Malaysian couple leaves corporate jobs to build farm and sanctuary in Perak

Munirah and her family built their family farm as a retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life. Photos: The Star/Ronnie Chin

Former corporate executive Munirah Abdul Samad and her husband, Abdullah Abdul Rahim’s farm in the small town of Sungkai in Perak gives visitors the impression of a treasured haven created just for them.

In fact, one of Munirah’s aims when they purchased the two-and-a-half-acre land back in 2013 was to create a rustic bolthole to be enjoyed by family and friends. The farm, popularly known as Tiong Trove Family Farm, has all the amenities of a modern day farm, yet it also has a laidback kampung feel with its wide open space and tranquil atmosphere.

A true city girl, Munirah came across the plot of land after searching for years.

After seeing an online ad about the sale of the land and visiting the area, she and her husband decided that it had all the space and potential they wanted.

“My husband and I have always wanted a farm to call our own. We could see it as the perfect place for us to escape to,” recalls Munirah, who now lives on the farm with her husband and their eldest daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

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The plant nursery is adjacent to the vegetable patch which has plenty of local greens and herbs.

Creating a family haven

“For the first couple of years, we just cleared the front part of the land. At that time I was still working, so we would drive up during the weekends, once or twice a month. We built a small simple hut near the entrance, so we had a place to rest and pray during our visits.

“There wasn’t any electricity or water at that time,” continues Munirah, who left her job in 2019. That’s when she decided that it was time to work the land.

“There was a lot of uncertainty at that time around the world. I wasn’t thinking about turning the land into a business but more of a place where our kids could escape to should something happen! I wasn’t even a good gardener, and knew next to nothing about farming. But I guess I was driven by fear!” shares Munirah, laughing at the recollection.

“I started looking up books on where we should position things on the land. My husband and I did plenty of research and also spoke to friends who are experts in this area for their opinion. We even got the whole family involved and decided to work on the farm together. I told my three daughters that this is for all of you, for the future.”

Even coming up with the farm’s name was a family effort.

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The Tiong Trove Family Farm signage that greets visitors to the property was done by Munirah’s daughter.

“We noticed that in the mornings there were always plenty of burung tiongs or mynah birds on the farm. Hence, the first part of the name. Trove means treasure, or something valuable and we thought that worked well as a name.

“And my youngest daughter designed the rustic logo of the farm,” says Munirah.

As you drive through the main gate of Tiong Trove Family Farm, you get the sense that every tree and flower was planted with purpose.

Says Munirah, “What you see now is almost to a tee of what I had imagined the place to be, down to the placement of every tree, flower and vegetable. In five years, most of the trees have grown to maturity. This is still a family farm. Our main objective is to be self-sufficient in terms of food, and lifestyle.”

Today, the farm is filled with a lime grove, a lush vegetable plot, large chicken coops and a modern fish farm.

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Munirah has a thriving lemon farm on her land.

A blessing in disguise

In 2019, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and a nationwide lockdown was imminent, Munirah and her husband were at the farm for the weekend. They decided to rush back to their family home in Shah Alam to grab what they needed and returned to the farm just in time for the lockdown.

“The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for us as it gave us plenty of time to really work the farm. At that time, the main house had only just been completed.

“So we started with working on the vegetable patch at the back of the house,” reminisces Munirah.

“We slowly built two chicken coops. During the final phase of the lockdown, we set up our fish farm to rear fishes such as siakap, tilapia and baung. The last structure that we built was accommodation to house student interns and volunteers. On a regular basis student interns do find their way to the farm and that’s how we get help.”

They also built an additional single- storey structure that made for a simple home that family and friends could stay overnight when they came for a visit or as a homestay for paying guests.Munirah and her husband have successfully bred chickens on their farm.

There are also educational farm tours and fun nature hunts that are conducted on the farm.

Does she miss the city?

“Not so much. I was quite surprised with myself because I do like having coffee with friends and going shopping but probably due to me getting older, I have come to realise that I don’t really need that many bags or shoes.

“What I do miss are my friends. But that’s easily fixed with the ETS train that runs through Sungkai. I can hop on it and conveniently head back to KL or even to Ipoh to catch up with my friends,” says Munirah.

“I feel that we have achieved quite a bit in a short period of time. When you see the trees growing, it’s quite unbelievable to see how much they have grown.

“It hasn’t been smooth sailing all the time but we have also learned a lot,” shares Munirah.

“The biggest challenge for us wasn’t adapting to the place but adapting to the labour of work.

“Initially it was quite intense physically but the more we did it, the better we got at it. We’re grateful that we have become stronger physically and healthier working the farm.”