If we were to talk about the concept of shopping from home 20 years earlier, we would have thought about a salesman selling you their products door-to-door. But when time has changed, with more access to technology and the internet, shopping from home can be done online vie several emerging shopping applications with a use of one smartphone.
Today I went on a search on app store with the keyword, “Organic” which I found it interesting for all the organic lovers both consumers and farmers or anyone who is interested in safe food products. It’s the application named, “Farmto”.
The concept of Farmto application is very clear that it is a direct way of contact between organic farmers and consumers. The activities that occur are not just ordering products but consumers are also able to reserve the products from the farmers by learning about the update of each product from its growth process until its harvest. This is to assure that the consumers that they get to consume the products that are 100% safe.
In case you don’t wish to wait from the planting process, the Farmto application also offers fresh products from the farm to choose from, whether vegetables and fruits to meats that are all produced in organic farming systems. Other products also include shampoos and soaps as well. Additionally, the Home page of the application is a place where you can explore to diaries and stories shared by farmers regarding their recent products.
Not only consumers but organic farmers can apply to become a member on this application by themselves as a platform to promote their farms, share their location or tell a story about their products.
How did the organic farming start? I scrolled down to read more and found that that everyone here has turned to organic farming with the real intention of delivering safe food to consumers. Some people turn to doing it because they previously used agriculture with chemicals and discovered that their newly born baby is not healthy. Therefore, they turned to organic farming because of their love for the family.
Some are new generation farmers who choose to turn their backs on Bangkok life. Then relying on a small area of only one rai to create products and add value to them. Some can generate income equivalent to those who farm 10-20 rai of areas. I read it myself, and somehow, I would like to go out and try to live such life in somewhere and create happiness in a small area by myself.
Once I have this idea, I am even more impressed when I explored the application to the event page because it is not just an activity update, but there are also activities that invite everyone who wants to experience the way of organic agriculture to try to live as a real farmer in many areas from north to south across the country. Many farms opened the door to welcome visitors to stay and experience real crop planting, rice harvesting and animals raising. The choice is also available for those who just want to go chill out and relax as well.
The cost is not as expensive as we thought. Many places charge less than a thousand Thai Baht. Most recently, I saw a life-learning activity camp, sharing experiences with the tribal people including eating local food, farming rice, hiking, and talking philosophy with local people. This is also an interesting thing we can explore.
I chose to mention ‘Farmto’ because I was impressed with the design and structure of the application, but there are still many interesting applications which is not only limited to ordering raw materials, but there is also an application for ordering food from stores that used organic raw materials up to some applications which teach organic farming to farmers. In case you happen to have time, please feel free to explore and feel free to share us your stories.
Author
Paranee Lerdwattanasombat
Independent Writer