SORE (Save Our Rare Earth) BY KIEHLS'

KEE@FSWMAG.COM
I JUMPED AT THE CHANCE OF JOINING KIEHL'S DO-SOMETHING-GOOD FOR PLANET EARTH PROGRAMME AS I WANTED TO SEE THE FIREFLIES.

School kids showing their river cleansing mudballs with Yvonne Liew, brand manager of Kiehl's

Wet but still raring to go!


Alas, Buddha and Jesus Christ decreed it was not to be as they sent torrents of rain from high heaven to low earth, turning roads into swirling mud pools.

Luckily I left my RM 4,500 Christian Louboutin shoes at home and wore plastic shoes. Even so the wet earth stuck to them and hugged them grimly. I literally had to toil and drag my feet in the rain (luckily Kiehl's provided raincoats) and muck and mud and yucky stuff.

I felt like a penitent enroute to salvation and expected earthquakes to try swallow us up, volcanos to erupt, typhoons to strike and lightning bolts to fry us. we had to trudge and trek from a school to the river bank to boat the boat to wrap berembang fruits to increase their chances to develop into mature fruits, plant seedlings and of course see the fireflies.

The jetty was half completed and I descended gingerly on the rickety steps towards the sampans. As I sat in the boat waiting for the rest of the media and volunteers from Kiehl's, a near calamity occurred! 

The half completed steps collapsed as a Chinese reporter was going down and she fell! I prayed to Kuan Yin and Virgin Mary to intercede and they did, as she fell into the arms of a ranger at the bottom who broke her fall! All this happening in front of my eyeballs!


Due to the intercession of the Goddess of Mercy and Mother of God, the Chinese girl did not die or break every bone in her body! 

Miraculously, she had only minor scratches that Khiel's balms and creams could sooth and heal within a day or two! So all well that ended well.

However the fireflies had called it a day due to the rain and I guess they did not want their precious lights to be extinguished by excessive water.

Still, we had a great feast with a huge platter containing 4 separate meals for 4 person. The food was delicious and so were the curry puffs brought by Khiel's. I think I guzzled 8 of those diet busting puffs! 

The long and winding road...

Is full of sludge, slime, mud and muck

Preparing the mudballs that clean the river


MP Elizabeth Wong did her bit

Mohd Fikri explaining how mudballs are made






Jessica Barbeir creating mudballs

Jessica Barbier at work
Elizabeth Wong at work

Many hands made light work

Khoon Hooi, Elizabeth Wong and Amirluqman making mudballs

  SAVE OUR RARE EARTH

 ‘GREEN CARE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES’

5 November 2012 - Kiehl’s Malaysia organized its 4^th Save Our Rare Earth Eco-Camp in continued partnership with Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam (YAWA), an NGO dedicated to raising environmental awareness, at Sungai Panjang, Sabak Bernam. The 3-day camp, held from the 4^th to the 6^th of November was aimed at educating 80 young eco-explorers, aged between 10 and 17 about preserving the environment.

The “Save Our Rare Earth” project is a local initiative started by Kiehl’s Malaysia 4 years ago with the initiative to equip our youth with a deeper environmental responsibility and awareness, to ensure that many of these young people return to their communities ready to become agents of positive change - in their schools, on their campuses, in their future workplaces - in sustainability.

Themed “Green Care for Our Communities” and backed by the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), the aim of this year’s camp was to develop Sabak Bernam as an attractive community-based and eco-tourism site in Selangor which would help provide new job opportunities and sustainable revenue generation for the local community at Sungai Panjang.

Among the activities that the children engaged in during the camp were:

·         Planting “Berembang” trees to attract fireflies to the area, making Sungai Panjang a National Firefly Observation site in the future

·         Wrapping “Berembang” fruits along Sungai Panjang to ensure a higher chance of  survival for the trees (by planting the fruits in fertile soil once they fall into the river)

·         Erecting a new jetty for Sungai Panjang to support future eco-tourism activities.

·         Constructing mud balls to be used as natural river cleansing agents (Mudballs are made of dried mud into which EM™ Bokashi and Activated EM•1® have been kneaded. They are used to clean up bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, and oceans where there are concentrated deposits of sludge and slime.

“It is nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city occasionally, to stop and appreciate Mother Nature in all its glory. It also makes us realize how detrimental our daily actions can be if we are not socially responsible. We hope this camp has provided you with the opportunity to get up close and personal with nature, changing completely the way you view and care for the environment,” said Jolynn Tee De Mello, Public Relations Executive of Kiehl’s Malaysia. “Saving the earth does not happen overnight, it is a constant effort which involves all of us. Our hope is for you to go home and become agents of positive change,” added Yvonne Liew, Brand Manager of Kiehl’s.

The Save Our Rare Earth Eco Camp however, was not only about caring for the environment but a cultural learning experience for the youth as half of the camp participants were represented by the local community this year, enabling a rare opportunity for both urban and rural youths to mingle together and to embrace their cultural differences. Tuk Sidang, the Head of the Village, was nothing short of welcoming, going as far as opening up his home to be used as the official accommodation site for the camp. The same generous spirit was also present amongst the local youth who willingly shared their bedrooms, food and performed the famous ‘Kuda Kepang’ for their urban friends.

