Daniel Lim
Regardless of background, one commonality shared by everyone is the importance of having not only a shelter but a residence and place to call home.
Despite this importance, it can be easy to overlook some of the more fundamental and foundations that make homes comfortable to live in and appreciate.
To make such a vision a reality, it is necessary to maintain one’s home to meet the resident’s necessity. Among the aspects that go into this are household skills.
Often overlooked, household skills represent a variety of skills and knowledge necessary to maintain the daily happenings at home, from basic chores to cooking and beyond.
To help facilitate and showcase such knowledge and skills, while also providing a platform for like-minded people to gather and share their passion and joy in perfecting their household skills, the Pertiwi Association recently conducted a Rumah tangga (household) Competition for Belait residents, comprising the senior and younger generation, as part of their annual activities to highlight and appreciate the skills and talents needed to perfect the household.
Association’s Assistant Secretary Hajah Norini binti Haji Johari said the competition saw over 50 participants competing in more than 50 categories.
“We have received quite a good reception. Participants from within the association as well as the public from young to old showcased their skills and talents across the categories in the competition.”
She added that the competition also served to enliven His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s 76th birthday celebration.
While the competition aimed to gather people with household skills and talent, she also noted that the benefit of taking part is the ongoing growth in perfecting their skills and knowledge. “By partaking in these competitions and similar expos, it serves to show off their skills and also to have the fruits of their household skills and talents be a source of financial support for them.”
She also spoke on the importance of having the drive to seek out such knowledge and skills as shown by some of the participating members.
“We are quite proud that we have participants who share their experience and knowledge.
“Rather than staying at home, they can show their household skills and talents that they can be proud of, which also helps further drive their interest as a hobby and beyond.”
She hoped that the participants as well as those keen on expanding their repertoire in terms of such skills will continue to seek out knowledge and take part in similar showcases and competitions.
“Sometimes, it might not be clear that these ideas can have a meaningful impact in life, especially with the limited time available in today’s work life, but there are ample opportunities, from competitions to online gatherings and courses that can help disseminate and share household knowledge to those interested.”
The intent to spread knowledge and skills can be seen in the rising interest in the practice among the youth. One such youth, Najihah binti Dato Haji Yakub, who participated in one of the home cooking categories, shared how she was initially reluctant to join such a showcase.
“My mother is active in these sort of activities, so for the first time, she offered me an opportunity to join the competition. I thought I might as well join as I frequently cook at home.”
With encouragement from her family, Najihah joined the competition which she found helps highlight and showcase the effort she had made in cooking to other like-minded people.
She also added that she had only recently found the inspiration to start cooking, noting her new-found discovery in perfecting her culinary skills.
“For me, trying out recipes at my own pace and time is very therapeutic. I started with Western cooking at first but slowly shifted to more traditional cuisine, which I learnt from my mother who also loves cooking.”
She is also finding new passions and things to love and appreciate. “So in trying out new things such as this, we will be able to find out what we are good at. This can include cooking and crafting, but also so many more, which can easily be exposed to more youth if they participate, follow, and try out these activities.”
