Housewife’s bold move to step out of familiar territory pays off as it sets the momentum for her business to flourish
Romlah (second left) with her frangipani blooms.
HER foray into the business arena started when she rented out a house on the property that her husband had bought, conveniently located just next to her house at Kampung Siol Kandis, Petra Jaya in Kuching.
A bouncy housewife with great passion for gardening and cooking, Romlah Kassim soon turned a section of the property into a beautiful orchid garden.
The affable homemaker, endowed with the gift of hospitality, also enjoyed holding dinner parties for family and friends, lavishing them with delectable dishes from her kitchen.
Romlah took pleasure in hosting guests, displaying food prepared with love, and basking in the joy that it brought.
Her days were constantly full, matching her vibrant character.
The multitasking housewife, a mother of two grown-up sons and an adolescent daughter at the time, had never been one to sit quietly and watch the world go by.
‘Like Whoopi’
Romlah (front, right) brings her visitors around her frangipani garden.
Optimistic, kind and often hilarious, her on-the-go personality is likened by her close friends to that of American actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg, as seen in most of the latter’s comedy movies. Somehow, Romlah can relate to Goldberg – she adores her acting and is sometimes amused that she can be likened to the movie star.
Romlah’s other favourite pastime is singing. With her husky voice, she is capable of ‘making ears turn’ as she sings like a professional, whether it is in a karaoke session or during a stage performance at private functions. Singing has been her hobby since she was a teenager, and she has not stopped improving her singing since then.
Romlah would not settle for less. With her husky voice and Goldberg persona, she never disappoints even if she belts out a Whitney Houston number. She is bubbly and quick to make friends.
These personality traits become an asset for her in her business pursuit.
Furthermore, she is always on the move. Even as she rests on the sofa for a short break, her mind would wander into areas of business opportunities. Going back to the time when she was a full-time housewife, she had always harboured the thought of running her own business, believing that it was better for a wife to be financially independent than to be solely depending on her husband.
“Life would be more fulfilling and meaningful if I could earn my own income, but it must be done from home,” she recalled how she was motivated to make use of her leisure activities and talents to make money.
‘I can make it’
Romlah wanted to earn money from her favourite pastimes, like killing two birds with one stone. Believing that she could make it, she decided to open a café serving Malaysian cuisines on her orchid garden. She also had a couple of cosy cottages built for rent on the premises, in addition to her rented house.
The word ‘procrastination’ was not in her vocabulary. She created her own recipes, widened her knowledge in gardening, ‘worked smart’, and thought of ways to sell her orchids.
She also developed the piece of land that she had in Samarahan into an orchard and a flower (mainly frangipani) garden, and also herb farm cum nursery.
Today, the land is blooming with frangipanis, all kinds of fruit trees and herbs, priding itself with an agro-homestay within its confines.
Romlah’s business, as in her own words: “Was not planned; it just flowed.”
Nurturing growth
Photo shows Romlah’s garden homestay in Kampung Siol Kandis.
That was then – the honeymoon period. Born out of the things she loved and sustained by her unyielding perseverance with strong support from her husband, it grew bit by bit.
It has been more than 25 years since she embarked on her business venture. The bittersweet experiences of making and losing money and the trial-and-error learning, all have moulded her into becoming what she is today – a resilient entrepreneur made possible by her passion and determination.
A businesswoman in her own right, Romlah takes pride in the successful commercialisation of her leisure activities, which have evolved over the years.
The venture is an integrated business enclave of her own creation: a garden homestay in Kampung Siol Kandis, a beach homestay in Sematan, an agro-farm cum homestay in Samarahan, a food catering service, and a sizeable frangipani garden touted as the first of its kind in Sarawak.
“All these are hard earned,” said Romlah.
Her persistent pursuit in turning her favourite pastimes and love for nature into money-making activities has ultimately paid off. No doubt it has taken her more than 20 years to be able to really reap what she had diligently sown and ploughed, but all of it is worth all her patience, pain and efforts.
She is happy with what she is doing.
“Even though I’m not rich, but I feel rich,” said the 60-plus-year-old grandmother, showing no sign of wanting to slow down.
