The Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm Resort offers a unique, fun and educational back to nature experience, writes Peggy Loh
AS my friend Karen, was organising a retreat for a school to Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm Resort, she asked me to tag along as she knew I was keen to visit the farm resort again. I had visited it during a tour with Tourism Malaysia, when it became the first certified organic rice farm in 2006.
Now, I'm keen to renew my acquaintance with Tam Pak Suew, the engineer-turned-farmer who runs the resort. From what Karen tells me, they have new accommodation facilities and more agro-centred activities that are both fun and educational for students and city-slickers who are keen on a farm experience.
FARM LIFE
While the students and school staff travel by van and coach, Karen and I decide to drive so that we can start out early for a brief stop to enjoy a cup of Kluang Rail coffee on our way.
From Kluang, the signage for Kahang is clear as we head towards Mersing and drive past vegetable farms and oil palm plantations. After a 40-minute drive, the land levels out and I know we are close by.
And there it is!
I turn off the main road and the car bumps along the laterite trail, winding by padi fields -- some lying fallow and others planted with stalks of padi -- until we arrive at the gates.
Coaches and cars are parked outside but we drive straight to reception for Karen to find out which dormitory our group has been allocated.
While she is making enquiries, I notice that the flooded rice field, which is used as a recreational pond, is now fringed by coarse sand to create an artificial beach and the field adjacent to the reception hall is dotted by tents occupied by a group of young campers.
There are new features like a broad wooden bridge that cuts across the pond to a tiny island with a few double-storey wooden houses -- some charmingly thatched by attap leaves.
My observation is cut short as Karen returns with instructions to use the second entrance because the youths will be housed in a dormitory next to a multi-purpose hall on the other side of the pond.
As I join them for the orientation and review of their daily schedule, I can't help suppressing a smile to hear the reminder that handphones are strictly prohibited during the stay or they risk getting points deducted from their groups.
I think I heard a collective groan when the teacher said: "Don't bother asking for the password because there is no WiFi here!"
FLOATING HOUSES
As the youth start their activities, Karen tells me that it's time to check into our accommodation and points to the double-storey wooden houses.
To get there, we walk across the wooden bridge which is also used as a dining area.
I am hoping that our chalet is the unit with the attap roof. I also notice that the entire bridge and the wooden houses are built using recycled wood -- rather mismatched in some parts -- but altogether very charming and attractive.
The houses are actually floating on pontoons and securely moored to the tiny island! It's interesting to see how recycled planks from Chinese new village houses have been used to build traditional Malay-style wooden houses on stilts and those floating on the flooded rice pond.
Gripping my luggage, I gingerly walk across the bridge an I'm overjoyed that we are staying in the unit with the attap roof!
There are two rooms for us upstairs and when I open the door to my room, I recall the last time I stayed in a traditional wooden Malay house in a kampung homestay that did not have an en suite bathroom. It was a real adventure when there was a power failure just as I was about to have my evening bath!
But Karen assures me that our rooms are comfortably equipped with running water, electricity and attached bathrooms. In typical kampung style, the room floor is covered with linoleum and built with two traditional floor-to-ceiling windows. I open the windows wide to enjoy the cool breeze.
FARM STAY FUN
Tam takes me on a farm tour to show me how he is applying an integrated organic farming approach where rice fields are left to lie fallow before being used in rotation for rearing red talipia fish.
The farm has a wealth of biodiversity, clean air and unpolluted water from the Madek River that flows from the nearby 1,010m high Gunung Belumut.
Tam shows me livestock like duck, geese and chicken as well as vegetables that are cultivated in abundance. He's planning to turn the farm into an exciting farm-stay destination in Johor.
I hear the sound of rushing water which Tam says is water from the Madek River being directed to the ponds for fish, rice planting and to fill the recreational pond.
Various programmes are organised for groups of youths and students who can enjoy outdoor fun in the recreational pond like learning to ride bamboo rafts and to net fish using an artisanal technique of seine netting.
An obstacle course built in a separate pond is a popular choice for visitors to challenge themselves and have fun in shallow water. Another activity is an exciting swing across the recreational pond a la flying fox!
Under the watchful eye of a farm guide, the youths have their first experience at transplanting rice seedlings. This activity involves a lot of wailing as the youths pick their way across the rice field, and find themselves sinking almost knee-deep into the squishy mud.
The experience gives them an idea of what a back-breaking job it is to be a padi farmer and hopefully,they'll have in a better appreciation of the rice we eat.
After this activity in the scorching sun, the guide brings them to a stream in a nearby recreational forest where they enjoy a splashing good time, washing off the mud and grime.
Fast Facts
Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm Resort is situated at KM43, Jalan Mersing. It is a 45-minute drive from Kluang, Johor.
Tel: 07-771 3431, 012-720 8158 or +65 9239 5077 (Singapore). Details at www.organic-kahang.com