Breeze Farm – Young Entrepreneurs Cultivating Nature in Hong Kong’s Agricultural Landscape

2023-11-15 08:31:39

Agriculture in Hong Kong is considered a sunset industry, but couple Sam and Bella, born in 1998, decided to engage in farming. They are not afraid of the sun, rain, and mosquitoes. They use their free time every evening and holiday to take care of the farm. The proceeds from the harvest are sold at the Mui Wo shop “Good Old Fashioned”. “I hope more people will appreciate the nature of Hong Kong.” ”.

Reporter Carmen C.
Photojournalist Billy HC Kwok

Sam’s farm “Breeze Farm” is located near Mui Wo Silver Mine Cave, and is nearby a popular hiking route. His decision to engage in farming was also related to a group of hikers.

As early as when Sam was helping his relatives take care of the farm, he had discovered that many hikers supported local agriculture and were willing to buy marigold and cat’s whiskers drinks placed at the farm gate. He recognized the current demand for organic vegetables among Hong Kong people. “If people think for themselves, they will eat healthier.” It happened that his relatives immigrated and handed over the farmland to Sam, so he started to take over the farming career in January this year. .

The couple, born in 1998, were optimistic regarding Hong Kong’s agriculture and decided to embark on the road of farming.

Greedy and pretty girlfriend tills fields to feed mosquitoes

His girlfriend, Bella, met Sam when they were in high school, and their friends turned into lovers, and they got into agriculture together.

The pretty Bella always wears long sleeves, sunscreen, and a hat when she goes to work in the field. “I am a person from a nice city. I am scared of any insects, even butterflies.” However, following working in the fields with her boyfriend, “I stopped hoeing.” “Fielding, weeding, and feeding mosquitoes”, my lifestyle has been greatly changed. “Because he (Sam) does this with me, it feels very meaningful.”

Bella, who is quite afraid of insects, has become accustomed to a life of “laying down and hoeing fields and weeding”.

After getting in touch with nature, Bella understood the role of insects in nature. Now she saw bees collecting nectar and pollinating on the farmland where marigolds were planted. She was no longer frightened, and began to appreciate the impact of insects on the ecological chain of nature. “I feel that re-cultivation has made a small contribution to nature…it has also made great progress for myself.” Seeing the harvest of her own crops, picking them fresh and tasting them immediately, Bella feels happier than “eating high tea”. “It really gives me a sense of success.”

Sam has an engineering background and knows how to use various machines to assist with farming tasks such as plowing mud.

Give up social outings “It’s hard to leave Lantau Island”

The farm covers an area of ​​more than 20,000 square feet and is currently managed by a couple. They grow cucumbers, eggplants, papayas, pineapples, tomatoes, coffee beans and other crops. “The front row harvests more than 20 kilograms of tomatoes a week.” Okinawa bitter melon, cucumber, small pumpkin, etc. The two also hope to plant flowers, “I want to have different flowers throughout the year, marigolds in winter and sunflowers in summer.”

As a novice young farmer, Sam said frankly: “It’s actually very difficult to do. It requires time, effort, and money.” “I gave up socializing and vacations. I made fishing appointments with friends for several months but mightn’t go. It’s really doable.” “It’s hard to leave Lantau Island.” Many young people traveled to Taiwan and Japan following switching their jobs. They were unable to travel because they were taking care of their farms.

Sam works full-time from Monday to Saturday and drives a pickup truck up the mountain to take care of the farm following work every day.

During full-day farming days, Sam and Bella went to the farm in the morning to prune dead leaves of the crops and “buck them up immediately if there were any insects.” Then they fertilized, watered, and weeded the crops. In the event of heavy rain, wind, etc., it is necessary to clean up the crops destroyed by the heavy rain and restore the farmland to a cultivable state. There were heavy rains in Hong Kong from time to time in the two weeks before the visit. Sam said, “The rain was so heavy that it didn’t come at all. When I came back, I found that some weeds had grown very fast and tall.”

Sam built his own planting shed to save costs, but he “suffered heat stroke” due to the hot weather.

“Excuse me, why are organic vegetables so expensive? I didn’t know that before, but now that I’ve done it, I feel better.” The crops they grow do not add pesticides. To protect the crops from pests, they need to provide “bags” for each melon and tomato. ”, “If there is a fruit fly, there will be eggs in the fruit.” Sam pointed out that the cost of net bags alone is already “one for each net” and “2,000 bags of net tomatoes have been packed.” The cost is high but necessary. “If I see that some crops are not grown well, I feel good regarding it.” pity”. However, they also smiled bitterly, taking the last tomato as an example, “In fact, it is a loss if it is sold.”

Sam goes to the farm every day to check the growth of crops and “bags” melons and tomatoes one by one.

Each mesh bag costs one yuan, but in order to keep crops away from pests, Sam said the higher cost is not worth it.

“To survive, you must have a regular job.”

Currently, the two of them are not full-time farmers. Sam, who lives in Mui Wo, works full-time from Monday to Saturday as a site engineer. After getting off work at 5pm every day, I go up to the mountain to do farm work. “The crops really need to be inspected in the canal every day. For example, if there are hundreds of cucumbers, I will check them one by one and bag them if they are growing well.” Since the farm does not have water and electricity installations, Sam might only seize the time to finish the work and leave before dark. Bella, on the other hand, is a “foreigner” who works as a medical clerk and works as a “holiday farmer” on weekends. Sam said frankly: “If you want to survive, you must have a full-time job and then spend the rest of your time working on the farm.”

Sam was born and raised in Mui Wo. He is used to cycling and feeling the breath of nature. For him, farming means “the most important thing is to preserve nature. What kind of person will we become when we are trapped in high-rise buildings?” “Nowadays, many people are talking regarding buying a house, but Sam made it clear that he does not want to buy a house in the city. “Even if I have to take a bus or a boat out, I want to stay here, because this nature comforts me.”

For Sam, Mui Wo’s natural environment is the most comfortable.

Although he has not been able to make money from agriculture, Sam does not want to limit his life and hopes to focus on farmland management at this stage. Bella also has hope in this, “Agriculture is another selling point of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong deserves to have a representative Agricultural products”, just like seeing “white bitter melon” reminds you of Taiwan.

In the future, they hope to set up a stall at a farmer’s market. “We think this can continue, and it will be OK for three to five years, but it needs to be done step by step. After development, there will be opportunities to make money.” They also make scented tea and calendula skin care oil, “to let more people know that skin care products contain locally grown organic materials. If Hong Kong produces such products, they will feel a sense of success.”

Given the choice between high tea and fresh produce, Bella chose the produce without hesitation.

The farm also grows coffee beans.

“Breeze Farm” farm is located near Mui Wo Silver Mine.

Age: 25 years old
Years of experience in the industry: less than one year
Products: cucumber, eggplant, papaya, pineapple, tomato, coffee beans, etc., depending on the season; organic calendula skin care oil is also produced
Where to purchase: Mui Wo’s “Good Old Fashioned” vegetable buns, or directly contact Breeze Garden’s Facebook page:

1700044692
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