31 Aug 2016

Updates on Small Garden Plots and Insights on Farming Methods

Here are a few updates on some small experimental garden plots I made!

Rice Hull Mulch Update

The  lettuce that I transplanted two weeks ago are now growing vigorously! I have never watered them once even after transplanting. I just timed my transplanting when rains will arrive then placed rice hull mulch immediately.

Happy Lettuce plants growing amidst weeds

So far, there has been no pest damage that needs to be worked upon. I just allow some weeds to grow and allow nature to find the balance. What I am slightly worried about is the wild deers that may eat the plants while I'm away. Then again, I need to learn to share the bounty of the land if I want to live in harmony with my environment. I am still in the journey of finding a way to make enough food not only for ourselves but also for the animals that are displaced from their homes due to clearing of forests to create farms. 

Rice hull mulch worked wonderfully in keeping the soil moist even when there was no rain for five days or a week. Also, the rice hull prevented the soil from splattering when the raindrops come into contact with the soil. When this wet soil sticks to the leaf of the plant, it will start to rot. The mulch acted as some sort of a shock absorber from the impact of the raindrop.

Purple Radish and Purple Komatsuna Update

I sowed some purple radish and purple komatsuna three weeks ago. Komatsuna is a member or the Brassica family, cabbages, broccoli, radish, basically those plants that are very attractive to pests. These as well were not watered once! I just timed the planting with the rain and let the weeds grow to act as a shade for a few days to keep the moisture and as the plants grow, I removed the weeds.

Purple Radishes growing vigorously among the weeds

I planted "thickly", meaning I sowed more seeds in a smaller spacing to take into account the percentage of germination. As they germinate and grew bigger, I "thinned" them out, meaning, I removed some radishes to create more space to allow others to grow bigger. These "thinnings" were not wasted because they can be eaten as soup or stir-fried with other vegetables.

Purple Radish Thinnings

The Purple Radishes are quite strong against pests and weeds. They germinate quickly and produce large leaves quite rapidly. They can grow even without weeding. The Purple Komatsuna is a bit more tricky. When they germinate, they are immediately eaten by pests and butterflies and moths love to lay their eggs on them and the worms eat all the leaves leaving nothing but our disappointments! So, what I did was I planted them a day before rains arrived. Then, after a good amount of rain has fallen, I placed a tunnelled netting to prevent butterflies from laying their eggs. I timed the placing of the net before the butterflies become active which is about two hours after the sun has risen.

Tunnel netting that allows rain and sunlight to pass through but not large winged insects

This method worked beautifully and the Komatsuna is now growing healthily without any significant pest damage! 

Komatsuna soon to be harvested after two weeks

There are some spot damages caused by the flea beetles living in the soil but the damage is not that significant to cause poor growth of the plant.

My Own "Farming/Gardening Method"

I've read and experienced a lot of different methods of farming such as nature farming of Fukuoka, organic farming, permaculture, and biodynamic farming of Steiner but what I found out after observing and experiencing all of them, there is not one ultimate farming method. The principles behind these farming methods are indeed very important and essential but once we get lost to the specific ways and techniques they use, we lose the creativity to create our own and our method becomes something like "dogmatic".  We farm based on "how" they do it not on the "why".

Each piece of land is a unique point in the Earth and has its own individual rhythm that we have to jive with. We can't force a specific method of farming that does not fit with the land and with our individual personalities. 

We have to think for ourselves, each on our own, but carry a collective awareness of the essential principles. Once we become dogmatic on our ways, we lose our creativity and limitless possibilities with the land! Simply be sincere and true to your land and through mindful observation, the land will "teach" us what is best for the both of us without forcing any of our conditioned thinking.

Basically, I have no specific gardening method. I try to learn what fits me and my land. I do have lots of techniques I want to try out but I am still waiting for a sign from the land if I can try it out already.

I will share some of the experiences on different techniques but I strongly suggest you try and think it out for yourselves then share it to me as well!

Happy Gardening!





26 Aug 2016

A Series of Contemplations during the Typhoon: Lifestyle, Social media, Love

A series of typhoon has brought rains for more than a week. The  rain silenced the unnecessary noise around and allowed me to look deeply and reflect on the current situation of our lifestyle.

