AT a youth camp held in Lundu last December, one of the crucial moments occurred when the participants took turns to explain their ideas for a project that they believe would help to benefit Sarawak.It was a pivotal moment because their idea, if chosen, could possibly change their lives and the lives of many others when their projects are fully implemented.

When 25-year-old engineering student Rata Muda Shalom Eing took the microphone and revealed her idea for a project, the camp facilitators sensed that she was on to something.

Her idea was to make use of plant fibres from agricultural waste to make building materials such as bricks. Immediately after, three other youths from the camp were assigned to form a group with her; Louina Pong (22), Chai Kok Woon (19) and Aliff Farhan (18).

Together, they called themselves the Greenovators, and they are one of the five youth groups to come out of Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam) Sarawak’s pilot ‘YES I SEE’ project, which stands for Youth Engaged in Social Innovation, Service, Education and Enterprise.

Rata pointed out that their project is in line with the environmental friendly concept of ‘3R’ – recycle, reduce, reuse — incorporated with her passion for her chosen field of study: engineering.

Their aim is to turn agricultural waste into useful building material, thus helping to reduce landfill-bound waste, while at the same time assisting farming communities.

“Apart from reducing the amount of items that would end up just being wasted, like corn stalks or similar natural fibres, we believe that our project will also help underprivileged Sarawakians to generate income,” said Rata.

As with the other groups in the ‘YES I SEE’ project, the youths of Greenovators have been busy meeting up nearly every week to discuss their ideas with their assigned mentor.

They have even included a local community to help in harvesting corn stalks for fibre and to assist them in making prototype bricks. Rata revealed that children were especially excited to help them, which made it a fun experience for all.

For the members of Greenovator, it was a whole new experience, as none had ever harvested corn stalks before, or mixed cement, or engaged communities to take part in such an activity.

Recently, they have been busy refining their prototype and have even sought the assistance of Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus, where Rata was a student.

The university helped the group by providing the facilities available at its laboratories, to test their idea on reinforcing concrete slabs or clay bricks with corn stalk fibre.

Sometime this week, the Greenovators are scheduled to do further testing for their project, with the kind assistance of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), who were more than willing to help nurture the enterprising spirit of Sarawak’s youth.

With a finished product in hand, Greenovators hopes to one day collaborate with non-governmental organisations like Habitat for Humanity, to help build affordable homes for poor families. All of the members of Greenovators realise that their idea is a long way from achieving its full potential, but they are all resolute in what they are doing and are fully committed to their cause.

It is heartening to know that Sarawak’s youths believe that they can make a difference in helping to make Sarawak a better place, and are also able to grasp the opportunities available to them through initiatives such as the ‘YES I SEE’ project to turn their vision into reality.

THE GREENOVATORS (KUCHING)