Living in the city has in a way become almost effortless for us because we have everything we need within arm’s reach.
All you have to do is drive around for 10 minutes or less and you will come across at least one grocery shop, mart or supermarket. On top of that, there are also morning markets and night markets where you can get your weekly supplies.
If you’re not much of a cook, then just step out of the house and look for a place to eat because this is Malaysia, you can find food anywhere!
Now the thing is, have you ever asked yourself where does your food come from?
Which farm do supermarkets get their supplies from? Did they spray pesticides on the vegetables you just ate in your salad bowl? Were there chemicals used in the fruits you just bought?
Those are the kind of conversations that Eats, Shoots & Roots are trying to start.
Eats, Shoots & Roots is a social enterprise that aims to empower people to grow their own food and we spoke to the co-founders, Low Shao-Lyn and Beatrice Yong about the work that they’re trying to do among city folks.
“Having lived in the city all our lives, you have certain things that are out of your control, like food, water and resources. You cannot control where they come from. The system is already so built up for you and it is difficult to change things that we’re not happy with,” Low said.
“So, we want to push the idea of living off the grid in a sustainable manner, away from the current system that we’re in.”
But don’t get them wrong, it is not about relying on your own completely and staying away from the wonders of urban living and civilisation. The idea is to encourage you to think more about the kind of food you’re putting into your bodies.
Yong was never really conscious about the nutritional aspects of her food when she was younger as she was more of an advocate against animal cruelty. She still is one now, but the things that she eats have changed a lot over the years.
“It is not necessarily whether it is animal or plant, I’m more concerned about the quality of each and where it comes from,” she said.
“Preferably, if I know that it grows in my garden, I would have no qualms about it.”
Eats, Shoots & Roots was established in 2012 when gardening was uncommon among urbanites. With a small capital of RM2,000, the team built a garden out of waste materials, such as glass bottles, tyres and some secondhand furniture.
They also wanted to educate people about the kind of edible plants that can grow in Malaysia because apparently many people don’t know that!
This small garden eventually grew into a full-scale edible garden at a space located at Bukit Gasing, Petaling Jaya, filled with traditional vegetables that have somehow lost its value among Malaysians.
Apart from becoming their own gardeners and farmers, Eats, Shoots & Roots also wanted to empower people with the skills and tools to grow their own food. So they started conducting workshops where they teach and build gardens for communities.
“We felt really strongly in the cause and the kind of work that needed to be done. We noticed that there was a bit of a gap in the market because when we were learning, the information that was available was not so easy to digest,” Yong said.
The more the team researched, they more they found that the information out there were not very suitable to the tropical climate we have in Malaysia.
“If you look for gardening educational tips or information, it would mainly be from Western countries. The resources that were available about growing in our current climate were a bit dry. So we thought it would be exciting to start,” Low added.
Eats, Shoots & Roots has since served different groups of people from both the corporate world and communities that may not have the funds to run workshops, including Think City and Rakan Muda.
The social outfit’s most recent project is a six-week course which involved building a garden with culinary arts trainees from the Vocational Training Opportunity Centre (VTOC) in Kuala Lumpur.
“We try not to do talks because as far as it can, our workshops have to be practical,” Low said.
“It is so much easier when you can feel and touch the seeds and the soil because how often do you actually pay attention to what is beneath your feet, right?” Yong added.
With the kind of work they do, people often misunderstand them as a non-profit organisation and forget the fact that they operate as an ‘enterprise’.
However, they knew right from the start that they didn’t want to be a non-profit or non-governmental organisation (NGO) because they wanted to provide things that people would value.
“It has always been our intention to generate an income and sustain ourselves from the get-go,” Low said.
Hence, Eats, Shoots & Roots also sells merchandise to make it easy for beginners, including seed boxes that started off as seed saving kits. They only select seeds that are non-hybrid and open-pollinated, which means that they will produce plants that can then later be saved for future seeds.
Each kit comes with different compartments that store different things, including seed packs and peat pellets. The seed boxes come in themes of food, such as ulam, curry and stir fry because Malaysians love food and what better way to connect both than by teaching them what they can make out of the seeds?
The compressed peat pellets included in the boxes are like mini growing pots so that people would not have to worry about not having the correct soil or right conditions for the seeds to grow in. All you have to do is add water, place the seeds, watch it expand and grow. Once the seed grows, just transfer them into a bigger pot and you will hopefully end up with your first edible plant!
Eats, Shoots & Roots have kindly put up all the necessary guides and instructions to help you take the first step on their website, so they have basically done all the work for you.
Since the team is still relatively small, they also try to apply for grants when needed because certain grants enable them to conduct certain projects and research, like VTOC.
This year, Eats, Shoots & Roots have an exciting project coming up in collaboration with Iskandar Malaysia’s EduCity in Johor, which consists of universities and institutes of higher education, R&D centres, student accommodations, as well as recreational and sports facilities. The team will be building an educational hub for the students, equipped with a garden and space to run workshops, teach and build.
With a slew of projects and collaborations in the pipeline for Eats, Shoots & Roots, the social enterprise is currently look for a new home base around Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya.
“We are looking for people who would be interested to share a space or collaborate with us. It can be an office space where we can build a garden for you and hold workshops as well,” Yong said.
They are also open to working with property developers who are looking for a gallery or space for people to gather, such as eco-friendly residential areas or spots of green lungs in the city.
Ultimately, Eats, Shoots & Roots hopes to see the individuals that have attended their workshops apply what they learned in their own lives and make changes among their own families or communities.
“It could be as simple as starting to be a bit more conscious about water or the food that they buy,” Low said.
“The garden is just a starting point for everyone to understand how nature works, but it is not the be-all-and-end-all.”
They knew that gardening would pave the way for people to start these conversations, but if we talk about the entire system, it would become too overwhelming.
“But if you allow them to make the connections themselves, then slowly people would know where things come from. They would then start to see the bigger picture at the end of the day,” Yong added.
It may take a lot of patience and hard work to grow your own food, but at the end of the day, it is much more fulfilling to pick a leaf or fruit off your own garden and eat it right away than buying vegetables just off the racks at the supermarket.
And Eats, Shoots & Roots is here to help you plant these afterthoughts among the communities around you, one seed at a time.