KUCHING: When Charraine Sudin sat down to write her entry for the DayakDaily’s ‘Homestay Odyssey’ writing competition, she was in her first trimester.
The mornings were still manageable then, and she found comfort in putting words on a page.
By the time she was editing the final draft, however, fatigue had taken over.
“My brain was just a pregnancy brain. I told myself I couldn’t do this anymore,” she recalled with a laugh.
Yet she pressed on, deciding to submit the story anyway – never imagining it would win.
Now, with her baby due in October, the 33-year-old looks back at her achievement with a quiet smile.
“Actually, yes, I do see it as ‘rezeki anak’,” she said, describing the award as a blessing that arrived with her child.
Her piece, ‘The Sea Dragon’s Shangri-La’, was awarded first place in the Adult Category, which received 74 entries this year.
Written in a blend of myth and memory, the essay wove the tale of a sea dragon together with the story of her mother’s longhouse homestay in Sebauh, Bintulu.
But for Charraine, it was never just about the competition; it was an act of preservation.
“This was my attempt to capture what I could about my culture. The longhouse is our family legacy, and writing about it gives it a platform,” she said.
The longhouse itself is as old as Charraine – 33 years – built entirely of belian wood.
Once stretching across 52 doors, it now has only 11 occupied, as many families have moved closer to roads.
A devastating flood in recent years nearly submerged its staircase, making her realise how fragile its future could be.
“I grew up with it. Now it’s slowly disintegrating. Maybe we have another 10 to 20 years. Maybe less,” she reflected.
For the past year, her family has opened the longhouse to guests, small groups of four or five at most, while also beginning restoration work.
She hopes the homestay can be revived, with empty doors restored to host future visitors.
Actually, Charraine’s path to writing was unexpected.
Once a veterinary nurse, she resigned two years ago to focus on her pregnancy.
With time to herself, she turned to books, searching for local voices she could connect with. That curiosity eventually led her to the competition.
“I never thought I would win. This was my first attempt as an adult. Honestly, I just wanted to give my mother’s homestay some spotlight,” she admitted.