“I would never stop as long as I’m still fit. I would neither shrink back, nor stop trying or giving up.”
‘Harvest time’ after long disruption
Romlah has come a long way in recent years.
“Now is harvest time!” she declared, encouraged to see her business picking up after the long disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The occupancy rate of her homestays has picked up again – a far cry from the situation during the lockdown and strict Movement Control Order (MCO) days.
“That was the time (the strict MCO period) I took the opportunity to evaluate my business and look into the possibility of bringing it to the next level, checking on marketing prospects and drawing up strategies since there was hardly any business then.
“The negative impact of the pandemic on the business was discouraging, but it was also a time of reflection.
“I must say that I’m blessed to have my husband to fall back on during such dry periods.
“He has always been supportive of my business endeavour. Without his support I don’t think I could have come this far.”
Leader amongst homestay operators
Romlah is currently vice-president of Malaysia Homestay Entrepreneurs Organisation – a post that she has been holding for many years. Her involvement in promoting homestay tourism in Sarawak has brought her into contact with the organisation during her many visits to Peninsular Malaysia.
It was while attending one of its annual general meetings there that she was elected for the post. In her capacity as vice-president of the organisation, she has organised a number of educational visits to other countries for the members to gain more exposure and broaden their experience.
Romlah’s homestay guests comprise those from all over Sarawak, as well as visitors from Peninsular Malaysia.
Sometimes, she receives tourists from overseas who want to experience the local culture, lifestyle and food, especially within a village environment.
“We’re selling local lifestyle experiences to both tourists from Peninsular Malaysia and overseas. This also means creating employment for the village folks and contributing to local tourism, particularly the promotion of local food and culture.
Entrepreneurship has also been bringing her to the television screen quite frequently where she would be interviewed about her work and success story.
Tapping into potential of frangipani
Apart from her homestay business, Romlah’s frangipani project has also caught the attention of local television producers, in view of it being the only one of its kind in Sarawak.
She started planting plumerias, popularly known as frangipanis, in place of her orchids about 20 years ago.
“The idea of a frangipani garden came about as I was doing a research on the plant and flower out of interest.
“I love frangipanis. They make your garden look exclusive.”
To date, Romlah has a collection of three different species of frangipani, with eighty different colours.
“The flowers are organic as they don’t need pesticides, unlike orchids that need a lot of chemicals for growth.
“It was also for this reason that I switched from planting orchids to plumerias.
“For now, I’m selling the root cuttings, but I’m already planning to make perfumes, soaps, cosmetics and skincare products from the flower petals in the near future.
“Eventually, all my homestays would have my own toiletry products,” she enthused.
Romlah is currently working together with the Malaysia Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) Sarawak in further exploring the usage of frangipani flowers, particularly in making tea and cosmetics.
Having made up her mind to diversify into the frangipani tea and cosmetics production, she is hoping to get a grant from the government for the project.
‘Life’s full of surprises’
(Seated on sofa, from left) Romlah and her husband Jamal Mohd Yusof with their children, daughters-in-law and grandchildren.
Romlah’s determination to be a self-reliant housewife, the joy of turning her favourite pastimes into money-spinning activities and her passion for all these are the motivating factors behind her steadfast persistence in sustaining her business.
“Life is full of surprises,” she said.
Having gone through many difficult times with fervent determination, Romlah has endured and today, as she revels in the fruit of her sweat, she feels a deep sense of fulfilment.
“Don’t waste your talent. Don’t you know that your talent and hobbies can bring in money?
“Sooner or later, you may find yourself earning extra money and you will feel good about it.
“Now, I can travel and buy whatever I want with my own money.”
From a simple housewife with untapped talent, yet with passion for business, Romlah took the bold move to step out of her familiar territory to pursue her business interest.
The experience that unfolded was a learning curve for her as she acquired new knowledge and skills, and broadened her confidence in exploiting new opportunities and expanding her business.
She chose not to confine her pursuit to the domestic scope of responsibilities, nor did she sit and while away her idle time in the comfort of home.
In choosing to break loose from her old comfort zone, Romlah discovered new opportunities, some of which were her own creations, and set the momentum for her business to flourish.