Here are some of my contemplations:

Contemplations on Lifestyle

We are aware of our lifestyle. We know the effects of our diet and habit to our health and environment, yet we still continue on our chosen path to decay of our bodies and character. Why is this so? I am using "we" because I also catch myself participating in this path to decay. We choose to eat unhealthy and choose convenience. We prefer complex, intense, savoury, and greasy food over simple, fibre-rich, and modest diet. We choose to participate in "hate" and "fight" over matters that sprouted from "hate". We choose to react in anger over other's anger resulting to no peace and understanding. We choose to lust and entice lust from others with our behavior and appearance, thereby, losing our purity and integrity. We allow social media, television, and internet sites to mould our mind and character instead of reflecting on it upon ourselves. We allow dogmas to govern our faith rather than allowing nature to penetrate our hearts and realize the truth of Creation.

We are aware. We know what is happening around us. We know its causes and effects. Yet, we still choose to remain and participate in it. We allow our minds to stagger and lag and feign ignorance. Ignorance can never be bliss. Ignorance can only add to the weight of our suffering.

Being aware is only one step. We have to strengthen our discipline and roots and reflect this on our lifestyle and action.

Contemplation on Social Media

Social media have indeed caused many suffering on our lifestyle. It helped the ego of people grow and create false self-images of themselves. The one posting boosts his or her ego then the one who looks at the post feels some sort of emptiness. "Why are they having this much fun?" "Lucky for them they can travel" "Why am I not having what they're having?" "It's nice to have a girlfriend/boyfriend" This may then result to that person posting something to boost his or her own ego or, unfortunately, lead the person slowly to depression.

Yes, you can communicate via messaging or texts but there is no direct communication going on. I cannot look into the person's eyes and see the sincerity of their words. I cannot hear the softness of the voice and feel the compassion. I cannot see the hand gestures, the subtle movements that emphasize on the words and feelings they want to convey. You can see that they already "saw" your message and we respond on our own convenient time. This harshly lessens the significance of a conversation. When they are right there, in front of you, you can be fully present for them. Respond to their words with sincerity and love. See the emotions in their eyes. Hear the compassion in their voice.  Observe the sincerity in their gestures. This creates real connection. This is the "real" network.  

If social media is part of our job or is indeed necessary for our current lifestyle, let us be mindful of what we share or post. Before we post anything, consider if this is helpful to other people's life. Will this help their awakening process? Am I only posting to boost my ego? Will this feed truth, joy, and love in other's hearts? Am I spreading hate, distrust, lust, or anger? Ask these questions before posting or sharing anything and we can use social media to help ourselves reach greater consciousness together.

Contemplations on Love

Here is one of my favorite contemplations. Love. The beautiful energy of Love! 

Oh how we have twisted the meaning of Love to fit our selfish, lustful, and greedy motives! We reasoned many of our misdeeds and blamed it on Love. We have raised our children with wrong teachings and punished them out of "Love". We have built relationships thinking that our empty hearts needs to be filled by "Love" from another person.

These are all not true love. The energy of love is pure, gentle,and thrives in truth. Love does not exist in violence. Love does not exist in attachments and possessiveness.

We need not seek Love from another person! We do not have holes in our hearts that needs to be filled. We simply have not realized yet that we are already filled with Love from the very beginning. We seek completion from another person such that when that person leaves, we feel "empty". You are already complete to begin with so why seek completion from another? 

This does not mean that you do not have to create relationships. If two people who are not aware of their completeness agreed to start a relationship, there will only be suffering because this will result to  a tug-of-war  of energies. Each one is sapping from another's energies because each one feels incomplete without the other. This results to conflicts, misunderstandings, and possessiveness. 

To create a better image, if two people who are aware of their completeness and are pursuing the purpose of their lives each on their own and decide to conjoin in a relationship, imagine the goodness they can bring to this world! Their energies are now not sapping from each other but complimenting one another. A synergistic combination arises and this can be reflected in their lifestyle. Furthermore, the child born from this type of conjoint creation will surely be raised in an environment that will create deep impact to the society they will be in. This is so because the child will observe firsthand the emotions and actions born out of truth and love. 

This is True Love. All encompassing, free, joyful, and thrives in truth.


The rainbow after a series of typhoon reminded me to look up to the heavens even on rainy days






23 Aug 2016

Being a Japanese but not really, Being a Filipino but not really

Where do I really belong? This is the question that really bugged me before I opened my eyes to the beauty of this Universe. My father is a Japanese, my mother is a Filipino. Considering the papers, I am a "half", as many would say. All my life in the Philippines, when they asked me my name, many reacted in a surprised manner and replied "chinese ka ba?". I corrected them saying "kalahating hapon po". I always replied with a mixture of doubt because I myself is not sure if what I am saying is true. Not that I doubt the fidelity of my parents but that I was unsure of where I really belong. When I was in elementary school in the Philippines, when the history lesson was on Japanese conquest on the Philippines, many of my classmates gave a look as if I was part of that conquest! Many called me names as "hapon", "grabe kayong mga hapon". Oh I remember how I felt the pain and suffering during those days but now I simply remember it as a manifestation of the suffering of the ignorance of the parents and society. This experience led to harbour some sort of hate towards my classmates during that time. I now know that seeds of hate within us lay dormant and can only be watered by hate and cultivated by hate and negligence.

