Permaculture and Petai

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Before the January 2-week Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) course run by Murujan, at Bamboo Village, Hulu Langat, Malaysia, I was very disconnected from the story of my food. All I knew was buying organic was a good thing, and buying local organic was even better.

Since graduating from the PDC, not only can I tell you why buying local organic produce is ethical and sensible; I can also talk to you about the importance of compost and why mulching is so important in rainfall-heavy countries. Petai (also fondly known as stink bean) is now my favourite smelly legume because of its magical anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties, as well as its wonderful nitrogenous nourishment for soil.

Our instructor, Rhamis Kent, taught a group of around twenty-five of us. He was so proud of our final presentations on how to improve the design of Bamboo Village using permaculture principles. It's amazing to think that after our intense 72-hour course, my classmates and I are now certified permaculture designers!

But before I take on any big projects, I'm starting small. On a gardening level, I have lots to think about. Unlike some of my PDC classmates, I don't own any big chunks of land. One day, maybe, but for now, I live in in a housing estate with a well-maintained lawn. If you've studied anything about permaculture, you'll know that lawn is the l-word. But not all is lost. We already have some great trees on our small plot – rambutan, ciku, drumstick – and we're sharing the delicious produce with the local wildlife. Squirrels scurrying around during breakfast time is a common sight, and it's always a good sign when the local animals enjoy the harvest of our trees. Look mum, no pesticide!

So where to from here? The key is to keep it simple. Permaculture starts with observation. Now that I've finally started taking a good look at what's in my front garden, I've discovered that we have an edible flower sitting in a pot. I had no idea it was there until I looked! This flower was the same one my classmates and I were munching on during breaks after Alex from Edible "Garden City" Project pointed it out to us. Li Jin, the ‘compost queen' of the class, identified it as costus pulverulentus.

Edible flowers aside, after talking to my husband and mother-in-law, it sounds like the biggest limitation to cultivating our front garden is keeping the neighbours happy. We need to make sure that our plants don't creep over to their side of the fence, the roots of our trees don't grow to their side and break up their tiled floors, and that the branches of our trees don't dangle over to their territory.

If you ask me, I'm be happy to partake in the produce of my neighbours (free fruit!), but I've got a higher tolerance for chaos and disorder. That's nature for you. Lawns and manicured gardens aren't my thing – flourishing bushes, creeping vines and asymmetrical branches heavy with fruit most definitely are. Still, people are people, and if we want to grow a successful garden without upsetting the neighbours, we need to start with smart design. Let nature take care of the rest.

Design solutions:

1. Start with a nucleus, with a nitrogen-fixing tree in the middle
2. Grow outwards with small-sized fruit trees e.g. custard apple
3. Give our neighbours some fruit and vegetables

Stay tuned for more updates!