Sand
Normal people buy sand at a builder’s yard. Something like RM75 per lorry load.
I’m not normal, I get for free. The best place to get is from a sump. You don’t have to be a civil engineer or an architect to know that sumps get filled up with sand every few months and MPPJ or DBKL will send contractors round to remove them. Basically, a poor Bangla has to crawl down to the bottom of the sump, fill a sack with wet sand and take it up to the surface level. Then, in a day or two another contractor comes round to remove the bags of sand arranged neatly by the side of the road. You need to know where sumps are located and when the bags of sand are ready for collection. Hint: next time you are waiting at traffic-lights to turn green under an overhead bridge, look around. Be inquisitive. Now that I’ve told you, you’ll start seeing bags of sand everywhere! I prefer taking from sumps because they are already bagged and just waiting for you to collect. The down side is that the sand is wet and wet sand is heavy. You’ll need at least a pick-up to carry a decent load. Sometimes its smelly, but not always.
Another place to get sand is by the roadside, after contractors have finished building a retaining wall, pavement, bus stop or something like that. They usually just leave excess sand, crusher run, granite rocks, even bricks and paving stones. Just go and take lah...
Dried Leaves
Sweepings are usually bagged and placed under a tree by the roadside. Just go and collect before the contractor removes them. All roads have them, you just need to be observant. The trick is to collect from a road where there are many trees and few pedestrians, or else you’ll get more litter than leaves. The best places are roads lined with yellow flame trees as the flowers make good compost.
What to do with dried leaves?
You can use them in a bonfire, for mulching or to bury in your raised beds. I have left bagged dried leaves in the shade for a year and they turn to friable compost.
Cuttings
You can get these when the city hall contractor trims the shrubs and bushes on the road divider. Not really much use as its purely ornamental and nothing edible. But bougainvillea makes a decent hedge to keep dogs and goats out.
Coffee Grinds
Most coffeeshops like Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Dome and Artisans will let you have their coffee grinds if you ask them for it nicely and come at the right time. Timing is critical so do ask them when is the best time to collect. However, for the volumes I require, coffee grinds are just too much trouble. I’d rather go collect...
Horse Manure
Haha This one I no tell you. Just kidding. Just go anywhere where there’s plenty of horses. The thing is ~ and this is no big secret ~ horses shit every day, including Sundays and public holidays. Most horse owners would be happy for you to cart their horse shit away. “When are you coming again?,” they’ll ask you. No joke.
Serkam Padi (Rice Husk)
Take a drive to a rice-growing area like Sekinchan. Look for a rice mill. They are easy to spot in the flat landscape ~ usually they’re the tallest buildings around. They are very happy for you to take them away but they are also usually very curious what you intend to do with it as they usually just burn it. So have a story ready.
Plants
The Free Tree Society Kuala Lumpur gives away free potted plants several times a year for absolutely free. But don’t be greedy - only one per person but nothing to stop your whole family coming and taking a plant each. For info on their next give-away, like their FB page here:
https://www.facebook.com/FreeTreeSociety/
Advice
I give free advice on foodscapes (edible landscapes), recipes, organic gardening tips, and etc whenever the mood strikes me at my FB page here:
https://m.facebook.com/Azlan.Foodscape/
My videos are uploaded to my YouTube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnkwzgsRC1HNqdZLpNw8Qiw