RJTA Vol. 17 No.

1 2013

104

* Corresponding author. Tel.: (+60) 12 3047782; Fax: (+60) 82 581430
E-mail address: jong@faca.unimas.my (J.S.K.Ngo)
A Study of Soluble-Powdered Natural Dyes

J. S. K. Ngo
1
*, W.F. Ong
1
, F. B. Ahmad
1
and K. B. Bujang
1

1
Deputy Dean (Postgraduate and Research), Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia, jong@faca.unimas.my
2
Masters Student, Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,
Malaysia, ongwf@hotmail.com
3
Deputy Dean (Postgraduate and Research), Faculty of Resource Science and Technology,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia, bfasih@frst.unimas.my
4
Dean, Centre of Graduate Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia,
bkopli@pps.unimas.my


ABSTRACT

This paper highlights an on-going study that produces soluble-powdered natural dye extracts
from Sebangki barks (Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.), Engkerabai Paya
leaves (Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.) and Engkudu roots (Morinda citrifolia L.).
These three natural colourants are typically used by the native Iban community in Sarawak
to dye silk threads for Pua Kumbu weaving. The two primary objectives of this study are to
convert natural dye extracts into soluble powder using solvent extraction and to formulate
textile dyeing recipes with good colourfastness and lightfastness using powdered natural
dyes extracts. The successful experiments show that distilled water and ethanol can be used
as solvents to extract natural dyes from Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks,
Morinda citrifolia L. roots, Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves. In addition, it is
proven that the method of freeze drying is capable of converting liquid dye extracts into
soluble powder.

Keywords: Solvent Extraction, Soluble-powdered Natural Dyes Extracts, Neesia Spp.,
Bomb., Tristaniopsis Spp., Myrt., Psychotria Viridiflora Zoll. Ex. Miq.,
Morinda Citrifolia L., Textile Dyeing


1. Introduction

Nowadays, with increased environmental concerns
and health-conscious issues, people are beginning
to recognise the values of natural products which
are believed to be safer and more environmentally
friendly. As stated by Al-Amoudi et al. (2009),
more eco-friendly dyes are now being developed
to replace synthetic dyes which are toxic and
hazardous to health.

In recent years, the number of textile practitioners
in Malaysia using natural dyes has dwindled
significantly due to the labourious process of
colour extraction. Chopping, grinding, soaking
and boiling are some of the basic steps taken to
extract colourants from plants, fruits and
vegetables.
Umbreen et al. (2008) wrote that the textile
industry does not extensively embrace the use of
natural dyes as there is no standard shade cards
and proper application procedures. According to
Casselman (1993), time, energy and patience are
needed when making natural dyes and it is
impossible to produce two dyebaths of the same
colour. Consequently, the use of natural dyes in
the textile industry has decreased over the years
due to the tedious process of colour extraction. In
addition, some of the plants, fruits and vegetables
used for natural dyeing are seasonal. Thus, in
order to reduce the processes involved in dyeing
using natural dyes and to have natural dyes readily
available for dyeing and printing purposes, they
have to be converted into powder form. The shelf
life of powdered natural dyes is also expected to
be longer than natural dyes in liquid form.

This study uses solvent extraction and freeze
RJTA Vol. 17 No. 1 2013

105
drying to convert liquid extracts of natural dyes
into powdered extracts. Sachan et al. (2005)
carried out extractions on turmeric (Curcuma
longa L.) and Myrabalan fruit using water, ethyl
alcohol and ethanol with different methodologies
and the results showed that solvent extraction
yielded maximum colourant as compared to
aqueous extraction and spray drying. It is also
important to standardise extraction and dyeing
methods. In addition, Win et al. (2008) mentioned
that maximum colourant yielded by solvent
extraction is determined by the type of solvent
used, solid-liquid ratio, temperature and time.
Kulkarni et al. (2011) stated that it is vital to have
a methodical procedure when extracting dyes
using eco-friendly solvent to reduce the cost of
production and to obtain high colour yield.

2. Research Focus

This study focuses on the production of
soluble-powdered natural dye extracts obtained
from Sebangki barks (Neesia spp., Bomb.;
Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.), Engkerabai Paya leaves
(Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.) and
Mengkudu roots (Morinda citrifolia L.). Examples
of the three types of plant are shown in Figures 1,
2 and 3. These types of plant are chosen because
the native Iban weavers in Sarawak, Malaysia
have been using them as natural colourant to dye
yarns for Pua weaving.


