By Rohiman Haroon

It is like heaven on earth – a backlane neighbourhood community garden that changed the lives of occupants in more than 40 houses. By far and large, the garden is a living proof of living life in the fullest bloom.

This garden, of 80 percent vegetables nurtured and grown, at Taman Perwira in Gombak exudes beauty, aesthetic and exuberance. Not only that, it gives ebullience for the quiet neighbourhood of men and women to look forward to after a hard day’s work, because they have greens planted in their backyard.

The garden, called Garden8.Malaysia, started off at the height of the virulent Covid-19 pandemic two years ago by two neighbours whose idle backlane was strewn about with potholes and unwanted stuff, as much as it was infested with rats, creepies like scorpions and millipedes, snakes and even stray cats (plus their poops).

Iqmal Fajri and his wife, Aida Adnan thought it would be a fabulous idea to turn the backlane into vegetable garden. Ipso facto, they bought in the idea with a neighbour behind their home and their neighbour agreed. From two neighbours, the garden attracted another six neighbours who shared the same backlane. Voila, it became to be known as Garden 8.

A friend and neighbour of Section 7 Shah Alam Hj Mohd Haizad Hussain prompted me to join him on a field trip to Garden 8 this morning, along with another Section 7 good neighbour, Hj Ismail Md Kamal.

The reason our visit was to replicate the beauty of the Garden8 into our neighbourhood, of which our backlane has been an eyesore and had stayed idle for many years since we moved into our homes.

Upon reaching there, I was immediately gobsmacked in amazement to see for the first time in my life the beauty of Garden 8.

We were not just greeted by the affable couple Iqmal and Aida, we were also greeted by a flotila of creepers called Bunga Air Mata Pengantin, which bore beautiful, captivating puny pink flowers that overflow down the trellis.

As I trudged down the slight gradient of the backlane, I was immediately bewitched with the garden which has been curated beautifully and exquisitely as if God intervenes and puts his hand down to craft the heaven-on-earth greenhouse conservatory.

Now, there are 48 participants who grow a plethora of vegetable produce from chillies, bitter melons (peria katak) and English herbs to sweet potatoes (keledek), strawberries and leafy greens like fatt choi and spinach.

There is even a pond that rears Japanese kois. Besides these, the neighbourhood also cultivate oyster mushrooms (cendawan tiram) commercially to raise funds to upkeep the garden.

The neighbours also have water harvesting tanks to water the plants – a clever idea, indeed – besides a tank collecting residues of cooking oil that they sell off to recyclables’ social entrepeneurs.

At night, the garden magically turns into a wonderland with LED-lights, using solar-operated battery, flickering away to light up the dark night. No longer the people of Taman Perwira are afraid of the dark at the backlane, as they actually use the narrow space to carry out meetings while having a cuppa and cajoling in such cordial camaraderie.

A sweet success for their labour, I’d say, and they get recognised not just for the beautifully curated community garden but their hard-earned efforts in creating a social enterprise, winning several prominent awards from the Government, besides CSR fundings from private sectors.

Their passion proves fruitful as the garden has attracted attention from the Agriculture Ministry and its agencies, UPM, local councils, fraternities of community garden enthusiasts and even from Tong Yeong city council in South Korea.

Garden 8 participants have done good for the community and for themselves. It is something profound to show to us living in dormitory lands, oblivious to the pressing need to interact and engage with each other.

In any dormitory enclave, men and women set out to work in the morning and drive home from work in the evening with little or none at all interaction and engagement with their neighbours.

Honestly, many of us live a socially incorrect lives, grating ourselves to be a social snob. Snobbery is a sin especially in closely-knitted society within a residential enclave where neighbours are supposed to interact and engage in a most civil and cordial manner.

Iqmal aptly said to me: “Because of this garden, I know all my 40 neighbours (as prescribed by Nabi SAW).”

Ah, and in my debilitating state and in contrary to what Taman Perwira folks have shown, I don’t even know the occupants in the third and fourth houses on my right. Shame on me, as I am admittedly a snob!

I have learnt something valuable today. The interaction and engagement of neighbours have to go further and beyond than just being a member of resident associations and a congregator of mussollas.

It has to start at the roots of building something between neighbours concertedly, and hence bridging relationship between Insan will be easier.

Garden 8 has taught me this. A lesson learnt but first, I need to unlearn of my subconscious snob mentality. And, the participants Garden 8 have justly done that and guide me in a such beautiful and appealing way.

Yes, a lesson learnt, indeed. Thank you Garden 8.

C’est la vie.