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JOHOR BAHRU: Under the sweltering afternoon sun in Ulu Tiram, Johor, Imran Aljunied balanced on a ladder, reaching into a tangle of vines to pluck unripe pepper berries.<\/p>\n
Sweat plastered his sunburnt face, but he was all smiles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re harvesting black pepper today,\u201d the 40-year-old Singaporean said.<\/p>\n
Imran helps manage A Little Wild, a 55-hectare farm he co-founded in 2020 with two other Singaporeans and a Malaysian. The farm, a former oil palm plantation, is about the size of 77 football fields and roughly 45 minutes\u2019 drive from the Causeway.<\/p>\n
His work days can stretch up to 12 hours but he said it beats his previous office job at a Singapore statutory board. The father of two has also traded life in a HDB flat in Singapore\u00a0for a kampung house on the farm, where he lives with his wife and two children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the whole idea of community sufficiency. I\u2019m not relying on any entity for my food and water \u2026 This gives me a sense of independence and freedom and I\u2019m not beholden to\u00a0(anyone),\u201d Imran told CNA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The farm draws freshwater from a small lake within its site, and the farmers eat the produce.<\/p>\n
Once a week, his team harvests crops like pineapple, banana, cocoa, pepper and lemongrass. They pack the produce, which is delivered\u00a0to roughly 20 customers, including restaurants, based in Singapore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rest of the week is spent tending to the land \u2014 pruning, fertilising and closely tracking the growth of each crop.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n