Lai Cheng

WAN NORIAH WAN RAMLI The Almighty’s Call to Sustain Biodiversity The forest with soaring trees, the endless screeching of insects, flourishing honey bee colonies, calm rivers lined with mangroves, flickering fireflies, cocks crowing and cats lounging about at Min House Camp, located in the serene Kampung Pulau of Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, will undoubtedly make one nostalgic about...

CAP’s new publication, “Agroecology For All: Initiatives in Malaysia”, explores agroecology best practices through the personal experiences of smallholder farmers, urban gardeners, communities, social and educational institutions and individuals. The publication highlights agroecology as a way to work toward food sovereignty, where the control of seeds remains in the hands of farmers and...

VIEWS OF THOSE WHO BENEFITED from CAP's Urban Garden Training (Part 2) PUAN LIM LAY CHU Island Glades, Gelugor, Penang First and foremost, a big thank you to CAP. Ever since I came into contact with CAP, I learnt a lot of new things regarding natural farming, like how to make compost, growth promoters, vermicompost, pest repellentand Farmers' EM (Farmers' Effective Microorganisms). As a teacher,...

VIEWS OF THOSE WHO BENEFITED from CAP's Urban Garden Training (Part 1) BERNARD NEOH Desa Rahmat, Bukit Jambul, Penang CAP is a good platform for exchanging knowledge. It gives a lot of encouragement for people like me to do home gardening and use natural products for composting and fertilising. All of the staff are generous in sharing their knowledge and techniques of gardening, and my family...

MULLAIMALAR PRABAHAR Agroecology Starts at Home “We Make Our Own ENZYME CLEANER and GROUNDNUT MILK” (Part 2) During his family’s weekly temple visit, Mullai’s son, Lingesh noticed that the bulk of the limes used for the prayers eventually end up as garbage. He brought home the limes. His family eats fruit regularly. Lingesh combined the fruits and the lime peels and experimented with...

MULLAIMALAR PRABAHAR Agroecology Starts at Home (Part 1) The daily chores and activities of Mullaimalar’s family prove beyond doubt that agroecology starts at home. The family implements best environmental practices with great care. In the process, to a significant extent, they minimise the damage inflicted on the environment. Along the journey, they guide friends, relatives and acquaintances...

SOON CHOON LENG Gardening Radiates Happiness Septuagenarian Soon Choon Leng is an adept multitasker. She is a language tutor for the children in the surrounding neighbourhood. She cooks well and does catering on a small scale. Above all, she is an avid gardener who is reasonably well-versed in plants. The urban garden she set up in front of her house in Air Itam, Penang blossoms with a variety...

LETCHUMY SATHIAH A Simple Formula for a Thriving Urban Garden The environmental chaos and the agroecological concerns that we are addressing right now may not be within the understanding of Letchumy Sathiah. But her life, in many aspects, epitomises those concerns. Saving the earth is not on her agenda. Nevertheless, her daily activities are geared towards that end. She silently does her bid to...

SARA AYUNI HAMDAN The Real Patience and Perseverance that Nourish Life A visit to Sara Ayuni Hamdan’s home garden at Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, enlightened us on how much a home garden could help a family to sustain and prosper. In 2013, Sara worked at the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) for a short period. At that time, she was attracted to its then president, S. M. Mohamed Idris’...

The urban garden is an urgent need of the century. With food security threatened by conventional farming, it is the right time for consumers to take farming into their own hands. Everyone, regardless of profession, gender, economic or social status, can participate in gardening and farming, and hence contribute to safe food cultivation. The myriad natural gardening techniques can be manipulated...