
The Penan are skilled in traditional handicraft making and blacksmithing, their handiwork is highly sought after by other ethnic groups in their area and fetch high prices in the town areas. These traditional skills have proved invaluable to the Penan because these skills assist them in adapting to the modern world. Whereas in the past the Penan were strictly a hunter gatherer society, the passage of time and the impact of deforestation and modernisation has forced the Penan to adapt and adopt a more materialistic outlook to life. Blacksmithing is a skill that was learnt and copied from the other neighbouring tribes but today, the Penan communities located not far from the Kayan and Kenyah settlements seems to be the sole providers of tools and traditional iron implements to these communities. An example of this interdependency can be seen through the making of ceremonial swords or parang for the Kayan community.
However, raw materials for both blacksmithing, mat weaving and basketry are becoming difficult to obtain and locate, and this can be a financial hindrance to the Penan communities that rely on these skills and products to supplement their meagre income from selling jungle produce and meat from hunting. It was also observed that the amount of man hours to weave intricate mats does not seem to equal the amount paid by the buyers. Because the Penan cannot sell their products directly on the open market, the weavers have no choice but to take whatever amount that they are offered. The same mats which are bought cheaply from the Penan are then sold for very handsome prices in the urban areas like Long Lama, Marudi and Miri. The same difficulties are faced by the blacksmiths. Days of hard work scavenging for disused metal and crafting the parangs and other farming implements for sale to the local Kayan and Kenyah settlements seemed not to be financially rewarding due to the same dilemma faced by the mat weavers - low prices offered for quality products because the Penan do not have any way to market their products themselves.