Serdang Gift Box is a beautiful and unique Heritage Handicraft from Sabah – Malaysian Borneo. This masterpiece is exclusively handmade by the Bajau ethnic people of Sabah. Distinct with its bold colours – canary yellow, bright eggplant purple, fuchsia and lime green, the handicrafts made with the Serdang leaves is a representation of the artistic talents of the Bajau in Kota Belud.
Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen (HAK) had the privilege to work together with Tuan Sadi Basal who is a subject matter expert in the heritage Bajau handicraft industry. Tuan Sadi brings with him years of experience in this craft, learning to weave the Serdang leaves from his mother in his early teens. The art of weaving the Serdang leave is almost similar to the Mengkuang (screwpine leaves). However, due to the Serdang’s leaves stronger structure, it could only be woven into stripes. Till this day, Tuan Sadi is the only man in his village who have mastered the technique of weaving the Serdang leaves. The younger generations are not keen in learning this traditional handicraft.
Serdang tree is a type of palm tree. In Kota Belud, it is mostly grown near the swamps. The young leaves are harvested and dried before dying it into multitude of colours. It is amazing to see how the pale beige rustic dried Serdang leaves transforms into stunning colourful handicrafts such as traditional tudung saji (food cover that looks like a Vietnamese straw hat), baskets and boxes. It must also be highlighted that these products are all 100% handmade with no machines involved. Hence, the intricacy of the Ethnic Serdang boxes are uniquely astounding.