Fig. 1. Sebangki Barks (Neesia spp., Bomb.;
Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.)


Fig. 2. Engkerabai Paya Leaves (Psychotria
viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.)

Fig. 3. Engkudu roots (Morinda citrifolia L.)

The number of weavers who have the knowledge
of mixing dye solutions has decreased over the
years because the process of dyeing is tedious and
labourious, such as searching for plants in the
jungle, and the preparation and dyeing processes
can take more than a day or up to a week. Thus,
there are not many young women interested to
learn traditional dyeing. In addition, the dyeing
methods and recipes using natural dyes are only
shared among next of kin.

Dyed yarns are dried in the sun. Since the process
does not involve rinsing or washing, the colours
obtained from traditional dyeing are strong and
intense. However, they can run if excess dyes are
not washed off after dyeing.

3. Objectives of Study

The two primary objectives of this study are;

1) Convert natural dye extracts into soluble
powder form using solvent extraction.
2) Formulate textile-dyeing recipes with good
colourfastness and light fastness using the
powdered natural dye extracts.

4. Methodology

The proposed research and development
experiments are:

Extracting natural dyes from Neesia spp.,
Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt., Psychotria
viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. and Morinda
citrifolia L..
Using solvent extraction and freeze drying to
convert natural dye extracts into powder
form.
Dyeing with silk samples using the powdered
natural dye extracts based on two types of
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106
mordant (alum and lime) to obtain a variety
of colours, shades and colourfastness.

Figure 4 shows the flowchart of developing
soluble natural dyes in this study.


Fig. 4. Flowchart for the development of soluble
-powdered natural dyes for textile dyeing

The first stage of the study is to extract natural
dyes from fresh Sebangki barks (Neesia spp.,
Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.), Engkerabai
Paya leaves (Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.),
and Mengkudu roots (Morinda citrifolia L.). The
vernacular names of the plants mentioned in this
study are given by the Iban people. Examples of
Pua Kumbu cloth dyed by Psychotria viridiflora
Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves, Morinda citrifolia L. roots
and Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.
barks are shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. The
collected plants were washed and air-dried without
being exposed to sunlight. Neesia spp., Bomb.;
Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks and Morinda
citrifolia L. roots were sent to carpenters for
chipping and Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
leaves were cut into small pieces. Then the three
types of plant were oven-dried and pulverized by a
crusher.


Fig. 5. Pua Kumbu cloth dyed with Psychotria
viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves (2011).
(Picture by courtesy of Mdm. Janet Rata
Noel, Curator of the Tun Jugah
Foundation)


Fig. 6. Sample of Pua Kumbu cloth dyed with
Morinda citrifolia L. roots (after Ong,
1992).
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107

Fig. 7 Pua Kumbu cloth dyed with Neesia .,
Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks
(2011). (Picture by courtesy of Mdm.
Janet Rata Noel, Curator of the Tun Jugah
Foundation)

Distilled water and ethanol were used in this study
to extract dyes from the plants. Ethanol was
chosen because it is eco-friendly and recyclable.
Kulkarni et al. (2011) also used ethanol to extract
dyes from green chilli (Capsicium Annum). In
addition, experiments carried out by Goodarzian et
al. (2010) proved that the colour strength of
ethanol-extracted madder (Rubia tictorium L.)
dyes was stronger than that of raw madder dyes.
The results of the experiments indicate that
solvent extraction of natural dyes can lower the
cost of dyeing, while improving their colour
strength.

For distilled water extraction, dried powders of
Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.
barks, Morinda citrifolia L. roots and Psychotria
viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves were weighed at
500g each and the amount of distilled water used
must be enough to cover the entire samples.
Subsequently, they were boiled for an hour. The
dye extracts from the samples were evaporated by
a rotary evaporator. Then the dye extracts were
freeze-dried by a freeze dryer and finally the
powdered extracts were weighed.

As for ethanol extraction, the dried powders of
Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.
barks, Morinda citrifolia L. roots and Psychotria
viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves were weighed
500g each. The amount of ethanol used must be
enough to cover the entire samples and soaked at
26C for 24 hours. The solutions were stirred
regularly and then filtered and the residues
resulted from filtration were kept in a freezer. The
extraction processes were carried out until the
colours of the plant solution became pale. Then
the dye solutions from the sample were evaporated
by a rotary evaporator. The extracts of each
sample were freeze-dried and the extracted
product was weighed.

