About Us
The Asli Co. aspires to eradicate poverty amongst the indigenous people of Malaysia, the Orang Asli.
Our Mission
- Improve livelihoods of Orang Asli mothers in rural communities through economic opportunities
- Ensure Orang Asli children stay in school and complete their education
Background
Orang Asli mothers have limited opportunity for work when they have to care for their young children at home.
Each school-going child needs at least RM100-RM150 per month for school related expenses. Many Orang Asli children quit school as young as primary 6 simply because their parents cannot afford the expenses to send them to school.
Our products are handmade with love by indigenous mothers to support their children and keep them in school.
Villages we're working with:
- Kg. Orang Asli Serendah, Selangor
- Kg. Orang Asli Sungai Buloh, Selangor
- Kg. Orang Asli Hulu Kuang, Selangor
- Kg. Orang Asli Bukit Cheding, Selangor
- Kg. Orang Asli Pisang Rasau, Perak
- Kg. Bukit Serok, Pahang
- Kg. Desa Temuan, Selangor
- Kg. Batu Peti, Negeri Sembilan
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The Asli Co. trains and works with Orang Asli mothers to produce quality handmade products. Starter kits and materials are provided so that mothers can easily begin working from home.
Our makers receive up to 4 times of minimum hourly wage pay to produce our products from the comforts of their homes.
Our Artisans
Our Impact
For every RM1 in sale, RM0.53 goes towards providing raw materials, equipment, training, wages and community projects for the Orang Asli communities.
65
Orang Asli mothers & upskilled and empowered
RM1,842,400
channeled towards providing materials, equipment, training & wages to Orang Asli Communities
4X
mothers are paid up to 4 times the minimum hourly wage
8
Orang Asli villages in Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan & Pahang, Malaysia
The Team
From left: Erman & Anisah, 1st family on board with The Asli Co. with founders Xin & Jason
Hi, we're the founders Xin and Jason. We met as EpicHomes volunteers who built houses for OA communities. Through our volunteering experience, we found out that many kids drop out of school because parents couldn’t afford the expenses such as school fees, uniforms, stationeries and so on.
Learning that RM100-150 per month is all it took to ensure OA kids stay in school, we decided that it was something we could help and should. Although the amount was small, we knew from the beginning that constantly donating that amount was not a sustainable way to help.
So we started with the idea of bringing work to the Orang Asli ladies in the kampung to help them cover these expenses. We started teaching Anisah in Kg. Orang Asli Serendah to make our pilot product, the succulent cement pots in 2019. To date, we're grateful to be able to touch the lives of more than 60 lady artisans who produce our entire range of products.