Matron of Organic Farming
It's a small world...turned out Dino and Siew go back a long way. Mdm Tan Siew Luang, or better known as Siew, is one heck of a lady. In the early 1990s, she and one female farm worker "organic farmed" when such effort nor market hardly exist. I remember meeting her in 1993 at her Sungai Buluh farm. We clicked right away and I even helped her to deliver organic vegetables when she has to be away.
She does nearly everything; she planted, she harvested, packaged and delivered the vegetables. She is also the wife of Mr Gurmit Singh, the granddaddy of the environmental movement. I have the priviledge and honour of being their friend, and working with both of them since I know them in the 1990s. The organisation they are with is the Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (www.cetdem.org.my)
Siew and Dino came to visit me yesterday. We talked about the organic farming situation in Malaysia. The organic farming scene in Malaysia is still in its infancy, and there is a a lot of uncertainties about the notion of "organic farming". Siew is not farming anymore, she is more playing more of an advisery role to farmers and the government.
One concern is that many people thought organic only means free from herbicide, pesticide and perhaps using composting. Organic farming means more than that; it means a lifestyle that respects living beings, cultivating the land in a harmonious manner, thinking about protecting the environment as a whole, treating the whole farm as one wholistic organism. Going into and staying in the organic path is not easy. Many so-called organic farmerss have abandoned their organic farming and succumbed to the conventional farming method.
I am fortunate enough to eat organic vegetable produced by Mr Wong himself. His philosophy is that the whole being of the farmer should be focussed on producing vegetables with love. The pursuit of profit is secondary. The farmer himself must have the passion and knowledge that his or her produce will be eaten for the well-being of the consumer. Dino concured. He is producer of Miso.
His Miso DooJyoo is not like any factory, in fact he does not like to call them "factory". He see Miso as a health food that many people take for well-being and most critically, many take to heal themselves from illness like cancer. He sees himself as a Miso practicioner who brings the Miso into being for the good of many; not coldly produced thru conveyor-belts.
We had a great time talking about these stuff. Siew, Dino and Mr Wong talked about helping my nephew in his organic vegetable business. All these veterans agreed that this young man must have a good philosophical foundation of organic farming before starting anything.
She does nearly everything; she planted, she harvested, packaged and delivered the vegetables. She is also the wife of Mr Gurmit Singh, the granddaddy of the environmental movement. I have the priviledge and honour of being their friend, and working with both of them since I know them in the 1990s. The organisation they are with is the Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (www.cetdem.org.my)
Siew and Dino came to visit me yesterday. We talked about the organic farming situation in Malaysia. The organic farming scene in Malaysia is still in its infancy, and there is a a lot of uncertainties about the notion of "organic farming". Siew is not farming anymore, she is more playing more of an advisery role to farmers and the government.
One concern is that many people thought organic only means free from herbicide, pesticide and perhaps using composting. Organic farming means more than that; it means a lifestyle that respects living beings, cultivating the land in a harmonious manner, thinking about protecting the environment as a whole, treating the whole farm as one wholistic organism. Going into and staying in the organic path is not easy. Many so-called organic farmerss have abandoned their organic farming and succumbed to the conventional farming method.
I am fortunate enough to eat organic vegetable produced by Mr Wong himself. His philosophy is that the whole being of the farmer should be focussed on producing vegetables with love. The pursuit of profit is secondary. The farmer himself must have the passion and knowledge that his or her produce will be eaten for the well-being of the consumer. Dino concured. He is producer of Miso.
His Miso DooJyoo is not like any factory, in fact he does not like to call them "factory". He see Miso as a health food that many people take for well-being and most critically, many take to heal themselves from illness like cancer. He sees himself as a Miso practicioner who brings the Miso into being for the good of many; not coldly produced thru conveyor-belts.
We had a great time talking about these stuff. Siew, Dino and Mr Wong talked about helping my nephew in his organic vegetable business. All these veterans agreed that this young man must have a good philosophical foundation of organic farming before starting anything.
posted by Hee Boon at 12:37 pm
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