DQ Farm (est. 1991)

Retailers and customers of DQ Chicken came to the farm today to see for themselves how the farm is managed, and the farming methods used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The herb spiral drew interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the priviledge of visiting the farm, you have to smell this compost made of dung, carcasses and dried leaves and branches.

You also have to smell a still used chicken litter that has not been removed for 7 years, from one of the coops.

 

 

 

 

Feeling the Qi

 

 

 

 

Looking for Qi

 

 

 

 

Qi Tea for spraying on plants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High productivity aquaculture - one tiny pond such as this can fetch a revenue of RM10,000 per cycle of 6 months.

 

 

 

 

Then fruits from the farm for everybody.

 

 

 

 

Coconuts to quench your thirst after a hot day walking around.

 

 

 

 

Here's a straw from a papaya leaf stem to drink your coconut water with.

 

 

 

 

 Yummy, perfect end to a hot day.

Mandala Garden and Bird's Nests

The twain can meet. Here's how:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I intend to build this at the farm. The mandala shall be 40 ft across. Swifts need a roving area in front and a large water source, and that will be the mandala's centre.

The animals produce lots of gnats and mosquitoes during the wet season and swifts eat them, thus doing the farm a service.

The mandala in front will provide a conducive environment for the swifts and enhance production of the edible nests. One house will produce up to 40 kg of nests; selling for rm4,000 per kg, that's rm160,000 per house per annum.

 Semi-Intensive Snake-Shaped Fish Pond

Commercial fish ponds pollute the environment and are energy intensive. Because of intensive farming, the ponds use pumps and motors to aerate. Waste are typically just discharged to the environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This snake shape pond will use gravity to flow the water from Point A to Point B, from Point B a wind powered pump will lift up the water to the filtration pond which shall comprise mechanical and biological filtration to clean the water. Throughout the length of the snake-shaped pond will be surface disruptors to aerate, as the water gravity-flows throughout the length of the pond. 

My bank which advertises that they are 'friends' of farmers told me my mandala and bird's nest, and snake-shaped pond, is not agriculture, it's hobby farming!

Looks like I have to sell off some asset to fund these ideas. Eco-solutions have to make financial sense for farmers to adopt them. I think these two ideas can produce good income without damaging the environment.

The herb spiral I had built last week in two hours is coming along very well.  At a later post, I shall discuss how to build a herb spiral and how the design makes for easy ( low energy ) maintanence.

 

 

 

 

 

The tanduk rusa IMO brew is coming along very well too.  When we opened the canister, the brew just bubbles over.  The pH is an excellent 3.7, and the color has a nice purple tinge to it.

 

 

When we rub some of the brew on the palm,  one can feel the tingling sensation almost immediately, and it is not the tingling from the bubbles.  It is like little spikes.  And the palm becomes noticeably reddish, as if the brew draws blood to the palm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The palm before the brew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The palm after touching the brew.

 

Today's highlight was this little bird building a nest in the mulberry bush, right next to the staff kitchen.   This shot was taken about 4 feet away and it was not bothered.  It is a wild bird and nobody feeds it or anything; we are just too busy.  I don't think there are many farms where birds fly around without fear.

 

 

 

 

 

Today's bummer was the continuing heat-wave.  The road leading to the farm has become a heat-bank and the grasses lining the road on both sides are burnt from the heat:

 

 

 

 

 

Hope the weather changes soon.  The animals are being affected and the workers too are feeling irritable from the continuing heat.  Noonday temperature now can hit the low 40s.