Floods turn into a blessing for single mum selling 'talam sausage'

PASIR MAS - The third wave of floods to hit eight villages in Mukim Siram here has been a blessing in disguise for a snack trader when thousands of sticks of her famous "talam sausage” were snapped up in just three hours.

Saida Fauzi, 55, said she began selling the sausages two days ago at Kampung Pohon Tanjong since the area is the transit site for flood-hit victims moving into temporary relief centres.

"Every time it floods, I will trade here with my two children and two assistants.

"Today, we began trading at 3.30 pm and, in less than three hours, we sold everything,” she told Bernama yesterday.

She said that she sells various types of processed food at between RM1 and RM3 per stick, which are snapped up quickly, in addition to keropok lekor goreng and air balang.

Saida said the high demand from customers for her snacks has encouraged her to double her sales stock.

"To simplify our sales process, I bring the raw keropok (crackers) that have been cut and various types of processed food that are ready to be skewered. When I arrive at the sales site, I can continue to fry and sell them to customers," said Saida, who usually trades at night markets and expo sites.

Saida, who is a single mother, said she has been trading for over 10 years and that this is her main source of income.

She also said that each time it floods, she could make over RM1,000 per day from her sales.

Meanwhile, customer Rohani Nawi, 58, said she was drawn to buy the "talam sausage” after listening to others raving about it.

"On top of that, many of the buyers are just hungry after wading through the floods,” she said. - BERNAMA