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“I spent a good number of months slogging out on an organic farm for my university placement. Brought up in urban Singapore, my family does not have any farming background. I knew nothing about growing food. Neither do I have the strong physique typical of a weather beaten farmer. Yet, I still think my decision to learn the ways of the hoe is a correct one. And it is time well tilled. I have seen many quizzical reactions when I replied friends that I did farming for my placement. “It has no prospects,” they seemed to hint. “How is it related to the environment anyway? What can learning the art of the hoe teach you?” Green Circle Eco-Farm is a semi-natural landscape. In it you still can observe elements of naturalness. It encompasses the very essence of the environment. It is husbandry of the land, water, ecological and cultural resources. Unlike conventional or precision farming, organic farming at Green Circle is subjected to much more environmental vagaries. Unlike most other management systems, the farm poses a different sort of challenge - a challenge that needs a feel for the environment. In normal everyday city life, we function in a finely tuned built environment. While we may be able to assess an urban landscape quite easily, to describe a farm needs more than keen observation skill - it requires experience. Few can relate to the nervous elation when a bed of leafy vegetables grew up lush and green. How many knows the anguish when strong winds toppled a network of trellises? Who can see the hoe and the land like a farmer? A hoe is not a tool. It is a part of the body working in seamless harmony, not always, with the soil. The principle is the same as in learning about the environment. To understand it, we have to see, hear, smell, taste and feel its rigours. It is much more than just measurements and following prescribed methodologies. Do I now know more about the farm and farming than when I first started? No. A farming experience may not fetch any recognised value in the job market. But it is intrinsic to me. I found the sun, rain, sweat and labour quite hard going. But beneath all that, I have learnt to see and perceive my surroundings as would an organic farmer: not as an exploitative master but as a conscious manager.” (The above writing style was rather abstract and sentimental. A more scientific approach could have been adopted, but in this instance, the author felt that a subjective, personal style expressed best the relationship between him and Green Circle.) Green Circle Eco-Farm is located at 155 Neo Tiew Road, Singapore 710000. The farm is run by Mr Lim Tian Soo and his wife Mrs Evelyn Eng-Lim. Their e-mail address is soo@pacific.net.sg. Visit the farm's homepage at www.greencircle.com.sg, make an online order for organic vegetables and contribute towards a more sustainable future for man and nature! |
