PwD Overcomes Disability To Run Coconut Sap Business

By Balqis Jamaludin

KUALA TERENGGANU, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Physical limitations have not prevented a man with disabilities (PwD) from Kampung Banggol Katong here from running an air nira kelapa (coconut sap) business that enjoys consistently high demand, especially during Ramadan.

More impressively, Ibrahim Mamat, 44, who has been paralysed in his right leg following a motorcycle accident seven years ago, climbs a specially built ladder tailored to his physical condition to collect sap from the six-metre-high coconut flowers.

Ibrahim admitted that before starting the air nira business two years ago, he had once given up and refused to work for five years as he struggled to accept his condition after the accident.

“About two years ago, while sitting in my wheelchair in front of my house, I noticed a coconut tree and thought perhaps I could do something with it. Suddenly, I felt the motivation to rise again and start a new life.

“I then thought of selling air nira, a favourite drink among the community, especially on the East Coast. So I asked my cousin, Ahmad Rusdi Wahab, 38, to build a ladder based on my own design to make it more stable. Each coconut tree is fitted with this ladder so that I can climb up and down by myself,” he said when met by Bernama in Kampung Banggol Katong.

Ibrahim, who previously worked as a house builder, said he now manages to obtain about 40 litres of air nira daily from 20 coconut trees planted on a 0.4-hectare plot near his home.

His daily routine begins as early as 7 am, tapping or cutting the young coconut inflorescences to extract the sap.

“Usually, the cut inflorescence will start producing sap after four or five days, and it can continue to yield sap for up to 15 days before drying up. I collect the sap in plastic containers in the morning and evening, as it usually flows more during those times,” he said.

He said on normal days, customers come directly to his house to buy air nira, but during the fasting month, he sets up a small roadside stall in his village to make it easier for people to purchase the drink for breaking fast.

He sells air nira at RM5 and RM10 per bottle and also supplies it to palm sugar producers, particularly in Marang.

Thanks to his diligence and determination, Ibrahim, who is single, earns about RM3,000 a month, with the amount doubling during Ramadan when more than 30 bottles of air nira are sold daily.

“Alhamdulillah, I am grateful that Allah moved my heart to ‘rise again’, and that I am still able to work to support myself.

 “I am also able to support my mother, Juary Ibrahim, 77, who is also a PwD after her right leg was amputated below the knee due to diabetes three years ago,” he said, adding that he also rears four to five cows as a side income.

-- BERNAMA