The journey began in year 2010, when all the successes were harvested and I got so overwhelmed of money, award and fame.
While I was struggling for a while to escape from the boredom I mentioned above, I thought of doing the hydroponic farming which I expected it to be easy because it could be equipped by various instrumental supports. However, realizing that nothing could be easy after all, I learned that the best way to do this project is to start with organic farming first.
Travelling through the bumpy road outside Bangkok, I found myself standing in front of the deserted land owned by my brother-in-law, Chan-ek Tangsubutra, a person who dedicated himself to work as a wildlife conservationist for more than 10 years. As much as he wanted to start something new on his own based on the philosophy of self-sufficient economy invented by King Bhumibol, both of us agreed to try out our new project together.
The land of the elder-in-law and his experience together with my extensive knowledge in marketing, we expected to be able to develop this plot of land with zero expense and monetize it as an income. In addition, we dreamed of having safe and chemical free rice for our family members.
The time to kick off the project had come. This was also the moment of self-discovery.
I found myself very liberated when I was planting each rice sprout onto the farm or digging the soil to plant the trees.
From a working person in a tiny square room among the crowd, I had changed. I surrounded myself with canal and rough bumpy footpaths and befriended with birds, rats and earthworms in the farm. Unfortunately, the flood in late 2011 destroyed what we had created completely.
Once the flood was gone, we started to re-develop the land and re-planted
the rice. It took several failures before we could find the right rice variety. We learned that everything related to organic rice cultivation is the science ranging from breeding,choosing the planting time,planting method, maintenance, harvesting, scrubbing or even to picking process.
These days, I have realized that the path of sufficiency. It is all about living and having just enough and being able to get yourself away from the greed. This is the process of letting go and not harming the nature. I am more than ready to transfer this ideal organic farmland to one local family in order to continue this project. I think this is just enough for me to live and breath happily.
Author
Chatchai Boonyaprapatsara
Bann Suan Chumjai’s farmer