The B40 income group, many of whom were already living hand to mouth before the pandemic, has been badly affected. But one initiative set up by a young fashionista is helping women in low-income households to keep their families afloat.

Yap Sue Yii had set up Royale Demure, a fashion production house that also assisted fashion designers to crowdfund to produce their collections. However, one of the problems she faced was that most tailors would only take on bulk orders.

It was while she was looking for independent tailors who would take on smaller jobs that the seeds for Komuniti Tukang Jahit (KTJ), or the Tailors Community of Malaysia, were sown in 2018, when she was all of 21 years old.

Seeing a need for sustainable businesses that benefit society, Yap saw an opportunity to provide women from the B40 community with sustainable jobs by teaching them sewing skills.

At the time, Yap did not know that this small endeavour would become a social enterprise that would empower women.

Most of KTJ’s tailors are full-time mothers living in the Klang Valley, who fulfil their orders from home while looking after their families.

A big boost for KTJ came recently when photographs of its beautifully designed batik face masks went viral on social media.

Yap told FMT that one of KTJ’s hallmarks is the Malaysian touch it includes in its products.

“Most of our items are designed and decorated with the main elements that portray the colours of Malaysia – songket and batik, the saree and the cheongsam. But because face masks are best made with cotton – we thought printed batik would be the best option.”

Getting the project off the ground was not easy. Early on, the tailors were producing clothing items that did not sell well so KTJ switched to making handmade corporate gift items instead.

“Then Covid-19 struck without warning, and the team knew that something had to be done – and fast.”

KTJ allowed its tailors to work from home and provided them with online training.

Initially, the project was focused on producing face masks for vulnerable communities.

The batik face mask came about due to the scarcity of fabric mask options in the market at the time.

And after some research and reverse-engineering, KTJ came up with a batik face mask that was just as comfortable as it was pretty.

“The team worked to improve the masks on every level – functionality, fit, design, fabrics and durability,” said Yap.

Then some corporations took notice and started placing bulk orders.

Once the perfect design was found, online training courses were dispatched to the home-based KTJ tailors to teach them how to make the face masks.

Yap said The Movement Control Order was the biggest challenge KTJ has ever faced, but it has also been also a window of opportunity for the project to grow by leaps and bounds.

She said the group was forced out of its comfort zone and pushed to its limits, depending solely on online training without the means for quality control. In addition, the usual suppliers of raw materials were unavailable during the lockdown.

Thankfully, everything worked out better than expected as KTJ found alternative means to acquire the necessary resources.

Yap hopes the project will be able to expand its reach beyond Selangor to continue providing underprivileged women with job opportunities.

KTJ depends on the support of corporations and members of the public to keep going. There are plans to expand its remit, from providing women with jobs and opportunities to upskill themselves, to assistance with education and providing insurance coverage.

“Every face mask sold gives directly back to the community. ‘Impact buying’ will not only help families in need but it will run the economy in a sustainable manner – where things purchased can bring about a positive change,” said Yap.

She described how a mother of three, whose husband had lost his job due to the pandemic, can now provide for her family through her sewing job with KTJ.

“We are here to empower women — women who are able to work from home while taking care of the family’s needs.”

If you are looking to purchase one or more for yourself or give as gifts to your friends, go to Komuniti Tukang Jahit’s Facebook now to place your orders.