A COMMUNITY garden project undertaken by members of a surau in Shah Alam, Selangor is turning out to be a big hit among residents, especially those who fancy quality organic vegetables.

The garden project that started at the Al Islah surau in Denai Alam was also to pass time during the movement-control order (MCO) and to keep the surau self-sustained.

Al Islah community garden chairman Roslan Samsuri said the project was started with nine other committee members last July.

“The idea came after we were invited to visit a similar project run by another surau in the area.

“The Al Husna surau in Section 20, Shah Alam is also doing this community garden project. We were inspired and came up with our own community garden,” 60-year-old Roslan told The Malaysian Insight.

The retired teacher said they started working on the nine by 15 metre plot next to surau by planting spinach and red spinach, using their own capital and with donations from the surau.

Roslan said after the success of the first harvest last August, they diversified their crops with mustard and fat choy.

He said they would harvest the produce once a month and the vegetables are sold to the locals at a cheaper price than the market.

“Even though we sell at a cheaper price than the market, there are also residents who pay us more,” he said.

He added that the extra money is used to further improve the community garden.

“Demand is also high because our vegetables are not sprayed with pesticides. People have told us our vegetables are still fresh even after being kept in the fridge for two weeks,” he said.

He added that the garden project now not only involves the surau committee but also the locals.

Roslan said they are now planning to further expand the garden project by working on an aquaponic project, a combination of fish farming and vegetable crops.

Apart from working on garden projects, the Al-Islah surau community is also collecting used oil for recycling.

A surau member, Sanisah Mohamad, 45, who is heading the project, said it started two years ago.

The housewife said the project was not only an initiative to preserve the environment but it also to generate additional income for the use of the surau.

“This surau is not funded by any party, nor does it depend on donations from the residents.

Sanisah said oil collection will usually be done every three months and they will be paid RM250.  

“But now the price has gone up from RM250 to RM350 and since the MCO we collect a lot of oil because many cook at home.

“So we do not have to wait for three months before collecting the used oil. These days we start collecting after two months,” she said.

She added the money from the recycled oil is channeled to the surau to pay utility bills such as water and electricity. – February 8, 2021.