RCE Greater Gombak - 2021

SACURA - Safe food by Community through Urban natuRal farming Activities
Basic Information
Title of project : 
SACURA - Safe food by Community through Urban natuRal farming Activities
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Greater Gombak
Contributing organization(s) : 
MISA - Malaysian Institute of Sustainable Agriculture
IIUM - International Islamic University Malaysia
PSPK - The Association of Services and Community Development of Gombak District
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zainal Abidin Sanusi
Organizational Affiliation: 
International Islamic University Malaysia
Name: 
WAN ZAHIDAH WAN ZULKIFLE
Organizational Affiliation: 
International Islamic University Malaysia
Name: 
Hud Sulaiman
Organizational Affiliation: 
Malaysian Institute of Sustainable Agriculture
Format of project: 
Experiential Learning Project
Language of project: 
Malay and English
Date of submission:
Friday, October 15, 2021
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Asia-Pacific
Country: 
Malaysia
Location(s): 
Mutiara Gombak and Kampung Pandan, Selangor
Address of focal point institution for project: 
MISA Agroecology Centre (0.88 km)
53100 Kampong Gombak Utara, Selangor, Malaysia
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Kg Pandan and Gombak Mutiara are two residential areas located in Selangor, the state with highest population density in Malaysia. The uniqueness of these two areas is that the community residing here comes from all levels of society; the high, middle and low-income groups. While most of the residents are living in condominiums or flats in Kg Pandan, the distinction between types of residency in Mutiara Gombak is more apparent as some are living in bungalows, while others are living in low-cost housing. However, the similarities among all of them are, they are living in this concrete jungle where lands for agricultural activity are very scarce.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
Urban city life has always been associated with fast-paced, hustle and bustle, high-rise building and residency, and people minding their own business. Most of the time spent is either at the workplace, or commuting to and from work, and usually very little is spent working with nature and environment. The scarcity of land to work on,especially in high-rise residency areas adds another challenge for agricultural activities. This is exactly what is happening in Kg Pandan and Mutiara Gombak. Ironically, there is available space or area within the residency area which for years has been abandoned and worse, turned into dumping grounds. This dumping site has caused pollution and a threat to the environment.
Contents
Status: 
Completed
Period: 
January, 2020
Rationale: 
Realising the need to take care of the environment, and putting an end to the pollution caused by irresponsible waste dumping, a group of passionate residents in Mutiara Gombak and Kg Pandan begins to transform the abandoned site at their residency area into a lively garden. This project was possible with the help of Malaysian Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) which is a partner of RCE Greater Gombak. SACURA is a community-driven project aimed at reviving the abandoned piece of land into a sustainable urban farming site. The rationale behind the activities are to produce safe food for the community while ensuring food security, preventing further deterioration of pollution caused by irresponsible waste dumping at the site and finally to empower the community to practice sustainable farming and at the same time narrowing the gaps between all levels of society.
Objectives: 
1. To transform a dumping site into a real world lab for sustainable urban farming.
2. To produce safe organic food and ensure food security.
3. To generate income from the selling of the crops and compost produced, thus helping the lower-income communities.
4. To break the barrier between high-income and low income groups of society through sustainable farming activities.
5. To provide informal education for sustainable development for the community through the hands on training on sustainable urban farming.

Ultimately, this project aims to promote Whole Community Transformation towards sustainability through community-based urban farming real world lab.
Activities and/or practices employed: 
1) Hands-on training on sustainable urban farming at the following locations:
1.1) Two main areas : Kg Pandan - focusing on general community members from lower income communities
1.2) Mutiara Gombak - combining both group of society - middle/upper and lower income community
1.3) Three neighbouring location:
1.3.1) Setiabudi School - focusing on teachers, staff and students of the school specifically on school yard gardening.
1.3.2) Gombak Integrated Fully Residential School (Integomb) - focusing on highschool students to be trained on polybag farming and reviving the herbal garden at the school.
1.3.3) Rooftop Garden - involving an NGO (Association of Services and Community Development of Gombak District, Selangor (PSPK) with involvement from university students

2) Public education through Webinar. This webinar was organised by Team Selangor, Selangor state government and participated by more than 500 farmers in Selangor. Even after the webinar, the participants continue to engage with MISA for continuous learning on urban natural farming.

3) Transforming the dumping site to Urban Farmer Field School -specifically to train the community on farming. All the tools for farming are provided there.

Size of academic audience: 
700
Results: 
SACURA has been participated in by 600 communities both physically and virtually. The hands-on training has successfully transformed 14 400 sqft land into a lively garden with 120 types of vegetables and herbs produced. This has benefitted the communities surrounding the garden especially the low-income communities as it provides them healthy organic food. Cumulatively, the project had received RM 55 000 funding from local agencies and private companies as a form of support for the sustainability of the project. While the tangible result is already astonishing, this project has successfully narrowed the gap between all levels of society there. It forms a bridge between them to come together working towards promoting a sustainable environment in their residence area.
Lessons learned: 
Through this project, we had learned that community farming could be a bridge connecting all levels of society, and a great platform as ice-breaking especially for the low-income group as they admitted the sense of inferiority to be involved in the project at the initial stage of implementation. We also learned that the community leader plays a big role in ensuring the progress and sustainability of the project, and making sure that the project did not discriminate and leave behind any group of society.
Key messages: 
SACURA is about bringing together people of different economic backgrounds uniting in the effort to transform a previously abandoned dumping ground which brings negative impact to the environment into a productive garden which produces safe and healthy organic food that benefited the surrounding communities. In essence, it is a showcase of the integration of economic, environment and social aspects of sustainability through informal education, truly advocating the Education for Sustainable Development.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
-nil
Funding: 
1. Glove Company
2. Pandan Parliamentary Office

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon PHOTO-2021-02-11-16-22-19.jpg (120.26 KB) Visit by the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Selangor MISA
Image icon PHOTO-2021-02-11-16-22-19 (2).jpg (91.63 KB) The Chief Minister officiating the launching of the farm MISA
Image icon WhatsApp Image 2021-10-15 at 6.43.16 PM.jpeg (147.21 KB) MISA
Image icon Before.png (1.03 MB) The before and after of the project MISA
Image icon PHOTO-2021-10-15-19-49-28.jpg (100.11 KB) MISA
Image icon WhatsApp Image 2021-10-15 at 6.38.59 PM.jpeg (119.28 KB) MISA
Image icon WhatsApp Image 2021-10-15 at 6.43.16 PM.jpeg (147.21 KB) MISA
Image icon WhatsApp Image 2021-10-15 at 6.43.16 PM.jpeg (147.21 KB) MISA
Image icon PHOTO-2021-10-15-19-50-48.jpg (412.63 KB) MISA
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture 
Direct
SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 
Direct
SDG 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 
Indirect
SDG 15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation, and halt biodiversity loss 
Direct
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Indirect
Theme
Agriculture 
Direct
Plants & Animals 
Direct
Waste 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No