Most of the people think that money and wealth are the main important things in life that would give happiness all the time. But do you think wealth would give eternal happiness compared to choosing to do something that we like?
Well, I guess money is not everything because in this man’s case who chose to live a simple life as a farmer leaving his career as a well-paid bank manager to pursue his childhood dream.
Although his knowledge in agricultural field is limited, he wanted to give it a shot just to make his childhood dream come true.
According to The Star, this 38-year-old man’s name is Kenny Soon We Hong who had been working in the banking sector for eight years when he decided to be a farmer.
He always wanted to buy a land, build a small house and plant vegetables in a limited amount to supply for his family. However, in order to achieve it, he knew he had to work as a bank manager to earn some money and life experience before entering the agricultural field.
“So I followed the normal path where I studied in university, graduated, found a job, worked in a bank, and was slowly promoted to bank manager,” he said.
In 2012, Kenny who is a father of three, began his journey by leaving the bank manager job in agricultural field by purchasing a 2.8ha plot of land and starting planting coconut trees from a grant of 400 saplings given by the Agriculture Department. However, his venture was not as successful as he had hoped. He had to go through problems such as lack of manpower, pest control issues. Since had no fencing on his land, he had to deal with wild board eating up his plants too.
“It was a disaster,” he said.
With the help of Agriculture and Veterinary departments, he joined courses and gained tips for free in detail about agricultural field. Slowly, Kenny started being successful in the field in 2019 and his farm now has around 150 goats, hundred of chickens and ducks and variety of fruits and vegetables.
Also, Kenny employs an environmentally-friendly approach on his farm where he makes compost and reuses animal waste as fertiliser.
“I also work with a canteen nearby to collect excess food, especially rice as animal feed, so it is a win-win situation where we get to reduce waste and ensure a healthier growth in my animals,” he said.
During the movement control order, Kenny started selling organic vegetables and fruits such as chilli, kangkung, sweet potato leaves, bananas and coconuts through social media, which got good response from netizens.
Kenny manages his farm with his father and two other employed workers, and he teaches his children about farming during his free time.
He said that he is planning to work with a group of hydroponic farmers soon as a way to ensure continuous supply of produce because his crops were all destroyed in a flood a couple of months ago.
He also said that he let one of his friend to use a piece of his land to set up a greenhouse and plant hydroponic vegetables without any rental after they faced some financial issues with their own farm.
Although Kenny’s lifestyle is totally different compared to when he was a bank manager, but he never regretted his decision instead he is now happier, healthier and satisfied as he is doing something that he love. He got to spend more time with his family and be closer to the nature too.
He wants to spread the message of simplicity and farming by inviting school children over and let them just get close to nature.
“I wish to change their mindset whereby farming is not just a low-class occupation,” he said.
Hope Kenny’s mindset and lifestyle be an inspiration to the young generation to go for what they love!
Info via: The Star