Farmer enjoys his labour of love as garden, orchard thrive

Almost hidden behind the lush rows of fragrant lemongrass with beautiful Bukit Chabang as the backdrop, farmer Kassim Shahruddin is painstakingly clearing the area from unwanted weeds.

Kassim, 39, said he has been working on his two-acre of land for the past 10 years and has invested about RM50,000 to develop the area, featuring a 'garden and orchard’ concept.

“However, due to limited capital, I only planted lemongrass at the moment apart from goat and fish farming,” said Kassim, accompanied by his loyal black cat called Tam.

He said much to his pleasant surprise, more visitors stopped by at his garden in recent years to enjoy the scenic view of the garden with stunning Bukit Chabang as the backdrop.

Kassim said he currently provides catering packages for visitors who are interested in camping at his garden.

“Once I save enough capital, I plan to build a hut or simple chalet for the convenience of overnight guests,” he said.

The beauty of his garden captured the attention of many, near and far, including Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin who praised Kassim’s hard work in developing his garden and orchard.

“We need to support this kind of individual... this is the story of hardworking ordinary villager and his meticulous craftsmanship while working with nature has also piqued the interest of the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail who consented to visit the garden, “ Mohd Asri said in a posting on his Facebook account.

Mohd Asri said anyone who came to Perlis should include the garden as part of their itinerary due to its beautiful scenery.

One of the visitors, Nur Farhana Ramadzan, 33, visited the garden after reading about its beauty on Facebook.

“I happened to be at my husband’s village nearby and I asked him if we could visit this garden.'Subhanallah' (Glory be to Allah), the garden and the stunning view reminded me and family on Allah’s beautiful creations,” said Nur Farhana from Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

She said her young son was extremely excited with the visit to the garden not only for its scenic view but also to see animals in close proximity such as goats, fish and guineafowls which were reared in the orchard.

-- BERNAMA