Landshare@Sinaran Ukay

http://pgjennielove.wordpress.com/category/my-gardens/the-vegetable-plot/

I am a big fan of Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall. Admittedly he is not a celebrity with much fame, but his effort and ideology had endorsed him a celebrated man in the mind of some. He is more famously known as the man behind The River Cottage, The Chicken Run and best of all - The Landshare project.

Find out more about Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & The River Cottage @ www.rivercottage.net.

In my humble opinion, the Landshare project is something Sinaran Ukay as a community can emulate as it is both environmental friendly and fun at the same time. The objective of this project is a balancing act for people to plant their own food but possess no land and for people who owns excess land. During summer time in UK, it is a family project where all members of the family will clear the land, plough and seed the soil, water and fertilize it regularly, nurture and finally harvest the herbs / vegetables!

Compared to the Landshare project in UK, we have an advantage because idle land within Sinaran Ukay compound is sufficient for us to kickstart this project without enlisting allocation of lands from authorities or sponsors. We are also blessed with summer season all year round. Therefore we can concentrate on the operational part, proposed as followings:

1. Identify idle land within Sinaran Ukay that is suitable for this project; i.e. for planting vegetable or herbs, etc. Ideally not on a slope where no man nor woman can access.
2. Allocate the idle land into small pieces of allotment, with the approval of the condo management, of course.
3. Enlist families who are interested in this project. They will be subsequently known as GROWER.
4. Set up a sub committee to oversee that allotments are being assigned in a fair manner, preferably by drawing lots among the growers.
5. Communicate the guideline of this project to the growers; if necessary a small deposit can be collected in anticipation when the grower desert his allotment halfway, and therefore require extra help to clear his land.
6. Each grower is responsible for his / her own allotment; i.e. what to plant, when to water & fertilize, the type of tools & equipments required, etc. However, I recommend a clear guideline on the type of plant allowed, for example, we do not want to plant cactus because it may obscure others or could even be dangerous to young children.
7. The recommended plant types are either vegetables or herbs.

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/vegetablesherbs/Vegetables_Herbs.htm

8. Finally enjoy playing the real live Farmville (facebook) and celebrate the fruits of your harvest.

Contributed by : SC