In Full Bloom

A missive from our architect Ijam recently reminded me beautifully of how La Pari-Pari, even in it's current state is already a living, breathing entity.

This was the latest photo he sent me of the site in early February.  Then, we both sighed at the carpet of dry leaves that blanketed the ground, realising the work that lies ahead of us in keeping things in check.

But just last week, he went back and lo and behold - the trees were in full bloom!

If anything, the photos he sent me reinforced our resolve not to cut trees down unnecessarily.  And to think, we've owned the land for a couple of years now, yet this is the first time we've noticed this seasonal occurrence.  According to the neighbour, the trees were traditionally used to make hand-hewn wooden perahus (canoes) back in the day.

I can't wait till we can share this with our guests when we are up and running :-)

Paya Paya: River Cottage Langkawi-style!

The greenhouse at Paya Paya

For those of you who missed my posts on them on our Facebook page, here are some snippets on Paya Paya - a mission of love for two individuals who truly believe in what they are doing.  I've met several people now who, inspired by the River Cottage series on television, have aspired to live the country lifestyle and cultivate their own farm.

Well folks, there are people here in Malaysia already beginning to live the dream :-)

Elain and I were first acquainted in high school.  Since then, we've kept in touch over the years and even worked together on several projects in our professional capacities.

Over time, I've discovered that we are actually fairly like-minded, in our frustrations with KL corporate life and its shenannigans, the politics and wheeling and dealing.  So much that she, like I, decided to pursue a personal passion that coincidentally takes root in Langkawi.

Chances are, you've never heard about Paya Paya.  The project, a labour of love for Elain and her husband Kyri is just off a quiet road in Langkawi.  Spread over a couple of acres of ex-paddy fields, Paya Paya in its current initial phase is an experiment in sustainable farming.

I had the privilege of visiting them recently and Kyri very graciously showed us around.  The extent of progress they have made is testament to how much individuals can achieve on their own volition - without the help of Government or big businesses.

Walking around the property, Kyri pointed out how they have incorporated several ecologically-oriented elements into their cultivation process.  Compost made from waste materials that are collected from various sources around the island (including a famous coffee chain!), harvested rain water for irrigating their vegetable beds, and solar panels for some of their power needs.

Although their current yield is small, what I saw was attractive!  At the moment, according to Kyri, most of the produce is sold locally on the island, with proceeds going to charity.  So if you ever stop by there, do buy their vegetables.

Just look at the size of them chillies!

And if you DO visit, here's a small piece of trivia for those of us who harbour Coyote Ugly-esque ambitions - the lovely, long wooden benches scattered around the property used to be bar tops!  So if like me, you've always wondered what it felt to dance on one....

Photo courtesy of Mia Farriza (www.miafarrizza.com)

To learn more about Paya Paya, visit their Facebook page.

Your help needed: Building Lobong-Lobong's First Library

The Lobong-Lobong community center where the library will be housed

Remember Aida Rahman?  She was one of the people instrumental in helping us secure our plot of fairy magic where La Pari-Pari will eventually be situated.

A KL-ite who transplanted her self to Langkawi, Aida is now well on her way of pursuing her own dream of setting up operations in Sabah.  At the core of her vision is a village called Lobong-Lobong, en route to the Mount Kinabalu headquarters.

She posted a plea recently for books to help set up Lobong-Lobong's community library.  For those who can help, please do.  On top of the fact that it's for a good cause, Aida is someone I have complete faith in to ensure your contributions are used in the best possible way.

Here's the message from Aida.

PLEASE SEND US BOOKS!!



Dear friends,

The time has come for me to make a plea on behalf of the children and
villagers of Kampung Lobong-Lobong. Remember my first ever note on FB?
I have a wish to empower these able people and I found that many
friends and acquaintances also share my wish. So the first step we are
taking is to create the village’s own resource centre and library!
Hence today, I would like to ask you to send us books to help us
furnish it. The centre will be housed in an existing building within
the village.

On the weekend of the 18th-19th December a few friends and I are going
to fix shelves in the building shown below & convert it into a
resource centre cum library for the villagers to use freely.. so
please feel free to send books, magazines (if possible nature
related), dictionaries, pictionaries etc. that you think can benefit
this community. For those who are able to join us that very weekend,
you are also welcomed :)

A bit on demographics of the village...

There are roughly about 90 households in the Lobong-Lobong village.
Each household has an average of 3 to 5 children whose ages spans
between 3 to 25 years… there is a primary school in Kuang village
which is about 25mins walk away, whilst in order to attend secondary
school these youngsters will either attend boarding schools near
Ranau i.e. SMK Lohan or SMK Narinang but they will usually come home
to the village in the weekends to help tend the farms and fields.

We have good feedbacks from the locals wanting to learn and pick up
languages, mainly English, so we hope in the near future we can also
organize short English classes for all age groups. I have plans to
invite friends and contacts to contribute their time in training these
villagers in skills that would help them improve their livelihood… if
you have skills and knowledge to share please also get in touch :)



A dear friend had agreed to be the collection centre for this project
so please send your donated books to:

“Lobong-Lobong Community Drive: Resource Centre & Library”

c/o : DR. Izety Shezlinda Noran

Room no. 40, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Clinic,

Hospital Queen Elizabeth I,

Karung Berkunci No 2029

88586 Kota Kinabalu

Sabah


p/s: it would also be nice for you to write a note stating your
name(s) & where/who the book donation is from etc. Perhaps also some
encouraging words to the readers :)