Malaysian teen develops app to motivate planting among younger generations

Poster for mydigitalmaker Fair 2019

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian teenager Loganetraa Kulothunakan has understood that even though planting is a crucial part of creating a sustainable and healthy environment for the community, most people do not plant anymore.

“Nowadays, if you visit the housing areas, you do not see any plants, so it is not that cheerful,” Loganetraa, 15, said.

“Plants contribute to a more sustainable and healthier community. When you go to the stores and markets, all the food and vegetables contain a lot of inorganic things, including pesticides, so it is not healthy for people,” he said, quoted by Malaysian news agency BERNAMA.

With not many people planting, the art of planting or taking care of the plants is unknown to the gadget-preoccupied younger generation, he added

“I want to encourage the younger generation to plant and the best way to motivate them is through the gadgets that are close to their hearts,” the Form Three student at SMK Aminuddin Baki, Kuala Lumpur told the news agency.

To turn his wish into reality, he decided to develop the Peaschool App to instill the habit of planting into the public.

‘Peaschool’ is a wordplay, combining pea to represent plants and preschool. It provides assistance to users on how to plant, get rewards on their achievement and it also features stores and monitoring guide on the plants’ growth.

“The app also has a monitoring feature so that we can monitor the plants to make sure that they grow well, and it will remind you to water them and to add fertilizer,” Loganetraa said.

“There is also a store feature in the app which enables you to buy seeds and other products from farmers and our partners.”

Poster for mydigitalmaker Fair 2019

Loganetraa now hopes to collaborate with the government and companies in Malaysia to get seeds, fertilizers and organic material to grow the crops.

He added that the app which is currently at the developmental stage can also be used by large-scale farmers.

The invention will be previewed at the #mydigitalmaker Fair 2019, at the Digital Ninja exhibition on September 14 – 15.

The event is “Malaysia’s annual premier digital tech education event spearheading the country’s future generation towards a digital-ready workforce and society.”