Takakura compost — Life Empowerment Bhd

Urban Farming Can Make a Difference

Urban farming is not something new to Southeast Asia. Many cities have centuries-long traditions of having citizens grow their own good. Vietnam's capital, for example, a majority of fresh vegetables are produced through urban farming.

Backyard vegetable garden ideas

Growing vegetables in plastic bottles

Growing vegetables in PVC Pipes

Those who follow the news will be aware that food security is right up there with other critical global issues expected in the 21st century, such as nuclear proliferation and climate change. Despite many of the more affluent countries experiencing food surpluses, there is still a tremendous shortfall in the ability of this food to reach hungry stomachs. Indeed, according to MercyCorps, one-third of the food produced worldwide is never consumed, while 300 million children go hungry daily.

The threat is so serious that the United Nations declared 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming to raise awareness on how family farming and shareholder farming can overcome this food gap and allow families to sustainably manage their own food source.

Balcony Herb Garden Ideas

In Sabah, Borneo, though, starvation is perhaps not as critical a problem. The merits of urban farming here come more through the physical exercise involved in this activity, being able to grow your own food is cheaper than buying it in the market, and eating more wholesome organic fruits and vegetables not soaked with herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. Plus, once you get the hang of it, it can be an endless source of fun.

2015 SUSTAINABLE living series - Takakura Composting Workshop at CFFM Papar on 23 October 2015

In the Takakura composting method, organic waste is broken down by micro-organisms that are cultivated from local materials. The method involves making a seed compost from fermented solutions and a fermenting bed. Organic waste is mixed with the seed compost and left to degrade in a ventilated container or basket.