KUCHING: The Sarawak Orchid Society (SARORSO) has intensified efforts to strengthen orchid-related downstream development and community collaboration through a working visit to the SABAKI Plantation in Samarahan and the Orchid Garden and Laboratory at MARA Junior Science College (MRSM) Kuching yesterday (Feb 4).
SARORSO patron Dayang Norjihan, daughter of the Premier, led the society’s committee members in accompanying Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Deputy Minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh, who is also SARORSO adviser, during the visit.
Dayang Norjihan said the visit enabled SARORSO to assess orchid nursery sites, explore alternative orchid cultivation methods within oil palm plantations, and observe the processing of orchid-based downstream products such as tea, chocolate and pickles.
She said the initiative also aimed to strengthen collaboration between the government, the association and village communities with potential to expand into international markets.
The delegation later proceeded to MRSM Kuching, where Len Talif was briefed on orchid laboratory processes and the Orchid Botanical Garden at the institution.
The visit concluded with a certificate presentation ceremony for students from the third session of the Juma’ani In Vitro Orchid Micropropagation Programme, officiated by Dayang Norjihan.
