So what's next, from now on?

Now that the farm house is completed, it is natural to ask what's next?

Firstly, the blog title "Building a new swiftlet farm" is no longer appropriate. I gave it some thought and changed it to "My Swiftlet Farms".

One of my intention is to learn about swiftlet behavior and explore new techniques in swiftlet farming. So it is also a platform to experiment and advance the state of art with a more scientific approach. My guess is many would love to do the same.

Many of us are aware Pak Agung of Indonesia has bred swiftlets in captivity for many years. There are valid arguments against it and I don't subscribe to it either. I truly believe these birds should be left to be free and feed in the wild.

There are also success stories in cultivating insects as supplements to their diets. There is much to learn and experiment in this regard.

Next on my agenda is to build a feeding room as an annex and connect to the farm house via an "aero-bridge".













To observe the birds, a rest house is also built 50m away. Full view of the birds around the farm can be observed from here in comfort.














Nice view too from the toilet, isn't it?



















I also wish to develop the farm environment into pleasant living space. Palms planted at the driveway entrance.














Trees large & small began to take their spots. More than 50 trees have been planted recently. Water to the trees are fed from the roof pool (not part of my original plan).




















































The land here is fertile and ideal for sustainable living and I intend to go organic. A variety of fruits and veggies will be cultivated along with fishes & shrimps in the ponds.

To have a sanctuary here away from urban living is a dream come true!

Some Reflections

The completion of this farm marked a major milestone for me. Of course there are many challenges and frustrations along the way. Many of my friends find it hard to believe what I am doing! What? You become a bird nest farmer? It does not matter what they think, honestly.

Yes, there are often skepticisms expressed subtly and tactfully. Did it deterred me? Not a bit.
Why? Because I have a vision and my mission is to see it through!

It is a risky venture too. Many wondered is it a risk worth taking, having to put in years of efforts & money and take a chance if the birds would come & stay! Even as I came close to finish the farm, someone posed me a question, "Won't you worry one day your birds will fly away?"

I always believe risk is a function of what you don't know. If one is ignorant, there are always so many why's and don't s. Sometimes I was tired to answer those queries.

If you care to put in efforts and learn everything you can about it, the risk is greatly mitigated. It is that simple a logic.

The critical moment is the point of decision making to take a plunge.. especially when it is a huge undertaking for the first time; it really takes courage! After that just persevere through without looking back. Otherwise, times of self doubt creeps in and shakes your confidence.

Fortunately, I have good fortune of meeting some supportive bird nest farmers who are willing to share and help along the way. I really owe them a depth of gratitude!

I also keep an open mind as I execute my building plan, giving the builder some degrees of freedom after explaining my intent. Many times I was pleasantly surprised by their contribution, acknowledging their lateral inputs; "... hmm... why didn't I think of it that way before!" It is a learning experience all the way.

In the short 2 years, I have gone through renovating an acquired bird house, converted a new shop unit and now completed the building of the standalone farm. It is far more than what I set out to do in the first place.

Perhaps this Frank Sinatra song reflects best the spirit that went into it!


I do look forward to more exciting ventures in the near future.

Went live on air - at last!

End Sept was the time line to close the bird house and go live with bird calls. Indeed it was a joyous moment to watch the swiftlets came visiting! It turn out the side entrance was used by most birds - a good judgment call (& a self praise, of course).



Obviously I couldn't count.. hundreds perhaps!
















In fact some swiftlets went in to check it out even before that. A few stayed over for the night!









Showing off a newly planted tree.















The final hours - setting up the sound system and the switch board.















Each power amplifier drives about 150 tweeters - total of 600 aprox. installed.















Dome camera & flood lights were installed too.



















A friend came visiting and got stuck in mud!















I went to the rescue and slid down the pond's edge - hanging precarious close to the water line. It lost all tractions and impossible to pull out even on 4 wheel drive.















Turned out to be a bigger rescue effort! Chains secured to anchored poles to prevent it sliding down further. Darkness fell and the flood lights just installed a day earlier came in handy.















Another steel pole formed a guide rail on the other side.















A couple more sand bags in place to help regain traction - without these resourceful guys around I wouldn't be able to get it out! The drama was over and you bet I just want a good sleep that night.



















Thought I've seen it all how the workers live off the land - until I saw them sampling the crabs caught from rice fields around.















These are destined to the cooking pot!















And this prawn from the deep pond - considered small, the head alone is about 8 cm long!















Its been quite a journey building this farm. How do I sum up my experience?
1. It gave me a lot of satisfaction applying some of my engineering knowledge.
2. It brought me closer to nature, which I truly enjoyed.
3. Last but not least, develop new friendships and bonds in the process.

Jun - July '09 updates

Of late I have been 'switched-off' updating this blog. Progress of the farm is still chucking along though at a slower pace. Part of the reason is construction of P'Jiap's new building has geared up considerably at a time many workers returned to tend their land during the harvest & new planting season.

The other reason is work has gone internal; erecting the internal walls, plastering, installing nesting planks etc. These activities seem too mundane to talk about.

There are joyous times too when I saw close to a hundred birds came circling around on some evenings - without any attracting sound turn on.

Soon as internal works completed, the wall openings to bring in construction materials were finally closed off.



















The entrance being erected with ramp leading to it.



















Side view of the final works to the exterior.



















Above the equipment room is an open deck to enjoy a beer or two during the evenings - as it provides excellent views to the surrounds!















Support structure for the wind turbine and the open roof deck.















4 lightning arresters were installed, two at highest point of roof & 2 at opposite corners of the building. I have grounded it onto the pond bed at 3 points, each with 3 x 1.8m ground rods.



















I had let in water from the nearby river to flood the pond too.















The south-western wall reflecting the evening sun with an orange tint of glow.



















Finally the left over foundation piles were put to good use - to line the boundary of the deep pond for fencing to be erected. The local authorities had top up the road with more earth after the rainy season.



















My weekend attention is now on landscape matters seeking out trees & plants for the property.

May '09 update

I loved the feeling of freshness coming to site. These water lilies seem to greet me each time as I arrived.














Getting a closer look.



















The rainy season has arrived too, rain water accumulation mirrored the bird house. Good that plastering of the external walls was more than half completed.














Work pace seemed slow even with quite a number of workers on scald folding.



















View of the corner room allocated to cultivate insects before walled up. The openings on the floor below allows insects be drawn up by lights during the night.



















There is another bird's entrance on the side wall facing north-east. It is windy sometimes during the evenings from the south east direction; I reckon the birds may prefer this entrance as the approach is more windward. Let's see if this the case in time to come.



















Cement hoisted up by a self made winch.



















Panel by panel, from top to bottom...



















Truck delivering sand was stuck in mud at the background .



















Well, they surely know how to get it off, no worries.














Work progressed on day after day, slowly but surely.















In between more rain water collected filling the pond bed.














Another storm loomed overhead. The building looks clean as completed with scald folding removed; but resembled a boring giant shoe box too! It really depend which perspective one look at it.














Work continued plastering internal walls.



















Some workers found it more comfortable here during the night.



















I really enjoyed the tranquil setting of the surrounds.














View of distant mountains in the direction of Cha Am and Hua Hin from top of bird house.














Neighboring shrimp farms and rice fields.














I often check out the areas around the workers' quarters. This time I noticed a makeshift chicken coop with chicks - one even stood on dad's back!