One of the strategies to achieve a sustainable means of poverty alleviation is by being self-sustainable and SCOT has been focusing on this strategy through various projects we implement. One of the strategies are SCOT Agriculture whereby we focus on underprivileged families who has the asset but lacks the resources to create a means of living out of it.
SCOT Agriculture involves a dual relationship between SCOT and the family itself whereby the project has to work both ways in order to achieve its objectives. The families we assist on will have to put in their dedication and effort into seeing their backyard farming grow from Day 1 to one year later.
Dyg Maimun’s story:
Dyg Maimun is well known as the “Maci jual sayur” within her neighbourhood in Kg Rimba as she is regularly seen pushing a cart re-selling vegetables door-to-door. She regularly sells vegetables to earn an income of around $20 per day (on a good day) strolling her cart from 4pm to 7pm. The vegetables was purchased from the wholesale market or better known as Pasar Borong in Sengkurong. She does it around four times a week depending on the availability of supply to sell. Eyewitness reported her to be often braving the rain with her granddaughter to earn a living.
Meanwhile in the evening (beginning at 9pm to 2am), she would usually go on a fishing trip with her son-in-law. Sometimes her catch in a good day amounts between 10kg – 20kg that she sells the next day earning up to $30. There are days when the fishing trip bears no fruit especially during the rainy season.
Currently, SCOT is pursuing phase 1 ‘SCOT Agriculture’ project with her in hopes that it would generate a more sustainable income going forward. Our strategy of helping her growing backyard vegetables would hopefully provide the nearby residents with freshly grown vegetables to which previously she would usually re-sell purchased vegetables to them. We are currently seeing positive developments on her progress and with stability, we hope to expand her project that would lean towards our objective of self-sustainability.
