Terengganu introduced 'Ngetam Padi' in experiential tourism package

MARANG, March 3 -- Terengganu is offering an experiential tourism package on 300 hectares of paddy fields in several villages here as a new tourism product in Marang district to attract more visitors.

State Tourism, Culture and Information Technology Committee deputy chairman, Sulaiman Sulong said tourists visiting Marang would have the opportunity to engage in ‘mengetam padi’, the traditional way of harvesting paddy which is dying, due to the use of advanced technology in agriculture.

‘Mengetam padi’ is the process of cutting stalks of ripe paddy with a small sickle. This is followed with the threshing of bundles of paddy stalks to separate the grains from the stalks.

“Marang has many traditional villages with unique features such as large-scale rice cultivation in several locations such as Kampung Tuman, Kampung Bukit Kolam and Kampung Jejulong.

“There were occasions when tourists came to try their hands at ‘mengetam padi’ but this time the promotion will be intensified so that Marang will be the preferred choice for domestic and foreign tourists,  especially groups looking for a nature-based vacation,” Sulaiman told Bernama after launching the ‘Ngetam Padi’ programme in Kampung Tuman today.

Sulaiman said to achieve the goal, he hoped the village communities would also play a more proactive role in promoting the tourism package.

“These village communities could follow the approach taken by the communities around Dataran Batu Putih nearby, who have turned the square into a new tourist attraction in the state.

“The state government will help the village communities to promote this experiential tourism package to boost the local economy which will indirectly open up entrepreneurial opportunities for them,” he said.

-- BERNAMA