“We received overwhelming response for the camp this year, reflecting a growing interest in the environment amongst our urban youth. The local orang kampung were very happy to know that an organisation such as Kiehl's is willing to lend a hand in developing their village. This was the first time we adopted a homestay-style accommodation and it was truly an enriching experience for us all.” said Encik Mohd Fikri, Environmental Education Director of YAWA.

Earlier this October, Kiehl’s released a limited edition “green” label for one of Kiehl’s most iconic skincare products – the Ultra Facial Cream.  Kiehl’s worked with three ultra-stylish and eco-conscious fashion designers - Khoon Hooi, Amir Luqman and Ung Yiu Lin to depict their vision of social responsibility and to send a message out to customers about the importance of minimizing impact on the environment. The net proceeds from the sale of the limited edition product benefited the YAWA foundation. Kiehl’s & YAWA were pleased to have the support of Khoon Hooi and Amir Luqman who participated for a day at the camp.

Other important guests included:

·         Utz Hj Fadlin B Taslimin (Pengarah Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat)

·         Tuan Zailani Bin Kadir (YDP Majlis Daerah Sabak Bernam)

·         Elizabeth Wong (Bukit Lanjan assemblywoman and Selangor executive council member in charge of Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment)

·         Puan Norsiha (FRIM Representative)

·         Encik Zaki (Sabak Bernam Director)      

Khoon Hooi
“I believe Kiehl’s Save Our Rare Earth (SORE) project is a great way to educate our youth about the importance of environmental protection and preservation.” “My inspiration definitely came from nature. I used the classic ‘pen and paper’ technique to draw a tree

element in monochrome before adding touches of red and blue using color pencils. The concept is simple with a back to basics theme, which also means going back to nature.”

Amir Luqman

“SORE created a platform for me to create environmental awareness amongst our young people. It is my personal responsibility to give back to the community as well as nature. I wanted to drive home the concept of sustainable fashion – that is growing style incorporating the elements of nature.”

Ung Yiu Lin

“SORE is a great way to bring to light an area of concern and reach out to people through green projects that are fun. I think it is important to reach out and inculcate green thinking

amongst youth through this project. I merged two of my brands with the concept of recycling

and loving your planet through the use of textures.”

More than 35 years ago, Kiehl’s founding family declared the “Mission of Kiehl’s,” committing our staff “to improve in some way the quality of the community.” At Kiehl’s Malaysia, we are proud to carry on this legacy today with the Save Our Rare Earth Eco Camp, to help equip the future caretakers of the planet with the knowledge and awareness they need to make a positive difference. This complements the company’s core philosophy centered on providing efficacious products for skin and hair made from naturally-derived formulas, in-store recycling programs and use of renewable energy sources.

Yayasan Anak Warisan Alam (YAWA) / Children’s Environmental Heritage Foundation

YAWA is a youth environmental NGO committed to educate and instill awareness and responsibility in young people towards the sustainability of the environment. We conduct our activities through conservation, awareness, EE, eco-expression and the 3Rs programmes.  YAWA empowers young people in taking positive actions and leading other young people towards caring for the environment. In ensuring the success of our programmes, YAWA works closely with government agencies, corporate bodies, local and international organisations and the community.

To date, YAWA has organised 5 international children's conferences and also the UNEP TUNZA Children's Conference in 2006 at Putrajaya, Malaysia.

About Kiehl’s
Since 1851, our New York apothecary has been dedicated to serving discerning customers fine formulations for skin and hair made with uniquely efficacious, natural ingredients.

At Kiehl’s, our unique formulations are made with the finest, naturally-derived ingredients to assure the high quality of skin and hair care that our customers have come to expect from us. Natural ingredients have been an important part of our formulas since we began as a New York City pharmacy more than 150 years ago. For many decades, we have sourced proven and effective botanical extracts from all parts of the world and are committed to choosing ingredients that are selected for their true benefits to the skin and hair, not for their aesthetics. We utilize simple, efficient, and recyclable packaging so that we may concentrate our efforts and costs on the substance and quality of the product. 

Khoon Hooi, ELizabeth Wong and Amirluqman at work

Khoon Hooi proved he had been working hard

Look Ma, all hands


Yvonne Liew, Brand Manager of Kiehl's with Khoon Hooi

Pretty boy Amirluqman


The half completed jetty with staircase that collapsed

The thick mud that stuck and clung to our shoes made walking so difficult I could hardly believe it

Building a pontoon

Looks like century eggs or turtle eggs but these are mudballs that cleansed the river!

Look at my mudballs
Top designer Amirluqman, Elizabeth Wong, Yvonne Liew and Khoon Hooi

Pretty Kiehl's Girls; Jessica Barbier, Aina Mazril and Jolynn Tee de Mello

It's easier walking barefoot as Adam and Eve did
Eager beavers

Making floating pontoon

Many hands make light work
We can tell this is his first time

A bit pathetic I must say

Not bad




School kids with mudballs and Yvonne Liew of Kiehl's





These rickety wooden steps collapsed, causing a reporter to fall but luckily a ranger below caught her!