By D’Drift Team
JULAU, Feb 28: The Iban farmers of Julau never cease to surprise!
Many years ago, they achieved prosperity by growing vegetables. They earned so much that they struggled to decide how to invest their hard-earned money.
Today, they have worked their magic again. This time, many turned their idle land into oil palm plantations. Just by being small-holders, the cultivation of oil palm has brought them significant wealth.
It is thus no surprise that their longhouses have evolved from traditional wooden structures with attap leaves for roofs to modern, double-storeyed concrete terrace houses, with some featuring verandahs.
Alvin, a coffee shop operator in Julau town, pointed out that land is the biggest asset of the Iban in the area.
True to their hardworking roots, the Iban landowners have transformed their land into a source of wealth, significantly improving their quality of life. Traditionally pepper farmers, they gradually ventured into vegetable cultivation and later embraced oil palm planting.
“They are so rich. For us, when we buy cars, we have to take out loans. But the Ibans in Julau don’t do that. They just bring their cash over and buy their cars with hot cash.
“Their longhouses are no more old and run down. They now have concrete houses with air-conditioning and satellite TVs,” Alvin told D’Drift Team.
He also shared that a substantial number of Ibans from Julau are able to purchase houses in Sibu Jaya, a satellite town of Sibu, which is the biggest town in the Central Sarawak.
Sibu Jaya is roughly an hour away from Julau.
“The population of Sibu Jaya has increased due to urban migration. It used to be 10,000. Now it is going to 30,000. Julau Ibans contributed a high percentage of those Ibans moving into Sibu Jaya.
“The popularity of Sibu Jaya increases especially when the road linking it to Durin, which reduces the time from Sibu Jaya to Sibu town to 15 minutes,” said Alvin.— DayakDaily