Table 1. Weights of yields by Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks, Morinda citrifolia L. roots
and Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves using distilled water and ethanol extraction
Solvent
Sample
Distilled Water
Extraction 1
st
(g)
Distilled Water
Extraction 2
nd
(g)
Ethanol Extraction
1
st
(g)
Ethanol
Extraction 2
nd
(g)
Neesia spp., Bomb.;
Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks
19.4 10.6 31.4 16.7
Morinda citrifolia L. roots 17.6 8.9 8.4 6.1
Psychotria viridiflora Zoll.
ex. Miq. leaves
19.1 15.2 1.4 25.7

As shown in Table 1, Neesia spp., Bomb.;
Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks have higher
colourant yield using ethanol extraction, while
Morinda citrifolia L. roots have higher colourant
yield using distilled water extraction. As for
Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves, there
were many air bubbles trapped inside the powder
due to the fineness of the powdered sample,
resulting in low colourant yield. Therefore, the
plant residue had to undergo another round of
extraction using ethanol. However, in the second
extraction, the amount of ethanol used was
increased instead of being just enough to cover the
sample material. As a result, the amount of
extracted colourant was much higher than in the
first extraction. Therefore, more solvent is needed
when extracting samples of finer powder.

Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. bark
extracts can be converted into powder form after
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108
freeze-drying. However, Morinda citrifolia L.
roots and Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
leaves extracted by distilled water or ethanol
appeared to be quite sticky. The sticky compound
is probably caused by the lipid from the dye plant
which is not soluble in water or ethanol.

The second stage involves dyeing using the
powdered dye samples that have been extracted.
According to Casselman (1993), natural fibre
particularly wool and silk have better affinity with
natural dyes in colour absorption than synthetic
fibre. Thus, silk was used in this study. The
utensils used in this study are made of stainless
steel to be inert to natural colourants and fabrics.

Prior to dyeing, the fabrics were scoured and
washed to rid them of impurities to ensure even
dyeing. Neutral detergent was used to wash the
silk fabric.

According to Samantha et al. (2011), most natural
dyes need mordants to fix colour onto fabrics and
modify colour and enhance the colourfastness of
dyed fabrics. Kulkarni et al. (2011) stated that the
use of different types of mordant plays an
important role in improving the colourfastness of
dyed fabrics. Two types of mordant were used in
this study; alum (aluminium sulphate) and lime
(calcium carbonate). These mordants are
considered mild and eco-friendly. The cream of
tartar (potassium bitartrate) was added during
mordanting to soften the effect of mordants on
silk. Both pre-mordanting and simultaneous
mordanting were carried out to compare the colour
intensity of natural dyes. In order to analyse the
colourfastness of plant colourant, a controlled
sample (without mordant) was also used for
dyeing. The mordanting recipe shown in The
amount of mordants in Table 2 were formulated
based on Adroskos (1971) wool (protein)
mordanting recipe using alum.

Table 2. Required amount of mordant/ auxiliaries
based on 453g of fabric
WOF : Weight of Fabric

5. Results and Discussion

Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.
Barks - The colours obtained from Neesia spp.,
Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks using
ethanol and distilled water extraction are reddish
brown without mordant on silk fabrics as shown in
Table 3. The colours produced from ethanol
extraction are more intense than is the case from
distilled water extraction. Pre-mordanted silk
fabrics have better colour absorption than those
simultaneously dyed with mordant. Pre-mordanted
silk fabrics with alum have a shade of reddish
brown while pre-mordanted silk fabrics give a
darker reddish brown as lime tends to sadden the
colour of Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp.,
Myrt..

The rubbing colourfastness results of
pre-mordanted, simultaneously mordanted (alum
and lime) and non-mordanted samples utilising the
ISO 105-X12 test procedure for the powdered
Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt.
barks (extracted using distilled water and ethanol)
are reasonably good with greyscale staining ranges
between 4/5 and 5.

