More than just an organic patch smack in the middle of urban Klang Valley, Bandar Harapan educates children and the disabled community on natural farming and agricultural skills. SHAFINAZ SUHAIMI paid a visit as part of Wild Asia's "Thursdays Off" CSR programme.

Written by Intan Shafinaz on 16 Mar 2009 with 0 comments. Be the first!

Observing nature is one of the best ways a child can learn.

As part of Wild Asia's 'Thursdays-Off' programme to nurture partnerships, nourish eager minds, and give back to society in any possible way within our sphere of influence, an eight-member team from Wild Asia and eight children from Rumah Solehah visited Bandar Harapan (BH) on December 11, 2008. This simple field trip was organized to help the children learn some basic farming skills for them to start their so that they can start their own little garden patch back home.

Bandar Harapan (Bandar, a Malay word that actually comes from the Persian "haven" or "port", and Harapan, which means "hope") is a small vegetable garden project on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur which provides organic vegetables for sale. More importantly, the farm also serves as a centre for children and adults to learn useful green skills such as composting and natural farming (eg. without the use of heavy machinery and synthetic fertilisers).

Our team at Wild Asia has been volunteering time every other week to lend BH a helping hand in terms of mapping the site, identifying plants, documenting natural resources and also facilitating field trips (such as this one with Rumah Solehah) to the centre for children to participate in a practical eco-experience.

Those Little Grubby Hands

That morning, Ivan Ho, who manages the farm, led a single file of excited children, treading carefully along paths in between plots of prosperous papayas, fat aubergines and sprouting kai lan.

A firm believer in using your bodily senses to be in tune with nature, he insisted that we use our hands to touch and feel the textures of the greens when identifying the plants. He also encouraged hands-on gardening, which means getting our hands dirty when mixing soils instead of using gardening tools. This makes us more mindful of the little creatures (like worms, snails and frogs) that co-exist with the greens.

It even teaches us patience when it came to plucking dried cut prickly grass that had to be laid over freshly dug plots as soil conditioners. This was a long tedious process not for the impatient soul.

Many hands contributed into making what BH is today.

"This plot of ladies fingers here was planted by physically-challenged children," Ivan had told us when we first visited the farm.

"That fence was built by a blind man," he added, confirming my silent supposition that the only disability in his books is LAZINESS.

To waken interest and kindle enthusiasm is a sure way of making teaching effective, especially with the young 'uns. Touching shivering fuzzy-furred chicks with squeals of delight and squinting at every leaf Ivan pointed at, the kids discovered 'shy' worms within a heap of compost, trails of busy ants, lady-bugs, hairy caterpillars, and spiders sitting cosy in their silvery webs. The up-turned clay pots Ivan had placed on mounds of soil creates a dark and wet environment for worms, ants and the occasional frog. Creatures like these play significant roles in maintaining healthy soils by improvement aeration and turning detritus into essential plant nutrients.

Nature of mighty childhood

The children were then gathered and asked to draw what they had seen during the tour - a small exercise to test their observational skills and attention span. They came up with comical sketches of worms, plants, seeds and all sorts of things their imagination could fester.

Next they were going to plant their own tree. The children got back to getting their hands grubby cupping soggy soil into modified miniature pots made out of used plastic drinking bottles. Then, they eagerly waited for Ivan to hand out cuttings of cat's whiskers (a plant locally known as misai kucing), or scientifically referred to as Orthosiphon aristatus, which they took back home and planted in the garden.

Showing off the boundless energy kids possess by lifting spades larger than themselves, the children then ploughed new plots of land for a few minutes under the heat of the afternoon sun. It sure got them looking like wilted flowers at the end but they were exhilarated with the raw gardening experience.

Is there still hope?

BH has been in operation for a number of years, even before the current property development surrounding it was established. The farm provides the disabled with a place to develop life skills which may come in handy as a potential source of income.

BH has minimal built-up area with a small plot that is used for vegetable farming. The value of the centre lies in the fact that through sustained rehabilitation of organic material, you can turn nutrient-poor abandoned land into a rich source of food. Admittedly, this process of rehabilitation takes time but BH has already shown that it is possible, through the steady stream of regular customers who comes by for their regular supply of healthy greens.

Not too long ago, BH had been visited by their corporate neighbours (an upmarket property development called Ara Hills) in Kuala Lumpur. The cause of concern was the fact that BH might actually be an eyesore to their new neighbours.

The subsequent visitor to BH was another corporation, none other than our nation's electricity provider. BH was told that their main building structure and trees had to be torn down to make way for transmission cables. The reality started to sink in when surveyors were out marking trees with an "X" to indicate the maximum limit of the boundary along the transmission poles.

What of the vegetable plots that laid in their path? And the newly laid path that would be a "demonstration" plot for visitors? More crucially, what will be the future of BH?

To some, BH may seem as an "eyesore" that needs to be manicured - indeed right now it does look unkept and rough, but that is somewhat superficial. BH needs to be recognised for the value it brings to any community, a local source of healthy organic food production and a centre of skills development for the disabled.

What Ara Hills has is a wonderful opportunity to strategically incorporate concepts like BH into its urban property development. Can this be done? Yes. Is there time? No. Not unless we halt the process, in the name of "national interest" (ie electrical transmission), which will not only demolish the farm, but also the high hopes of those dependent on it.

BH needs its friends and partners to voice its concern. Will it find a voice before it's too late?

What can we do?

To learn more about the centre, read a news piece here: Young farmer on a mission to assist the disabled through organic farming or help bring BH into dialogue with their corporate neighbours and stakeholders.

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