Years went by and I still have not recognized my true roots. When we visited Japan, I did carry a Japanese passport but I still experienced some "stereotyping" from some ignorant people. I had experiences where police approached me and searched for a foreigner residence card when, in fact, I am a Japanese citizen. I told them in my best Japanese accent "I am a Japanese citizen, what are you talking about?". These experiences left a bitter memory within me but now I embrace these as lessons on the apparent, creeping suffering caused by ignorance and control of the system. 

What system? 

A system that forcefully created imaginary lines dividing countries and people. A system that has been established in the past millennia. We divided the waters, the sky, the land, and the people. We waged wars to expand our imaginary boundaries. In Japan, there is still some unrest with the northern islands and Russia when, originally, the northern lands of Yezo were settled by the Ainu indigenous people. 

We created some sort of ego out of our imaginary nations.  "I am a proud Filipino", "I am proud to be Japanese". Why can't we simply exist as humans? No ego, no boundaries. United in Love and Truth. If being a Japanese or a Filipino means I have to assimilate the misconceptions and false beliefs just to have a feeling of "togetherness" with a country, then I choose to be none and all. 

I choose to be none of the labels that we write in the paper with a signature that tells us "who" we are.

I choose to be  all that exists. Even existing as a physical human is momentary relative to the timescale of the Universe. Our physical bodies are nourished by the plants, animals, water, and air. We are made out of living and non-living elements, and our physical bodies shall return to be so. In essence, we are all that exists now and that, for me, is grace and beauty. When I realized these, the petty distinctions became diluted in an ocean of understanding and love. All actions will now transcend the imaginary boundaries we have created.

I now know and feel my true roots. It has always been with me even before I was born. Looking at the living beings and the minerals, I can see who I am and who I am not.

I am who I am and who I am not. 

We may say "I am not hate, greed, or lust!" Looking deeply, all of these are within us, laying dormant. It is only up to us whether we cultivate it or not. So, yes, you are hate, greed, and lust but you are also Love, Truth, and Understanding.


Many of our misdeeds and sufferings are born from our confusion and disconnection from our true roots just as how I made numerous huge mistakes in the past.

A good place to start is with questions such as when I asked myself "where do I really belong?". Although it took some time and caused a lot of suffering, it led me to this realization. 


"I know that I am going to be a butterfly soon, but right now, I am a cocoon, and I am happy to be one under this Oak Tree"




  

17 Aug 2016

Sophia Farm Community - A Biodynamic Farm in Hokkaido, Japan

Meet Ben and Konomi Campbell.



I have met them three years ago while I was an intern at an organic farm. Back when I was in college, I was already extremely interested in biodynamic farming, the farming method that the Campbell's use. This farming method was started by Rudolph Steiner. I love the holistic approach of biodynamics such that the land is not confined only in the earthly plane but also the stars and other planets. The influences vary as the earth moves through the cosmos. They have a calendar wherein the best planting time for certain crops are shown depending on the position of the moon, sun, and other planets relative to the stars. The animals, especially the cow, also play a big part on the balance of the farm. There should be a certain balance of animals, plants, and people in the farm. You can read more from the book of Rudolph Steiner "Agriculture". According to Steiner, the farm should be considered as a living individual organism. It should be self-sufficient and healthy, meaning, no synthetic chemicals or pesticides. 

As we are now living in this "modern" world, most farmers still can't remove chemicals from their farming system. I understand their circumstances and the problem is not only with the farmers but also on the consumer side. We want "perfect-looking" crops and low-nutrition, big harvests. Oh how superficial we have become! We can see this as to how we dress ourselves and present ourselves to others. We prefer to invest on our appearances than our inner solace and compassion. We prefer to paint our skins than remove the veils that cover our true selves. This reflects in our diet, lifestyle, relationships, and society.

Biodynamic farming is one of the solutions to help make the world be closer to peace, harmony, and truth. Relying not only the earth but also the cosmic influences, biodynamic farming bridges the wisdom of our ancestors to the modern knowledge. As we reconnect with nature, we may slowly realize our true selves and remove our veils and be more "human".