As for the powdered Neesia spp., Bomb.;
Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks (extracted using
distilled water and ethanol) utilising the ISO
105-B02 test method, the light-fastness results of
pre-mordanted, simultaneously mordanted (lime)
and non-mordanted samples are poor, with
greyscale staining ranges between 2 and 2/3.
However, for simultaneously mordanted (alum)
samples, moderate results are achieved at
greyscale staining ranges of 3/4.

Morinda citrifolia L. Roots - The powdered
Morinda citrifolia L. roots extracted using distilled
water do not give the desired red on silk as
produced by the Iban weavers using the traditional
dyeing method as shown in Table 4. The samples
of pre-mordanting and simultaneous dyeing with
mordant using powdered Morinda citrifolia L.
roots extracted with distilled water give a very
light shade of beige or cream instead.

The colour of powdered Morinda citrifolia L.
roots extracted using ethanol when dyed with silk
for both pre-mordanted and simultaneously
mordanted samples is reddish brown except for
lime, which produces a yellowish-brown colour.
Mordant Amount
Alum (Aluminium Sulphate) 114g (25% WOF)
Lime (Calcium Carbonate) 114g (25% WOF)
Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate) 28.5g (6.3% WOF)
Cream of Tartar (Potassium
Bitartrate)
28.5g (6.3% WOF)
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109
Table 3. Dyeing on silk using powdered extract of Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks -
pre-mordanting and simultaneous mordanting based on 5% WOF and 1 litre of water at 85-95C
for 1 hour
Types of
Mordanting
Mordants
Dye Extracts
Alum Lime Without Mordant
Pre-mordanting
on Silk
Neesia spp., Bomb.;Tristaniopsis spp.,
Myrt. Barks Distilled Water Extraction 1
st

1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey Scale
Staining











1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 4/5 5
1.1.2 Wet 4/5 4 4/5
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating





2.1 Colour Change 2 2 2
Neesia spp., Bomb.;Tristaniopsis spp.,
Myrt. Barks Ethanol Extraction 1
st

1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey Scale
Staining












1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 4/5 4/5 4/5
1.1.2 Wet 4 4/5 4
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 2 2 2/3
Simultaneous
mordanting on
Silk
Neesia spp., Bomb.;Tristaniopsis spp.,
Myrt. Barks Distilled Water Extraction 1
st
1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey Scale
Staining












1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 5
1.1.2 Wet 5 5 4/5
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 3/4 2/3 2
Neesia spp., Bomb.;Tristaniopsis spp.,
Myrt. Barks Ethanol Extraction 1
st
1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey Scale
Staining












1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 4/5
1.1.2 Wet 5 5 4
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 3/4 2/3 2/3

The rubbing colourfastness results of
pre-mordanted, simultaneously mordanted (alum
and lime) and non-mordanted samples utilising the
ISO 105-X12 test procedure for powdered
Morinda citrifolia L. roots extracted using distilled
water and ethanol are reasonably good with
greyscale staining ranges between 4/5 and 5.

As for powdered Morinda citrifolia L. roots
(extracted using distilled water) utilising the ISO
105-B02 test method, the light-fastness results of
pre-mordanted and simultaneously mordanted
samples are reasonably good, mostly with a
greyscale rating between 4/5 and 5. In addition,
powdered Morinda citrifolia L. roots (extracted
using ethanol) for pre-mordanting and
simultaneous mordanting (alum) also produce
moderate to good results, with a greyscale rating
between 3/4 and 4/5.
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Table 4. Dyeing on silk using powdered extract of Morinda citrifolia L. roots - pre-mordanting and
simultaneous mordanting based on 5% WOF and 1 litre of water at 85-95C for 1 hour
Types of
Mordanting
Mordants
Dye Extracts
Alum Lime Without Mordant
Pre-mordanting
on Silk
Morinda citrifolia L. Roots Distilled
Water Extraction 1
st







1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining






1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 5
1.1.2 Wet 5 5 5
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 4/5 4/5 4/5
Morinda citrifolia L. Roots Ethanol
Extraction 1
st







1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining






1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 5
1.1.2 Wet 4/5 5 5
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 3/4 2/3 3/4
Simultaneous
mordanting on
Silk
Morinda citrifolia L. Roots Distilled
Water Extraction 1
st







1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining






1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 5
1.1.2 Wet 5 5 5
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 4/5 5 4/5
Morinda citrifolia L. Roots Ethanol
Extraction 1
st







1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining

1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 5
1.1.2 Wet 4/5 5 5
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 4/5 2/3 3/4

Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. Leaves The
powdered dyes of Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex.
Miq. leaves extracted using distilled water when
dyed with silk fabrics produce a range of colours
including beige and dark brown as shown in Table
5. The colours produced from the powdered dyes
of Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaf
extracts using ethanol are quite similar to the case
of distilled water extraction. It is found that when
the dyes are mixed with alum, the colour is light
golden brown; and when it is mixed with lime,
beige and brown are produced.

