We moved to another province!

We moved to another province!

Dear Followers and Supporters,

We have a big announcement to make:

Feun Foo Permaculture & Rewilding officially relocated from Krabi to Chanthaburi!

Old durian tree on the new porperty

One week ago we packed all our favorite plants, our animals and our other belongings into a truck and moved to the Southeast of the country, to settle in the “Durian Province”: Chanthaburi.

Several factors led us to make this fundamental decision. As many of you know, we did not own the land in Krabi and had to pay rent every month, which drained our already scarce financial resources (our main focus is on the environment, not on monetary profit), and created a situation of constant insecurity for us – especially as the owner pressed to sell the land for much more money than we can ever acquire.
Another aspect was the unstoppable tide of development encroaching upon the land around us. The number of cars (especially trucks and loud motorbikes of local teenagers) and low-flying airplanes increased steadily over the last few years, and so did the number of buildings around us. We saw a palm oil refinery being built on the other side of the village – without anyone in the village giving their consent (hello, corruption). The near constant, low-level factory noise as well as the occasional smell was another annoyance that drove us away.
It is still a very nice place – for an urban farm – but not what we desire for our lives. We strive to hear nothing but the sounds of the forest, and to live far away from the city lights and the hazards of civilization. We want to inhabit a landscape that has not been completely destroyed and remodeled by humans, and finally we had the opportunity to fulfill those wishes!

We left the farm in Krabi with mixed feelings.

One the one hand it is absolutely amazing what we’ve accomplished with the help of our diligent volunteers: After not even a decade, the trees are now higher than the oil palms were, there is a steady supply of vegetables, greens, bananas and other fruit, the birds came back, the soil turned black, and the pond developed into a near-perfect ecosystem with dozens of different fish species and even turtles! After decades of chemical-heavy monoculture, the land has now recovered and will hopefully find a good steward to look after it a little.

Old lychee tree next to our new house

On the other hand, we had plenty to look forward to: The new garden is a real paradise!
Far away from the main road, on the slopes of a mountain that is completely covered in pristine jungle (a protected Nature Reserve with wild elephants, monkeys, and innumerable bird species) and already planted with dozens of fruit trees from all over the world! There are several large Durian trees, as well as Mangosteen, Langsat, Rambutan, Lychee, Salak, Starfruit, Milkfruit, Cinnamon, Jabuticaba, Rollinia, Sapote Amarillo, Abiu, Cacao, and several species of Mango from all over Southeast Asia (the whole garden is completely free of chemicals for over 15 years!).

Useful giant bamboo!

It is more than double the size of the land we lived on in Krabi, and half of the garden is covered with giant bamboo – good for construction, furniture, biochar production, drinking water, etc.
Despite being situated on a slope, there is water all year long – a small pond is located directly on the border to the National Park, with fresh, cold, clear water running down a little stream.
We are just south of the amazingly beautiful Khao Soi Dao mountain range, on which we have an astonishing view from our new home.

Further, there are two (and a half?) houses already: one beautiful wood house, one two-room concrete house, and a small wood bungalow (that desperately needs some repairs).

The wooden house

We don’t have electricity yet, which turned out to be a blessing rather than a curse: like this we can focus completely on the garden, plant our favorite trees and vegetables, and live in the moment, day by day, with the natural cycle of the sun. We can take a break from the constant sensory overload of the internet, and enjoy the peace and silence in our own little Garden Eden.
Not having electricity means that we will be harder to reach, even though we try to check messages and emails at least once a week. It also means that we will take a break from accepting volunteers – at least until we’ve set everything up, ensured a steady food supply, and cleaned the place up a little bit.

Overall we are sure that this was the right step and that we are now a good bit closer to what we really desire.

Best wishes from the newly established

FEUN FOO PERMACULTURE & REWILDING CHANTHABURI!

The upper half of the land – covered in giant bamboo!