The sense of grief hits people in different ways, especially following the loss of a loved one. Some may prefer to shut everything out and isolated themselves in order to cope with the grief, while others may want to keep being productive as a way to distract themselves from the grief.
In the case of a Malaysian father, the grief he felt following the loss of his son seven years ago, prompted him to develop a hidden orchard in the middle of KL called the Urban Orchard KL.
Beauty within the city
In a video shared by Wiki Impact, the orchard which is filled with various local fruits and plants is located in between the Taman Tun MRT Station and Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery and is owned by a positively cheerful man named Uncle Yen.
Seven years ago, Uncle Yen or Yen Maseri Hj. Idris was in the recruitment industry when he got the news that his son passed away. After working 32 years in the industry, the loss of his son affected him badly and he felt that he couldn’t continue working there anymore.
He shared that he was also a graveyard digger for a year back then and finally decided to cope with the loss by working on a personal project near his home which gave him strength and a motive to carry on.
According to Uncle Yen, the area was just an active site for mosquito breeding, so he took an effort to clean the place up and turn it into something useful for the environment.
A positive change
7 years later and he now has an orchard full of plenty of mature fruit trees and various animals which has positively affected the ecosystem.
Following his work, the river there is now cleaner, and animals have started to inhabit the area such as Tilapia fish, tortoises, monitor lizards, stray animals and more.
Meanwhile, some of the fruits that he grows in the orchard are Monthong Durian, Harum Manis mangoes, Honey Jackfruit (Nagka Madu), Ping Pong Longans, Kedondong, Lemons, Miracle Berries and more.
“I’m saving the orchard, I’m saving the river. I’m saving the urban forest.”
Uncle Yen had initially funded the orchard with his own pockets but over the years, he developed a secure support system in the form of a club with 150 members.
The members all chimed in to help pay for big things at the orchard such as protective gates as well as vet bills for injured strays in the community.
He shared that he has big plans for the orchard, including a dream to open a cute ice cream parlour shop there to sell ice cream to welcome visitors.
Uncle Yen also explained that he dedicates his years of hard work for the younger generation to enjoy and that he wants the younger generation to appreciate nature more and be grateful to mother nature.
“I’m giving this to the young people. I just take care of the orchard, and that’s enough for me. I’m very happy. That’s what I’ve been telling the young people. This is for you guys.”
Watch the video below:
We hope that Uncle Yen manages to achieve his dream of opening up an ice cream parlour in the orchard! What do you think of his story? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: Unable to Afford Rent, Elderly Johor Couple Built a Hut Using Recycled Materials
