KUANTAN: Gardening activities which were initially introduced as a form of therapy for autistic children at the Kuantan branch of National Autism Society of Malaysia (Nasom) have now "grown" into a profitable venture.
The children have began to harvest and sell fresh leafy vegetables and herbs which include sawi, Brazilian spinach, pegaga and mint leaves along with fruits like Roselle which is processed into juice and jam at the centre in Teluk Sisek here.
Along with the hydroponic vegetable farming, the children also breed tilapia in a tank using an aquaponic system and they have been receiving good demand from local restaurant operators.
Kuantan Nasom adviser Zuairiyah Mohd Noor said the simple gardening activities began late 2019 as part of the centre's therapy and vocational training sessions which the children could apply at home.
"We introduced the children to hydroponic and aquaponic with the support from Kebun Kota (Sdn Bhd). They provided us with the expertise to set up an organic farm in our premises and helped to sell our products.
"The aim was to help the children gain valuable life skills and maybe go on to venture into urban farming. Since there is a demand for organic produce, the children can go far if they are equipped with the required skills and passion....they might be able to even start one of their own," she said when met at the centre.
Meanwhile, Zuairiyah said about RM140,000 was raised through fund raising activities with their sponsors to set up the aquaponics nursery while the teachers at the centre were sent for short-training sessions to ensure they gain insights on farming.
"The system allows us to rear Tilapia and grow the vegetables in one integrated system. We grew a variety of ulam including pegaga and pudina(mint), and spinach. Then we planted the Roselle, passion fruit and sacha inchi, also known as sacha peanut which is processed into oil extracts....our homemade Roselle jam and juice has been in demand.
"We have harvested the vegetables, fruits and Tilapia several times and next month we will start to plant various types of herbs and mushrooms...we have prepared a covered area to plant the mushrooms," she said, adding a portion of the sales proceeds would go to the children and the rest would cover the cost of the operation.
She described the children as "super-excited" over their new venture and they spend about 30 minutes every morning watering the plants and gardening under the teacher's supervision.
"It is extremely meaningful for the children as they can physically see the vegetables and fruits grow. They are involved in feeding the fish, scooping the soil and putting organic fertilizer which includes onion peels and egg shells.
"Parents have been supportive and some even sponsored vegetable seeds including cucumber and long beans. We hope parents will provide strong support and utilise their children's expertise (to plant organic vegetables) at home," she said.
Zuairiyah said the children appeared to have developed a sentimental attachment with some of the vegetables and there were occasions when the teachers had to quickly replace to the dried(dead) plants with newer ones so that the children will not end up heart-broken.
She said despite the ups and downs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year, the centre here can look back and describe their organic farming venture as a success story.
The Nasom centre here has 10 teachers and 52 students aged between 4 and 19.