Well, now you can by taking a 30-minute drive from the city centre to Bug’s Paradise Farm in Puchong, if only to breathe in some fresh air and savour some greenery.
“We name it Bug’s Paradise because we want people to know that bugs are a part of the ecosystem and we can live peacefully together,” founder Cheo Yee Huang, 30, told FMT Lifestyle.
So, what’s in store for visitors? For starters, there’s a guided organic farm tour conducted by Cheo himself.
You’ll be taken to the plant nursery for a demonstration of the farming process. This is where you’ll learn all about seeds, soil health, soil organisms and plant rotation and how to keep vegetables healthy.
You can also get your hands dirty and try planting some seeds yourself, how cool is that?
Wish to embrace a “greener” lifestyle? Then you’ll be pleased to know that Cheo can teach you how to make a compost. Apparently, a good compost requires a ratio of two parts brown materials to one part green materials.
The brown materials can be made up of dried leaves, rice or coconut husk or even cardboard for that matter, while the green should consist of kitchen scraps and leftovers.
“Imagine the soil as a bank,” Cheo said. “If we keep on taking out money from it, it’ll eventually become empty. Harvesting crops from the land is like taking out money from your bank. We need to put back some money, that is, fertiliser or compost, for continuous harvesting.”
During the tour, you may pluck fresh vegetables and eat them raw to taste their natural flavours. You’ll also get to plant your own vegetable crop, label it with your name and return to harvest your produce after one month.
The tour package incorporates a steamboat lunch, with a number of the ingredients harvested from this very farm.
On a normal day, there are also plenty of other meal options. There’s a burger stall, a dim sum station and a drinks section that uses oat milk exclusively. All of the menu items are vegetarian.
Of course, no farm tour would be complete without some picture-taking. There are many gorgeous spots where you can snap away with your family members, immortalising the memories of your visit here.
There are also cute animals your little ones will be tickled to see, such as chickens, ducks, birds, rabbits and a parrot named Tommy, the unofficial mascot of the farm.
Cheo said the idea for Bug’s Paradise Farm came to him some years back when he was running a homestay with his family in his hometown of Kluang. It was during this time that he got some experience from farming on a vacant piece of land next to the house.
“I was told that in order to make a bigger impact in teaching people about organic farming, I should come to the city,” he said. “That’s why I moved to Kuala Lumpur.”
The farm was officially opened in October 2020.
Nowadays, Cheo is happily running Bug Paradise Farm and hosting tours for people eager to learn about organic farming. “If you come here on weekends, we sell our own organic veggies as well,” he said.
Follow Bug’s Paradise Farm on Facebook and Instagram.
Bug’s Paradise Farm
Lot 46692, Jalan Pulau Meranti
Kampung Pulau Meranti
47120 Puchong
Selangor
Opening hours:
11.00am-3.00pm; 5.00-8.30pm: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
9.30am-3.00pm; 5.00-9.00pm: Saturday, Sunday