Bannua Local Farm

by Marita Afiandika (Indonesia)

Making a local connection Thailand

The sun was still shining so brightly that it dazzled my eyes. I stood on a local small farm, stared at the surroundings and was amazed by the view. What I saw was a green farm, full of many types of plants with four small huts along with one of them being used as a kitchen, there were rice fields beyond the farm, and far behind was the scenery of the mountains range Chiang Rai, stretching along the horizon. This was my first day on the farm owned by a local Thai man whom I called Mr. Tong and for the first time, I traveled and lived in a small cottage on a farm located in Payangmoon Village, out of the comfort of traveler’s bunk beds and away from the hustle and bustle of the city to unravel the local's way of life. The night in the farm was full of tranquility, there was no sounds except from the frog singing and the sounds of my conversation with Mr. Tong. We were sitting on a bench outside the cottage with a small light bulb that was powered by the storage battery generated from the solar panel. I heard the story about the farm from him on how he finally decided to quit his permanent job as a journalist in the city and began to build his own farm in his village and self-learned about farming. The farm named “Bannua” means “Home in the North” as he wanted to create a home where anybody can learn about farming and sustainable life in the farm. One thing that I really put my impression on him was the idea of using the solar panel as the source of the electricity in the farm to power up the water pump and other electronic devices. Our conversation that night went longer until finally we were already exhausted. I went to my cottage and slept on a small mattress with pillow, blanket and mosquito net surrounding me. A heavy rain came suddenly when I was about to fall asleep and in addition it made my bedtime in the hut very comfortable. The next day, Mr. Tong accompanied me to explore his village and its surrounding using his old motorbike. We passed a river where I saw two locals were fishing on a small boat. Then, we went to a local market where everyone seemed to already know him. I scrutinized how the locals interact with each other and tried to have a conversation with them regardless of our language barrier, but they were all nice people, full of hospitality and smiles. After the journey with Mr. Tong, we had breakfast. He bought a Thai local foods for me and of course sticky rice, the well-known type of rice in Thailand. Then, I helped him in the farm, grew some seeds, took care of the butternuts and these became my routines for the next couple of days of my staying there. On the other day, Mr. Tong’s mama and aunt came to the farm. They taught me to catch fishes using a traditional fishing net in the river close to the farm. Because they didn’t speak English, we used body language to communicate with each other and sometimes Mr. Tong translated into Thai language. Our fishing time was great and then mama cooked the fishes and other traditional Thai dishes for our dinner. On my last day I tried to discover the village and the people on my own way. I visited a Buddhist Temple not far from the farm. There, I met an old monk with his lovely cat and we had a little chat with the aid of translator software. Along the way back to the farm, I met some villagers who smiled at me because they noticed me as a foreigner and then I laid my body on a hammock in the farm and began to think of the days I’ve spent here. Even though it has already been a year ago, the kindness, smiles and friendliness of the people in Bannua and the village will always remain in my heart and I believe that our connection will never end.