KOTA BHARU: Every day after the Suboh prayer, Rahmah Abdul Rahman, 60, will be out tending to her farm, where she plants chili, brinjal, winged bean (kacang botol), water spinach (kangkung) and cucumber in the compound of her house in Kampung Keling here.
“It is this activity that keeps me fit and also enables me to save on my household expenses,” she said, adding that she started her farm from a farming kit provided under the “Dapur Hijau” project organised by the Kelantan government and its subsidiary, Biotech Corporation Sdn Bhd.
State Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Biotechnology, Green technology and Environment Committee chairman Mohd Saripudin Tuan Ismail visited Che Rahmah’s vegetable farm today and was impressed to find that vegetable plots at every available space in her house compound.
Rahmah, who was named the state-level winner of the project, said she joined the “Dapur Hijau” project on the invitation of the project head in her area.
“I was initially given a farming kit worth RM55. From there, I started making my own seedlings,” she said, adding that she had been planting vegetables in her house compound since she was young.
“It is not for the money, but to be near to nature and share the harvest with my neighbours. They can just pluck the vegetables when they need it,” she added.
Rahmah was also the winner of the project for the Kubang Kerian parliamentary constituency.
The second winner for the Kubang Kerian parliamentary constituency went to Meriam Mohd Sidik, 56, from Kampung Nilam Baru, who said she too, had been planting vegetables in her house compound since young.
“Perhaps, it is eating self-plant vegetables, because they are free from pesticides, that makes me healthy,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mohd Saripudin said the “Dapur Hijau” project, which started in 2015, received encouraging response with the participation of 1,800 single mothers and housewives in the state.
Its objective is to help reduce the family household expenses, especially for vegetables which they can just get it from their backyard, he added.
He said each participant were given a kit, worth RM55 each, containing, among others, organic compost fertiliser, vegetable seedlings, lime tree and black poly bags.
The project is also aimed at instilling noble value, spirit of cooperation and to encourage women to plant their own vegetables by using the right technique, he added. – Bernama
