Langit Collective is a certified Malaysian social enterprise that puts a fair price on remote heirloom grains that never reached the city and went surplus, connecting urban and rural economies. In late 2015, four people who met at the NGO Impian Malaysia—Chan Zi Xiang, Melisa Lim, Lilian Chen and Chia Yong Ling—were building water infrastructure in Long Semadoh in the Lawas highlands of Sarawak (a settlement of 7 villages, four hours up a rugged mountain road) when they encountered, and were captivated by, the heirloom rice the Indigenous Lun Bawang people had planted by hand across generations. 'We never knew rice could be this delicious'—for the four city-raised founders, a small 'love affair with rice' began. The name Langit ('sky' in Hmong/Malay) is a common element of the Lun Bawang names (sun, rain, moon, star) their host families gave them. The highlands had no distribution to market and price swings disadvantaged farmers, and the younger generation was drifting away, feeling 'the hard labor doesn't pay.' Langit buys heirloom rice, grains and spices directly from farmers at a fair price and delivers them to e-commerce and fine restaurants (Dewakan, Beta KL). Co-founder Chan spends three-quarters of the year in Long Semadoh, handling farm-gate auditing and sourcing. It now works with over 80 smallholders and four communities (Lun Bawang rice, Dusun ginger, Bidayuh pepper), and protects sustainable single-crop, fallow farming using heirloom varieties and water buffalo.
●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
Langit Collective: A fair price for remote heirloom grains—connecting city and countryside. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
In Long Semadoh in the Lawas highlands of Sarawak, Lun Bawang farmers have planted the same heirloom rice varieties (Beras Adan, Sia', Keladi, Rumie…) by hand for at least three generations since their ancestors' time. But far from market and disadvantaged by price swings, they could not turn their surplus fine rice into cash, and the younger generation was leaving farming, feeling 'the hard labor doesn't pay.' Since Langit began buying this rice directly from farmers at a fair price and delivering it to urban consumers and fine restaurants like Dewakan and Beta KL, the heirloom rice has become a new income source, and traditional methods using near-extinct varieties and water buffalo are protected. Farmers such as Annie Balang and Saban Palung are the ones carrying it.
Source nature: Tatler Asia / P2 Independent media (Tatler Asia). Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- It trades directly with over 80 smallholders and four communities (Lun Bawang rice, Dusun ginger, Bidayuh pepper), buying at a fair price. Its heirloom rice was adopted as the official artisan-grain gift of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MOA) (a gift for ministerial visits). It joined the MOA's Young Agropreneur Program and was featured as an FAO digital-solution case.P2 Independent media / public adoption / Options, The Edge / FAO
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- S
- m
- a
- l
- l
- s
- c
- a
- l
- e
- (
- a
- b
- o
- u
- t
- 8
- 0
- f
- a
- r
- m
- e
- r
- s
- )
- ;
- i
- n
- d
- e
- p
- e
- n
- d
- e
- n
- t
- v
- e
- r
- i
- f
- i
- c
- a
- t
- i
- o
- n
- o
- f
- t
- h
- e
- d
- e
- g
- r
- e
- e
- o
- f
- i
- n
- c
- o
- m
- e
- i
- m
- p
- r
- o
- v
- e
- m
- e
- n
- t
- ;
- p
- r
- i
- c
- e
- -
- v
- o
- l
- a
- t
- i
- l
- i
- t
- y
- r
- i
- s
- k
- f
- r
- o
- m
- d
- e
- p
- e
- n
- d
- e
- n
- c
- e
- o
- n
- a
- h
- i
- g
- h
- -
- e
- n
- d
- n
- i
- c
- h
- e
- m
- a
- r
- k
- e
- t
- .
- Expansion to more producers and crops; providing market-access training in rural areas; experiential tours for city-countryside mutual understanding.
A second look
The core plus is income for Indigenous smallholders and the preservation of heirloom varieties, methods and culture, and biodiversity (People, Nature), backed by The Edge, Tatler and government adoption (MOA)—independent/official. On the other hand, the scale is small at about 80 farmers, and independent verification of the degree of income improvement from fair prices is a challenge. Note the price-volatility risk to farmers from dependence on a niche high-end market.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top