A GROUP of homeless people in Kuala Lumpur are learning to farm in a government programme to equip the needy with skills to improve their lives.

The group, who are living in the Anjung Kelana transformation centre, are not only being taught to cultivate land but also entrepreneurship, said the programme coordinator.

Anjung Kelana in Taman Danau Desa was opened in March by the Federal Territories Ministry to offer shelter and skills training to vagrants.

Abdul Jalil Abdullah, 51, is the eight former street people who have learnt to grow vegetables on land owned by City Hall.

“I have been interested in farming since I was a child because I often saw my grandfather planting various types of vegetables in the backyard.

“But I did not expect this – this will change my status from homeless to organic farmer in the future,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Jalil came to Kuala Lumpur two years ago after his mother died and he had a fight with his father in Penang.

The first six months in the capital, Jalil worked as a security guard before becoming homeless after his employer failed to pay him his salary.

“I had no choice; I tried but could not find another a job. 

“I would collect used cans to sell to buy food. But the money was not enough to pay the rent and that was why I was sleeping on the streets until I was rescued by DBKL in March.”

Jalil is glad to be where he is today. The place is comfortable with enough food, and there are healthcare services, said Jalil, who suffers knee pains.

When the farming programme started, he had enrolled at once.

“We may be allowed to sit around for as long as we want but I am determined to change. That’s why I wanted to learn how to grow various types of vegetables.

“Thanks to the education and encouragement I have received from the people here, my friend and I have been offered a job working with livestock and agricultre on a farm in Janda Baik, Pahang.

“We’re going there next Monday,” said Jalil. If the job pans out, he will be able to leave the centre to strike out on his own, he said.

Jalil’s friend, Mohd Faizal Abdullah, 37, was sleeping rough in the city streets for about a year after he left home because of a family row.

Like Jalil, the man from Pangkor island had initially found work as a security guard but quit when he was not paid.

“I didn’t know how to do other work,” he said.  

“Farming is something new to a fisherman’s son like me. Back home in Pangkor, my father had two big boats and sold anchovies.

“But thanks to the staff and volunteers here, I have gained new knowledge and have even landed a job. I am confident of becoming a farmer myself. I also want to start my own fish pond,” he said.

Rashdan Rashid, who heads the Asnaf and Homeless Welfare Association, said in under two months, the enthusiastic farmers have produced hundreds of tonnes of vegetables on 0.72ha of land.

They have had several harvests of spinach, okra and cucumber, and they expect to reap the corn in two weeks.

The vegetables are sold at the local grocers, and the money is shared among the workers, Rashdan said.

They plan to grow watermelons next and are in the midst of clearing a section of the land for it.

“Farming does not only give them something to do; it also transforms their minds so that they grow from homeless into entrepreneurs,” he said.

For programme coordinator Haikal Zulkifli, this more than makes up for the scant interest the other residents have shown in the course.

Only about one in five residents signed up to learn to farm, but Haikal is not diicouraged.

He said the aim of the programme is to teach homeless people skills that will make them self-sufficient when they leave the centre for free housing provided by the government.

“The next projects are sewing and recycling classes for the other residents who are not interested in farming,” he said. – May 25, 2021.