Nakorn "Prince" Limpacuptathavon, 33, is the poster boy for sustainable farming in the city. He started growing chemical-free vegetables on a piece of land next to his own house eight years ago. As his enthusiasm for all things green grew, he began hosting activities at his learning centre, Ban Jaochai Phak, or Veggie Prince's House, in Lat Prao Soi 71 and now talks at various events to spread his organic farming know-how. Guru chatted with Prince about how urban farming can benefit city life, in case you may want to get out your shovels and garden forks.
While studying at Thammasat University you said you became interested in sustainable agriculture. How did that happen?
I enrolled in a class that dealt with the subject during my second year at the Faculty of Science and Technology and got to learn from farmers and developers. I was so impressed by the fact that sustainable agriculture is a responsible alternative to mainstream agriculture. We can cultivate crops while preserving our natural resources for future generations. It emulates nature itself, being a smaller ecosystem of its own. You grow crops and raise animals and improve soil quality and ward off pests without using chemicals. I thought of sustainable agriculture as a way of being truly self-reliant. I find that agriculture is both an art and a science and that fascinates me too.
How did your 'Veggie Prince's House' come about?
Since I was first interested in agriculture, I learnt to farm through doing and accumulated knowledge and skills along the way. I got to travel to so many places -- abroad and in Thailand -- to join training, do research or partake in development programmes in rural areas. After I completed my master's degree, I decided to grow my own veggies and made mindful choices of using healthy and environmentally-friendly products in my daily life. While I was doing research for my master's degree, I met like-minded Bangkokians such as the Thai Green Market network who encouraged me to create an urban farming class to encourage city people to grow veggies sustainably, like how my wife and I had done with farmers in the provinces. It grew from there.
How do you think urban farming has grown since you started?
Over the last ten years or so, more and more people who live in the city have become interested in urban-farming. They suffer from diseases such as cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure due to the city's lifestyle and the chemicals found in their food. Another reason I think they urban-farm more is because they want to create food security in the event of floods and drought. It will be difficult for them to have access to food during these times and they can't always rely on others for food.
What do you think needs to be done to make organic farming succeed and stay in Thailand?
You can start with yourself. The key is to build relationships between producers and consumers. You and your friends can buy directly from organic farmers themselves in bulk or at farmers' markets to encourage them to stay on the eco-path. Buy from green shops and enterprises who have direct relationships with the farmers so they receive their fair share of profits. Government agencies and private enterprises can help too but I believe the stability and longevity of organic farming must be based on the relationship between producers and consumers.
How does urban farming benefit city life?
You can grow your own food and have more control over what you consume, leading to better health. When you live in a city, you may think you don't have the space to grow anything but many already have proved that notion wrong. By actually doing, you'll figure out how to work with the space you do have through the right choices of containers or types of vegetables. Today you have much access to information and many activities that allow you to learn about urban farming. The most important thing to me is to encourage like-minded people to take up urban farming so that it isn't a fad.
What kinds of activities do you offer at your learning centre? What kinds of goals do you have?
Most of our activities at Veggie Prince's House deal with growing vegetables or what I call "growing happiness in your home". We organise it once a month. Other courses include growing organic lime in pots which can be applied to growing other fruits as well. My wife also teaches a course on how to take care of your health through kai therapy. Many who have learnt from our centre become friends and we have a community of people who support the organic lifestyle called Heart Core Organic. We hold regular activities and you can join our group via Facebook. I wish to help create a society in which we learn, share and spread good things to one another.