Ben and Konomi are looking for people who would like to learn biodynamic farming and live a simple farm life! They are looking for like-minded people who wish to build a community founded on love and trust. Please visit their farm and shed light on our current shadowed lifestyle. They have been farming for about 8 years in Japan and have been waiting for people to come to their place and farm with them! All machineries, land, livestock, and land are prepared already so all you got to do is go to their farm and start! Their dream is to fill Japan and this beautiful Earth with biodynamic farms. 

They live in Honbetsu, Hokkaido Japan. They have a blog in English and Japanese and see more details on their farm on their website. If you are interested to visit their farm, please contact me and I can take you to their farm or you can directly contact them. They would be very glad to talk with you and share with you all they can share about biodynamic farming! This guys are very passionate on what they are doing and sharing good for this beautiful earth.


Ben Campbell and his happy cows
"I can see that in the future all the farms in Hokkaido will be biodyanmic or organic"
(Photo from diary.oubdfarm.com)


www.diary.oubdfarm.com






3 Aug 2016

The Origin of the Blog's Name and our Land's Name.

Why is the title of this blog "Building my Kin's Domain" and why did I choose such a long name for our homestead?

Building my Kin's Domain

Kin or Family Line. Domain or Space. I received this idea wholeheartedly after reading the Ringing Cedars of Russia Series by Vladimir Megre. The English version currently has nine volumes.
Fourth Book of the Ringing Cedars of Russia Series by Vladimir Megre, my personal favorite!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is currently seeking their purpose, soul-searching, or those who simply love nature. Basically, the purpose of this land is to create a "space" where I can continue our family line. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Continuing our family line means creating an environment worthy for your descendants. This has been what the indigenous people of Hokkaido and Philippines have been doing. Indeed, they respected their ancestors but they also highly respect the next generation through protecting their land. Respecting the next generation includes providing shelter and food conducive to learning, creativity, and general well being. As a parent who respects the child, it is of utmost importance to be able to provide food of good quality. Yes, I understand all of us are struggling to buy food and feed the child but I encountered many parents who have well enough capacity to acquire good quality food but still provide harmful food simply for convenience. Nothing compares to food that is grown and raised full of love by the parent's own hand. Imagine planting a fruit tree with loving thoughts for your children and when they grow up you can proudly tell them that you planted it for them. How beautiful this will be! You will be like the Creator of this world and tell your children "Here is this paradise you call Earth. This is for you. I have made everything beautiful and you shall make it more beautiful with your further creations."

The environment does not only mean the physical elements such as the plants, animals, and minerals. Environment includes the mindset or the consciousness of the people living with the space. I would not want to raise my child if I cannot create a peaceful atmosphere. If a parent has watered and cultivated the seeds of anger, greed, and pride, no matter how good the physical environment is, this will affect the child's consciousness. This is why I am still "Building my Kin's Domain". I am building not only the physical aspect but also am cultivating my own consciousness.

Kamui Family Homestead

The word "Kamui" is from the Ainu language. Ainus are the indigenous people of Hokkaido. Kamui means God. For the Ainu, similar to other indigenous people, they saw God in every element and being in their environment. They do not necessarily worship the plant or the animal. They see the God within everything. I chose Kamui as the name to remind me of my every thought and action within the space that all around me is One. This will guide my actions to be mindful and compassionate to all beings in the land.

I deliberately did not use the word Farm. A farm is established to produce food beyond what the land can offer. The word farm is already tainted too much with production schemes and profiteering. Even organic farms have become some sort of "hype" such that usually, only those on the higher financial status can afford the produce prices.

I got the idea of "family homestead" from one of the books of Vladimir Megre. The first part of the name is "family". This is where my family resides. Family does not only include the living, it also includes my ancestors and descendants. You may think I am talking about spirits but I am talking in concrete terms. The genes of my ancestors are within me. I breathe the same air as they did before. I bathe with the same water. The ashes of my ancestors have fertilized the soil and I have ingested the food from this soil. Everything is transforming but still one and same.

Homestead is a place where a family lives from the land in peace and harmony. This is the whole space of the land and not only the house. The homestead provides for the family what the family provides to the homestead. The homestead acts like a mirror. The amount of love and effort you have placed in the land will be reflected back to the family.

Combining the three words, Kamui Family Homestead is a piece of land where family lives with the Creator, Creations, and Ancestors in deep harmony and Overflowing Love to continue on to the next generation.

The building process is ongoing. Until I encounter my co-creator, I shall continue building with my ancestors in my heart.


All is well!