outside their small concrete workshop, with tote bags filled with colourful and finely woven crafts - bookmarks, purses, small bags and boxes - made of dyed pandan leaves.

One of the women, however, is not quite like the others. She is Reita Rahim, a petite Malay lady in her mid-40s and one of the core volunteers of the non-profit group Gerai OA (Orang Asal).She came with tote bags of her own. One is filled with snacks including chocolates for children whom the Mah Meri women have brought in tow. The others are empty, waiting to be filled with crafts.

Armed with a small notebook, Reita takes record of the women’s crafts and calculates their earnings. Because Gerai OA’s pop-up stalls are only set up when they are not charged rent, Reita is able to give the artisans 100 percent of the sales earnings.

The artisans get paid half at the time of collection, and are paid the other half once the items are sold.