Transforming Temuan Communities Through Culture, Indigenous Village Cooperative (IVC) and Ecological Knowledge for Sustainable Prosperity

Project status: Ongoing

Transforming Temuan Communities Through Culture, Indigenous Village Cooperative (IVC) and Ecological Knowledge for Sustainable Prosperity

This is the third phase of a multi-phase community development initiative with the Temuan communities in Kampung Orang Asli Pulau Kempas and Bukit Cheeding.

The initiative began with Phase 1 in 2021, where trust was established, community was engaged and foundational training in leadership and livelihood was introduced. By 2024, Phase 2 commenced which strengthened leadership capacity and introduced pilot initiatives such as the Temuan Culture Information Centre (TCIC) and Indigenous Village Tourism Package (IVTP), alongside other livelihood activities.

In 2026, Phase 3 deepens by shifting the capacity building and pilot implementation to long-term sustainability and institutionalisation. It focuses on two key areas: Leadership Enhancement and Livelihood Development.

This phase aims to transform the community into a self-sustaining entity capable of independently driving and managing its own socioeconomic development initiatives with only minimal guidance and support from GEC.

Central to this phase is the establishment of an Indigenous Village Cooperative (IVC) that will enable the Temuan community and SGAT to independently manage, coordinate and scale key enterprises such as TCIC, IVTP and eco-livelihood activities.

This phase also integrates Traditional and Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to support cultural preservation, climate resilience and intergenerational learning, creating a self-reliant and replicable indigenous development model.

Previous phases:

Project Objectives

OBJECTIVE 1:
Enhance the diversity, visibility and market integration of Indigenous Village Tourism Package (IVTP) offerings to attract a wider audience and enable self-sustaining tourism-based income generation.

OBJECTIVE 2:
Develop a structured, community-led Indigenous Village Cooperative (IVC) platform to support local products and services through improved coordination, logistics and financial management system.

OBJECTIVE 3:
Integrate Traditional and Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into community-based indigenous tourism and climate resilience strategies, while fostering intergenerational learning, cultural preservation and local leadership capacity in sustainable environmental stewardship and cooperative governance.

Key Activities

ACTIVITY 1:
Strengthen the role of the Temuan Cultural Information Centre (TCIC) as a community-managed hub, led by SGAT and the Temuan community, and enhance the Indigenous Village Tourism Package (IVTP) to ensure long-term sustainability and local ownership.

ACTIVITY 2:
Establish an Indigenous Village Cooperative (IVC), led by SGAT and the Temuan community, as a model for economic empowerment comprising SGAT farmers, traditional handicraft makers and local product developers.

ACTIVITY 3:
Empower the SGAT and Temuan community to showcase and promote their Traditional and Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as a foundation for sustainable cultural tourism and as a local strategy for building climate resilience and adaptive capacity.

Key Expected Outcomes
  • Strengthened community governance
  • Sustainable income generation
  • Improved market access
  • Formalised cooperative structure
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