KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 -- Alfred Phua never planned to be a farmer.

A social worker by heart and profession, he had spent decades working with marginalised communities across Malaysia, from the urban poor to the rural indigenous.

Today, he is the co-founder of Vanilla Impact Story Sdn Bhd (VIS), a social enterprise planting hope - quite literally - through vanilla.

"Venturing into vanilla cultivation started a journey I never planned. I call myself an accidental farmer - because I'm not a farmer.

"I was a social worker for 35 years, working with the poor and marginalised communities. But over time, this grew into something more," Phua said during an interview with Malay Mail.

He eventually left the non-governmental organisation (NGO),...