For years, an empty plot of land sat unused behind an apartment complex in Kuala Lumpur. Its soil remains waterlogged after heavy rain and its barrenness noticeable, save for a few shady trees dotting the edges and brown patches where grass refuses to grow. The land was neither useful nor a lost cause. It was just there, doing nothing.
In a city where life moves quickly and space is constantly filled with infrastructure, empty land often fades out of people's mind. Yet at 1Razak Mansion, the land was visible, but overlooked and untouched. When Dr Billy Tang Chee Seng, 60, laid eyes on the idle plot, he saw the perfect opportunity to help the community.
The founder of social enterprise PWD Smart FarmAbility is used to looking at spaces and transforming them, regardless of their initial condition. An agriculturalist and social entrepreneur, Tang has spent years designing food systems that work within constraints.
"At its core, the project is about bringing food systems back into urban housing," he explains. "We are embedding a regenerative food garden into a high-density public housing area. It's not just urban farming – it's about food security, climate resilience and community dignity, all working together where people live."
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