Monday, August 29, 2011

.: Sealed instinct :.


The memories of various dimensions.

Aunt :: We need to buy lemongrass, ginger, chillies, etc for Eid.
Mum :: We have those. My husband harvested them from the house. :)

Ever since mum retired, dad heightened his passion for sustainable living. At our home in Seremban, he grows bananas, papayas, mangoes, chilies, lemongrass, ginger, potatoes, yam, curry, lime, guava, etc. due to an excess of land in our residential space. He even harvests honey from the beehives at the roof. Dad takes a lot of pride in his harvests therefore occasionally he will trade with the neighbours i.e. our chillies for their beans. Mum chips in by distributing to family and the people around.

On another note, my big brother and his wife are drawing plans to breed fish and rear chickens and ducks. The advantage they have is bigger land and the land is located at the outskirts of town. This enabled them to venture into livestock and other forms of vegetation i.e. chillies and pineapples. My brother and his wife have plans to sell the produce, while at the same time, they are also doing this to ensure we have our supplies from reliable sources.

Mum :: Your dad comes in with a bucket of sweet potatoes. His haul of the day. He was clearly exhausted but he looked really happy. And there I was thinking what can I do with a bucket of sweet potatoes? I eventually made chips. We don't buy vegetables anymore. On certain days your brother sends fish over. This was how I lived in the past. Everything that we ate came from our land. There is a greater sense of appreciation and contentment.

Whenever I'm home in Seremban, my dad will tell me to be wary of the bees and the monkeys whereas whenever I'm at my brother and sis-in-law's land, they will tell me to be wary of the hogs.

Going to those homes on 16th Sept.
10.31am Malaysian Time

9 comments:

Nadjwa said...

Eid Mubarak, sis! Hope that you'll have the time of your life with your loved ones. :)

Najeeba said...

Salam,
Sounds great. It good to have home made veggies or other items rather than market bought ones which are grown using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Back in India, my in-laws too grow veggies on their land. They taste better and is good for health,isn't it? Thumps up for your Dad.

Hajar Alwi said...

Aisyah Najwa Mazelan :: Eid mubarak to you too Sis! Alhamdulillah, we are still having a smashin' good time! :)

Najeeba :: Wa'alaikum'as'salam Sis! Subhan'Allah, the food certainly tasted better! One of my friends brought fresh corn from her friend's organic farm and being the city kid that I am, it was my first time eating raw corn straight from the cob! I even got some lady's fingers (okra) from her and it was like twice the size of the store-bought ones! Unbelievable!

Sketched Soul said...

As-salaamu'alaykum dearest Hajar,

Hahaha.. sounds like you'll have a wonderful time.. how long are you going for?

Maaan.. I wanna be there! I so digg everything your dad is doing.. and I haven't had a guava since I was 17 (last time I was in Africa)... eat one for me!!

Love Farh

Hajar Alwi said...

Wa'alaikum'as'salam Farhana,

I'll be returning to the Seremban home on the 15th insha'Allah but my brother plans to immediately whisk us away to the JB house! So much for my nature rendezvous! Aihhh~

Maybe I can ship our guavas to Canada? We have two kinds, the ordinary apple guava and the rose apple. :)

Hugs and loads of love for fudge! lol~!

Shaista said...

Wow, it sounds as though your father really understands the true value of living and appreciating natural gifts. Fruit and vegetables are among the sweetest gifts the land has to offer, and bees - well, they are the keepers of harmony...

Hajar Alwi said...

Alhamdulillah. Dad initially started it as a mean to occupy his time.

As for the bees, we have loads of those and we never know how they came about! It was by a mere stroke of coincidence that our contractor found their hiding place. Right there in our rooftops!

Rayhana said...

Assalaamu'alaykum!
I WANTTTTT!!! :P

I have always wanted to have my own farm.. organic farm.. grass fed chicken.. raw organic milk.. :(

can i live next to your parents? :P

Like seriously!

*hugs*
-umm ayman-

Hajar Alwi said...

Wa'alaikum'as'salam Sis Rayhana~!

Ehh ... I have family surrounding my parents. lol! Since my family came from the 'kampung' community, they try to keep the family together by buying houses next to each other.

We can share the produce or you can come for a stay over. :D

PS :: Our chickens and ducks @ the Jelebu land are fed with corn. :)