By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, May 30: A vegetable vendor at Kenyalang Park Market has a creative solution to keeping her stall clean by turning the otherwise discarded ‘cangkuk manis’ stems into a miniature broom and brush.
Dayang Nirot, 54, told DayakDaily that as a vegetable seller of more than 30 years, her daily focus is not only on her customers’ needs and ensuring they are satisfied with their puchases, but she also needs to be innovative and creative to ensure her customers come and buy the more than twenty varieties of vegetables she has for sale.
Among the vegetables that her customers like buying is ready-to-cook cangkuk manis leaves.
“As part of my customer service, I help them pluck it from the stem and by doing so, I have so many stem remnants. Instead of discarding them, I bundle all the stems together.
“After a few days, the cangkuk manis stems dry out and harden. I then can use it as a miniature broom for my housekeeping. I use it to sweep up leaves and other debris on the display table.”
She added the miniature broom is convenient to use, costs nothing, lasts awhile and once worn out, she can make a new one again for as long as there are cangkok manis stems to utilise.
Dayang, who hails from Padawan, opined that it is practical and sustainable to turn the cangkuk manis stems into a miniature broom.
She admitted the idea initially did not occur to her as she was focused on making a living, until she realised the stems could be repurposed.
She added that she is glad she could make something useful out of cangkuk manis stems.
“If people and eateries buy cangkuk manis together with the stems, they can make turn the stems into miniature brooms or brushes for their housekeeping kits.
“People with a small plot of land in their back garden or even a small space could grow the cangkuk manis vegetable by using the stem too. In that way, no part of the vegetable goes to waste,” she said. — DayakDaily
