One woman’s determination turns Gopeng’s nature trails into a money spinner

Updated: Thursday January 16, 2014 MYT 8:48:26 AM

One woman’s determination turns Gopeng’s nature trails into a money spinner

BY NEVASH NAIR AND JOY LEE

Small-town business: Adeline Kuo’s efforts in running a resort business are helping to draw tourist dollars to the sleepy former mining town o f Gopeng, Perak.

Venturing into uncharted territory has turned out well for Adeline Kuo.Long before the Ministry of Tourism turned the sleepy town of Gopeng into a heritage area and eco-tourism resort operators found their niche in the highlands surrounding the Kampar River, Kuo had already seen the potential of the area for a business venture.

Kuo’s journey was not without its pains. Today, her business Adeline’s Villa receives between 700 and 800 visitors a month.

In 2004, with only RM5,000 in hand and a love for cooking, Kuo told her mother that she wanted to turn her mother’s five acres (2ha) of land in Kampung Geruntum, Sungai Itik, into a resort.

Her family did not take to her idea too kindly.

“They laughed at me. They asked me what kind of business I could start with that kind of money. They said the idea was crazy,” she recalled.

But Kuo persisted.

Apart from Gopeng Natural Resort, there were no other accommodations in the area at that time even though the area was already attracting adventure seekers with its many nature-related activities such as white-water rafting, jungle trekking and caving.

Kuo embarked on building Adeline’s Rest House despite a lack of funds.

“I build the place little by little. I didn’t have the money, so I built what I could first. The rest, I built when I had the funds,” said Kuo.

With the help of some orang asli in the area, Kuo invested her RM5,000 in building a kitchen and two toilets.

Curious cyclists stopped at the rest house to taste her cooking and enquired about accommodations though the chalets were not ready yet. She told them that if they could bring their own tents, she would be more than happy to accommodate them.

Kuo kept her overheads low by doing everything herself. She would start work at about 4am and go on till 11pm every day.

When the rest house started to grow, she employed orang asli from nearby villages to help with the cooking and cleaning.

With revenue coming in, Kuo started building kampung-style huts. It took her about five years to completely build up Adeline Rest House.

By then, business was thriving and Kuo needed to expand to cope with demand.

“But land prices had gone up by that time. Everything was so expensive compared to my mother’s land, which she got for RM1,900 per acre in the earlier days,” she said.

Kuo acquired an adjoining seven acre plot at RM38,000 per acre in August 2009.

She had to mortage her house to pay for the land acquisition and started building her new resort, Adeline’s Villa, the following year.

Unlike the rustic ambiance and basic facilities at the rest house, Adeline’s Villa took on a more modern and comfortable approach with air-conditioning and attached bathrooms in every chalet, which Kuo noted, appealed more to local tourists.

She also added solar-powered water heaters to lower electricity use and ensure a steady supply of hot water for her visitors.

She continued with her “earn and build” model.

Kuo hopes to finish developing the remaining two acres by the end of this year, which will add eight more chalets to the existing 15 that she already has. Currently, Adeline’s Villa can accommodate between 80 and 90 people comfortably at any one time.

Kuo’s business venture has also gained favour with international tourists, thanks to positive reviews on the Internet. Foreigners make up half of her guests.

Gopeng was once a thriving tin-mining town, drawing in tin miners before it became deserted in the 1980s after the tin market collapsed.

But with recent efforts by the local government and volunteer groups to revive the quiet town, Kuo expects tourism to pick up in Gopeng.

Some of these efforts include the opening of the Gopeng Museum in 2009 and Heritage House in 2010 as well as festivals and mural projects.

Additionally, having more resort operators in the area today adds to the tourism prospects of Gopeng, Kuo said.

With more visitors coming in, Kuo says she is likely to acquire more land after she finishes building Adeline’s Villa. However, she noted that land is also much more expensive now — at about RM150,000 per acre.

But she is confident she will find a way to continue expanding.

Kuo, who is in her mid-50s, knows that her business ventures will not go to waste, as her son will take over the reins one day.

“Small family businesses usually don’t have people to carry on because the younger generation is not very interested. But my son will take over the business. Now, he is looking after all the customer service and technical aspects of the business like selling it online via our website.”

Kua has big plans for her venture, but she is taking one step at a time, building her dream bit by bit at her own sustainable pace.