Lundu

16 Nov 2019 Lundu Sarawak. Kg Tebaro- farmers planted by SRI method, followed by making plant booster.

World Soil Day

Agrobiodiversity supports soil health. Farmers should be encouraged to practice integrated farming, crop rotation, using locally available low cost organic inputs or i'nputs from agricultural :waste' produced on their own farms. On 5 Dec 2019, SRI-Mas celebrated World Soil Day event, in Serdang, organised by UPM and Malaysian Soil Science Society.

Sustainable lifestyle: Story of an old lady and her small farm

Few weeks ago, Feiven, Haziq, Mr.Zahir and I had visited Jerantut, a peace town located in central of Pahang. We seized a little time for evening walk before meeting.

While we strolling along the road, there are a few rumah papan that caught our attention, nostalgia feeling arised as recently townships are being developed and vernacular houses like that are hard to see it even in rural areas. I feel so good walking around in a slow-paced town like this.

And suddenly we all got surprised when we saw an open space with crops on it,

an 80++ years old lady is crouching in the middle, working under the warm evening sun.

As an architecture student, we often propose "urban farming" startegy in our design proposal for a sustainable environment but I've rarely see people practice it in real life.

"Popo! Popo!" we shouted in an excited tone as we ran across the small farm, planning to interview her and hopefully can share her experiences to our blog readers.

Popo planted various crops in her small farm, mostly are vegetables.

"Popo, has anyone stolen your vegetable before?" I noticed there is no fences around her farm.

"No lahh~ Nobody's going to steal these!" Woah, I feel quite surprised for her answer and I feel impressed by the trustworthy community of this little town.

Popo is pouring fertilizer into the soil, all of her fertilizers are homemade compost which has no single drips of chemical ! OH-SO-ORGANIC !

Her daily routine was watering the crops during evening, and sometime putting fertilizer.

Popo's friends help her to sell her organic vegetables occasionally. How blissful it is to get to consume these organic goods in an affordable price!

There are some of her neighbors that grow crops and plant fruit trees at their home as well. I feel inspired by the spirit of this self-sustaining community.

Popo claimed that farming to her is a leisure activity and she really enjoyed it.

As one of the pioneers that start urban farming at her neighborhood, her small act had brought a remarkable impact to the community and the society. At the age of 80, she is strong and healthy by practising sustainable lifestyle. Her cheerful and optimistic image is what I admired for.

Me, popo and Feiven. I gained a lot of inspiration through the interview, definitely a fruitful experience for me ! :)