Sowing seeds of change

Apr 19, 2024

PETALING JAYA: A collaborative effort on a Laudato Si’, Care for our Common Home activity between the Church of the Assumption and the Church of St Francis Xavier (SFX) was held recently at Griffon Hall, Assumption Family House, attracting 40 participants from six parishes from as far as Kajang and Rawang. The activity was on Hydroponic Farming and Composting.

Fr Biju Mathew gave the opening address and opening prayer. The session kicked off with a video on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical and a brief introduction on the implementation of the Laudato Si’ Seven Year Plan presented by Magdalene Soyza. A video on the plight of the marginalised Orang Asli was also shown to create awareness in conjunction with the 2024 Laudato Si’ theme, “Response to the Cry of the Poor”.

Alex Fulton from the Youth Ministry shared his passion for composting with many interesting and humorous stories of his experimenting to make the best compost in this world. Remarking that while Malaysians love to eat, they also waste well over eight million metric tonnes of food each year, a staggering 260 kilos per head! A lot of that waste goes into landfills that cannot cope with the mass anymore. Landfills across the country are overflowing and producing higher levels of methane.



Introducing composting, a great way to get some of that waste out of the landfills and onto our plants which could really use the nutrition. He explained that there are hundreds of guides to basic and easy composting to follow out there and getting started is as easy as getting a basic container to start and proceeded to demonstrate how he does his composting using left over food, dead leaves and other compostable material. In ending, he appealed to his audience to do their part for God’s earth and get some of that waste out of the methane-gassing landfills to become nutrients for our edible plants.

Irene Ng from SFX began by sharing about SFX C4C (Care for Creation) Hydroponic Garden initiative, which began in September 2022 in the church basement area. The project aligns with Laudato Si’s goals to promote urban farming. Key outcomes include cost savings from growing own vegetables, healthy living through increased vegetable consumption and fostering a sense of giving and sharing within the community.

A hydroponic garden is ideal for apartment dwellers due to their efficiency. Vegetables grown hydroponically mature faster in water, with a harvest time of 4 weeks compared to the six weeks required in soil-based cultivation.

Starting a hydroponic garden is easy and it offers a sustainable way to grow fresh produce efficiently. To initiate a hydroponic garden successfully, some key considerations include choosing the appropriate type of hydroponic system, ensuring adequate lighting, regularly monitoring and maintaining the pH level, utilising a suitable medium like sponge to support plant growth effectively and adding the necessary nutrients.

Key steps include filling the system with water, ensuring it is level, leak-free and properly balanced, introducing the nutrient solution, testing the pH levels, planting the seeds accordingly and setting the grow light timer according to the light requirements.
The hydroponic project at SFX Parish benefited the community in several ways:

-- The project provided fresh vegetables for the community, including the parish priest, parishioners, and the C4C Garden team.

-- Cultivating the vegetables brought joy and fulfilment to the team members involved in the project.

--  The project cultivated a sharing and giving attitude among the team members, fostering a sense of community and generosity.

-- Witnessing the growth of plants from seedlings to mature plants in the hydroponic system provided spiritual upliftment as the team members experienced and appreciated God’s creation.

The talk ended with Joanna Ting from SFX who shared how she derives immense joy and therapeutic benefits from gardening, finding spiritual upliftment in witnessing the abundant life in the growth of vegetables. This experience not only inspires her but also motivates her to document and share her gardening journey through blogging, allowing her to track the progress and share her passion with others.