All the rubbing colourfastness results of
pre-mordanted, simultaneously mordanted (alum
and lime) and non-mordanted samples utilising the
ISO 105-X12 test procedure for the powdered
Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves
(extracted using distilled water and ethanol) are
reasonably good at greyscale staining of 5.

As for the powdered Psychotria viridiflora Zoll.
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111
ex. Miq. leaf extracts using ethanol and the ISO
105-B02 test method, the light-fastness results of
simultaneously mordanted (alum and lime)
samples are moderate with a greyscale rating of
3/4. On the other hand, non-mordanted and
pre-mordanted (lime) samples produce relatively
poor results, mostly with greyscale ratings of 2
and 2/3, while pre-mordanted (alum) samples
produce moderate results with a greyscale rating
of 3/4.

Table 5. Dyeing on silk using powdered extract of Psychotria viridiflora Zoll .ex. Miq. leaves -
pre-mordanting and simultaneous mordanting based on 5% WOF and 1 litre of water at 85-95C
for 1 hour
Types of
Mordanting
Mordants
Dye Extracts
Alum Lime Without Mordant
Pre-mordanting
on Silk
Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
Leaves Distilled Water Extraction 1
st







1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining
5
5
5
5
5
5
1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry
1.1.2 Wet 3/4 2 2/3
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change
Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
Leaves Ethanol Extraction 1
st







1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining
5
5
5
5
5
5
1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry
1.1.2 Wet 3/4 2/3 2/3
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change
Simultaneous
mordanting on
Silk


Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
Leaves Distilled Water Extraction 1
st






1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining






1.1 Staining
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 5
1.1.2 Wet 5 5 5
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 3/4 3/4 2/3
Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
Leaves Ethanol Extraction 1
st







1. Colourfastness to Rubbing, Grey
Scale Staining






1.1 Staining 5 5 5
1.1.1 Dry 5 5 5
1.1.2 Wet
2. Colourfastness to light, Grey Scale
Rating

2.1 Colour Change 3/4 3/4 2/3

6. Conclusions

The purpose of this study is to convert plant
extracts into soluble-powdered natural dyes using
solvent extraction to dye silk fabrics. The use of
distilled water and ethanol as solvents to extract
natural dyes from Neesia spp., Bomb.;
Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks, Morinda citrifolia
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112
L. roots, and Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
leaves and the use of freeze-drying to convert
liquid dye extracts into soluble powder are
successfully carried out. Dyeing on silk using the
powdered natural dye extracts of Neesia spp.,
Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp., Myrt. barks, Morinda
citrifolia L. roots, and Psychotria viridiflora Zoll.
ex. Miq. leaves with alum and lime as mordants
for both pre-mordanting and simultaneous
mordanting is also successfully carried out when
different colours and shades are produced.

For the test of light colourfastness, Morinda
citrifolia L. roots are the most successful
compared to Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis
spp. and Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq.
leaves, with a greyscale rating between 4/5 and 5.
The ratings of the light colourfastness test for
Neesia spp., Bomb.; Tristaniopsis spp. and
Psychotria viridiflora Zoll. ex. Miq. leaves are
mostly 2/3 and 3/4. For greyscale ratings of
rubbing colourfastness and light fastness, alum is
the best mordant for the three plant types, which
leads to the desired dyeing recipe incorporating
good colourfastness.

In addition, dyeing using soluble-powdered dyes
from these three plants is easy and straightforward
as it does not involve tedious preparation, as
compared to the many dyeing hours spent by the
native Iban weavers.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Universiti
Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Mdm. Janet
Rata Noel from the The Tun Jugah Foundation for
their continuous support given to this study and
development work. The authors would also like to
thank UNIMAS for sponsoring the study (Grant
No: DI/08/2008-04).

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