Our story

The Reality of getting into Biodynamic farming

When my dad started his biodynamic journey in 2019, not much was known. I left my pharmacist job and came back to join him 3 years after. There are people who has been doing it for years but most farmers couldn't grasp on how to make it work in Malaysia. The biodynamic herbs to make biodynamic preparations were difficult to get. The way to make biodynamic preparations were not clear.

Animals are an important integration for a biodynamic farm. Most farmers do not have cows or any other animals at all in a farm. Sounds strange aye ? After all, old Mcdonald had a lot of animals in his farm, well at least that's how the song was sung. But that is the reality in farming in Malaysia, and many other countries. Animals are"farmed" separately from plants.  Animals (poultry especially) are kept in cages, fed genetically modified grains, hormones and consistent doses of antibiotics. They never get to see the sunlight and most could barely stand with their own feet because the hormones kept them fat while their body weight has outgrown their feet. Yes, their feet is unable to withhold their body. Imagine feeding that to your child and think it is healthy. So as we can see, how we produce our food, and how we farm, matters. 

And so, the Malaysia Demeter Association was formed. Organic, biodynamic farmer and people who simply wanted to support regenerative farming of various background came together. We supported each other and just kept trying things out, making biodynamic preps. Until one fine day we were chosen by the Biodynamic Federation Demeter international to host the Asian Pacific Biodynamic conference. From there, we connected with a lot of biodynamic farmers and many has guided us well on how to do biodynamic farming. So in reality, you need a community to support biodynamic farming.

Our members are those silly dumbasses who have decided to put cows into their durian orchards, because we believed in biodynamic farming. The theory is beautiful, the cows feed on the grass in the farm, generates a few tonne of cow manure for us as free fertilisers, the farm comes alive. Well the reality is ... What we have actually been through.. Nobody tells you that the cows run away and you have to spend a few days to bring it back. Ours ran back to the farm that we've bought it from and the farm owner with his indian stories delayed us for months before we were able to get it back. Our friend bought a cow and found it tied to another farm by somebody who claimed it was his cow. Of course you could argue that we didn't tie the cow well so it managed to run away. Well, we assigned a worker to take care of the cows and he tied it to a wooden pole and gone was the cow with the wooden pole. 

So why are we dumbasses ? Well I go to the farm and sometimes see my papaya trees uprooted. I asked my workers what happened, turns out my cow had an itchy butt that day, the papaya tree was an excellent scratcher ( I sure hope it was or it was a bad sacrifice). They pass by and we see some of our small durian trees or branches folded into two. My friend from another biodynamic farm has a cow that is like a dog, she (the cow) had a feast on 200 pineapples and is a regular in hiding his durian (musangking). Yes, she knows how to open and eat a durian, at the right time. Yes, she is a cow. 

You might ask why are we not fencing them up. Well, they need to graze the land for the land to be fertile. Their magnificent clean cow manure is the magic for the soil and farm to come alive. And on our 6th year of doing biodynamic farming, we can testify that this is true. By demeter standards, we need to give our cows enough space and fodder so that their welfare is taken care of. In Malaysia most organic farms belong to small owners, we do not have thousands of acres for the cows to roam on. Enough said, with experience we learned that it is a matter of planning, experience, and patience. Yeah, once you get there, the cows are one of the most joyful presence in the farm. Watching them move through the farm in a group happily and with their calves makes me so happy.