@ green | JANUARY-FEBRUARY , 2023

Cheshire Home Selangor adopts sustainable farming to improve residents ’ quality of life

BY SHEILA ROZARIO

Guna addressing sponsors and participants during the launch .

Since its inception in 1963 , the Home has created many opportunities for residents by providing services to improve their quality of life . Some of the services offered by the Cheshire Home include residential care , physiotherapy , occupational therapy , counselling , and job coaching for EEP trainees .

Cheshire Home and Rotary Club Gombak recently joined hands to bring the OrganoponiX Greenhouse into their compound . This effort weaves together two key goals : to build a model for sustainable farming that requires little to no human labour and to develop a model that generates cash so they can eventually balance the costs of their operations .

The greenhouse is a solar-powered and temperature-controlled watering system that also features a semi-automatic watering cycle and a streamlined fertilisation process .

Its footprint is about 100 square feet , so it may be placed in regions that are tight on space . The insect and rodent population inside the unit is kept to a minimum thanks to the protective netting surrounding it and the polycarbonate covering .

This system is based on soil , which makes it distinct from those in water . Instead of deriving nutrients from the chemical medium , the plants get their nutrients straight from the soil medium . In this manner , the plants can take in all the micronutrients available in the soil .

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND CRAFTED IN MALAYSIA

It uses natural and organic soil derived from waste palm oil and green organic fertiliser made from treated rubber effluent waste products . The former comprises natural , vital nutrients and helpful microorganisms that plants require to promote the formation of healthy and robust root systems .

Types of vegetables that can be grown . So far , all except Thai basil , spinach and Swiss Chad , have been grown in the unit .

Unit installation at Cheshire Home

The latter utilises technology developed by Revoganix Sdn Bhd to synthesise by-products from rubber and palm oil plantations to formulate an effective , allnatural fertiliser out of these goods . Both goods are environmentally friendly and entirely crafted in Malaysia .

This unit ’ s capacity for cultivating small plants can be adjusted to meet individual customers ’ specific demands and specifications . One unit can grow a total of 501 plants .

Cheshire Home ’ s kitchen uses the produce from the unit for cooking . The crop is deemed organic as no chemicals or pesticides are used in growing these vegetables .

Therefore , it is much healthier than vegetables from wet markets or supermarkets . In addition , organic vegetables are far more nutritious and contribute to the general well-being of the residents at a minimal cost to the Cheshire Home .

CALCULATING RETURNS PER HARVEST

Guna Ramachandran , President of the Rotary Club Gombak , shared : “ The differently-abled residents have not been directly involved in the farming unit . Only some kitchen staff have helped in case of mechanical failure or malfunction on the unit .

“ It is envisaged that in the future , as we scale up the project , we will consider them contributing in some capacity . It brings a sense of inclusivity and participation to make their life more fulfilling . It also reduces outsourced vegetables and associated expenses .”

Currently , the economic evaluation is being carried out , which means they are attempting to calculate the returns per harvest . Because of this , the Home can move the project forward into the upscaling phase , which will involve installing more units on-site .

The Home is able to arrive at reasonable conclusions regarding the project ’ s expansion to achieve the objective desired , which is a reduction of operational expenses .

“ There is idle land within the premises which can be used for other cost-cutting projects .”

In addition , the installed unit is a “ stand-alone ” running on solar power with minimal human intervention . – @ Green