"Holiday Farmer - A Quest for the Green"

Primary purpose of the activity is to allow members to practice and enjoy organic farming and with no less importance, to have a personal dialogue with our environment as well as a rethink of the roles local food plays in quality of life, our environment, social relationship and a sustainable city.

A seminar was conducted on 19 Jan., 2009 at HKIP Office, where ideas and laughers were shared on organic farming.

Some 30 Members and their friends/relatives became holiday farmers on 1 March 2009 at O-farm, an established local organic farm in Fanling, attending the “Start Farming Day開耕日”. This will be followed by an 18-week experimental scheme. For funny snapshots, please click here.

Frequently Asked Questions “Why organic farming?”

Local Food and Community Gardening


1. Urban planner and holiday farmer – what's the linkages?

Local food (organic), better quality of life, better environment, better land use, more sustainable city

“Planning for "sustainability" and "sustainable development" eventually come down to dealing with the fundamentals of life - water, air, energy, transportation and waste. Another, equally important dimension that is often overlooked by urban planners, but is nevertheless equally fundamental to our lives, is food and the agricultural systems that produce it. Most of us take our food for granted - so much so that we often forget the role it plays in our social relationships, community building and the role that food and agriculture have in shaping our economy and environment.” (Urban Agriculture Strategy, City of Vancouver)

http://www.cityfarmer.org/SEFalseCreekFinal.html
http://homepage.mac.com/cityfarmer/SEFCUrbanAgStudyFINAL.pdf

2. Why local food (organic)?

Safe food, healthy food, less transportation, less food miles, less energy, less pollution, less green house gas, less ecological footprint, better soil conservation, better biodiversity, more local jobs, support local economy

Facts:

- "In 2007, local production accounted for 3 percent of fresh vegetables, 46 percent of live poultry and 18 percent of live pigs consumed in the territory."
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_hk/agr_hk.html

- Food in Hong Kong: what's environmentally sound?
"The most obvious and salient factors are that the vast majority of Hong Kong’s food is imported…,"
http://www.batgung.com/food-supply-in-hong-kong

- Come and Discover Hong Kong's Ecological Footprint in 1997! (covering also food)
(with 0.1 world population,) “Hong Kong was responsible for 0.2% of the world's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions…”
http://www.foe.org.hk/welcome/eco_1997ef.asp

- Agriculture in HK
“Currently there are about 2,700 farms in the territory. They employ directly about 6,100 farmers and workers…”
“By the end of 2007, the land used for vegetable, flower, field crop, and orchard are 320 ha, 180 ha, 20 ha, and 280 ha respectively…”
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_hk/agr_hk.html

- Organic Farming in Hong Kong
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_orgfarm/agr_orgfarm.html

3. Why community gardening?

Same as local food, plus fun, family/social interactions…

-“Community gardening improves people’s quality of life by providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neighborhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education….”
http://communitygarden.org/about-acga/

-“Community gardens provide access to fresh produce and plants as well as access to satisfying labor, neighborhood improvement, sense of community and connection to the environment….”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_garden

- LCSD’s Community Garden Programme
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/green/garden/en/index.html

4. See also…

Rooftop Gardening
http://www.cityfarmer.info/restaurant-opens-2500-square-foot-organic-rooftop-farm-first-to-be-certified-organic-in-the-usa/

http://jnblog.typepad.com/provocations/2008/07/grow-up-highrise-farming-is-it-viable.html

http://www.gobartimes.org/20060630/ask_me.htm

http://www.urbanfarming.org

City farmer and urban agriculture
http://www.cityfarmer.org/

Powerpoint of the Holiday Farming Sharing Session

Part 1: http://www.hkip.org.hk/admin/ewebeditor3.7/uploadfile/20090406232712592.zip
Part 2: http://www.hkip.org.hk/admin/ewebeditor3.7/uploadfile/20090406232802156.zip