City boy learns about life of orang asli and farming

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LUO Wei Ren, a Malaysian studying in the United Kingdom, spent his summer holidays on a farm in Tapah to learn about the life of an orang asli, instead of touring Europe.

Having volunteered with Ladang Malaysian Christian Association for Relief (MCare), Wei Ren spent four weeks learning basic farming routines such as fertilising soil with organic matter.

“I go back to my hometown in Kuala Lumpur only on weekends.

Hard at work: Wei Ren (left) and an orang asli worker weeding out overgrown grass.

“Living without the Internet and television is challenging,” the 20-year-old said when met at the farm in Kampung Sungai Cincin, Chenderiang.

“Being a city boy, I have not actually experienced what it is like living on a farm.

“And so, when this opportunity came by, I decided to have a go at it,” he added.

Animal husbandry: One of the Boer goats at the farm.

Mcare executive director Wong Young Soon said Ladang MCare enabled city folks, who have been disengaged from the natural environment, a chance to experience living in nature.

Sprawled across 6.07ha, Ladang Mcare was set up three years ago as a site for agricultural research under the association’s urban community development programme.

“We want to help the orang asli diversify in their agricultural products and at the same time, focus on developing sustainable farming through organic farming techniques,” said Wong.

Useful plant: A traditional orang asli herb named Mok can help relieve headache.

He said crops were planted within a forested area to create greater awareness on the importance of environment conservation amongst the orang asli and visitors to the farm.

“We hope to explore the planting of herbs and vanilla later, as we see a promising future in these crops,” he said, adding that some 25 villagers were benefitting from the programme.

MCare rural and urban community development staff Adidas Kaweh said Ladang Mcare provided the local orang asli with a platform to learn the organic way of cultivation.

“Here, the orang asli living around Kampung Sungai Cincin are taught new planting techniques to boost their crop yield,” he said.

Adidas, an orang asli himself, said his people possessed a great wealth of wisdom that should never be sidelined in the midst of rapid modernisation.

“We hope to educate the younger orang asli to use traditional herbs as medicine so that they do not need to travel all the way to the hospital in times of emergency.

“Our villagers also grow rubber trees on a small scale but the price of the commodity fluctuates.

“Due to this uncertain situation, it is always better to explore alternative sources of income,” he said.