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Suria Helang Lui

Category: Farm Information

Suria Helang LuiArticlesFarm Information
28 Jul 2015
0 Comments By admin Armchair journal, Farm Information

All About Durian Fest V

I am happy that we are again able to hold a Durian Fest and this will be our fifth.  We didn’t have one last year because the season fell during Ramadhan.  However, this year it seems like we will receive more visitors compared with previous years with the main interest being enjoying “original durian”.  I call them as such because these are durians planted from trees decades ago, before we had genetic modified plants and introduction of forced-fruiting, before the drive of commercialization pushed for “standard” fruits.  Our aim is to promote local, original durians and the adventure of eating these durians.  You never know what you are going to get and there are many varieties.  These durians fruit naturally, following their own schedules, not injected with hormones or such items to force them to fruit to meet a commercial desire.

The Durian Fest is held during the area’s durian season and we do not collect any durians with names that have alphabets and numbers in them.  Some people call them durian kampung but I prefer to refer to them as the original durian.  They come in all sizes and many different flavours and flesh shades of colour from cream to bright yellow and if we are lucky, we may get the orange ones too.  Part of the excitement is to see what fruit we have when we open one up.

Personally, I love eating durian with lemang made the traditional way.  So, we cook lemang for this event so others could enjoy what we enjoy.  It takes over four hours to cook it, requiring constant care while it is being cooked.  Glutinous rice with fresh coconut milk and a touch of salt placed in bamboo  poles of about 2 feet long, slow cooked over wood fire results in a delicious lemang.

Considering that we are eating rich foods high in sugar and carbohydrates, we serve a blend of misai kucing and durian belanda leaves tea with the hope that it will help re-balance our bodies.  The tea is made with our natural, uncontaminated river water direct from the source.  The tea leaves are grown on the farm so it is organic and natural, no pesticide or herbicides.  With the great water, I think the tea just tastes wonderful, hot, warm or cold.  We feel happy to be able to enable people to being the water home but everyone has to bring their own containers.

After the rich meal, our farm is open for visitors to walk around and see what we have planted as well as see how we plant them.  Through sharing, it gives us an opportunities to exchange ideas and gain
knowledge in a real sense.  Sg. Lui flows through the farm and it is about knee-deep so if anyone wants to cool their feet or sit in the river and enjoy the cool water, they can do so.

Our farm produces fruits and vegetables – all chemical pesticide and herbicide free and on this day, we will have whatever is available for sale along with various other items such as seedlings, mulch, potting mix and fertiliser.  Our principle has always been to encourage organic or natural vegetable and fruit production as well as recycling of organic waste to produce fertilisers.  As such, we will have friends sharing the Bokashi method and goat fertilisers.  We will also have visitors who want to share or exchange seeds or seedlings and we will have a table set-up for people to place items for this.  I am happy that the fest will be an opportunity to share amongst people with like interest.
All in all, this Durian Fest V is my most ambitious fest to date and I hope that we can manage to make it a wonderful experience for all our visitors.

20 Mar 2015
0 Comments By admin Farm Information

Suria Helang Lui Farm

Suria Helang Lui was born out of the vision to create an integrated organic farm maximising nature’s bounty.  It is located near Kampung Paya Lebar, Batu 23, Sg. Lui, Hulu Langat Selangor. with Sg. Lui cutting through the land.  Development of the farm which is 2.5 acres in size started in 2009 with the construction of a utility room and purpose-specific area clearing as well as the creation of a fish pond.  With the availability of water within the surrounding area, polypipes were laid from the water source to provide water supply to the farm.  In 2012, a second set of polypipe was laid for the specific purpose of providing water for the fish pond to improve the water supply.

Currently the farm is comprised of various types of fruit trees, vegetables section, greenhouse, fish pond, chicken run and the farmhouse.  There is always room for improvements hence we have a dynamic nature, always with the vision in mind.  Amongst the fruit trees that we have planted are bananas (at last count 17 varieties), rambutan, pulsar, cempedak, manggis, nangka, lima kasturi, jambu madu and a few others.  In addition, we have two types of tapioca as well as sweet potatoes.

We operate a fully organic farm hence all the vegetables planted are organic using either rain or the fresh water source.  The vegetables are planted in the greenhouse and in our vegetable section.  Amongs the vegetables planted are aubergines, tomatoes, cabbages, kailan, pak choy, choy sum,  bitter board (peri a kayak), long green beans, speckled gourd, spinach, kangkung, cucumbers and several others.  Basically, it is all the vegetables that I want to eat as it is our principle to not sell what we do not want to consume.  In the beginning we relied on commercial organic pest repellants ut in the last few herbs, we have developed our own for use at the farm based on produce from the farm and it has worked well.  We use commercial organic fertiliser as well as produce our own E.M.

Our fish pond resembles a small river, passing though the farm with one end of the water source from the piped water and it flows out to Sg. Lui.  Hence, water is flowing 24 hours through the fish pond resulting in a fish that does not have any “muddy” door or taste.  The fish are fed with produce from the farm and supplemented with fish pellets.  To further ensure that we have good quality water for the fish, we use certain plant-based produce to further act as a cleansing agent.  With the incoming water, we also have lots of small river fish and shrimps as well as snails (siput) that come in with the water, further enhancing the productivity of the fish pond.

The greenhouse has a dual function.  Apart from being an area where I can grow the more vulnerable vegetables, it is my testing site for vegetables.  It also serves as a place where I can start seedlings.

I also love herbs, both as a seasoning as well as for adding to salads and creating teas.  Amongst the herbs we have are misai kucing, holy basil (ruku), lemon basil (kemangi), ulam raja, kadok, turmeric, galanggal, ginger torch, lemon grass, citronella and various other plants that have traditional therapeutic values.  As the soil composition of the farm varies form area to area, the plants are planted on areas suitable for it.

The farmhouse is a simple house aimed at supporting the functions of the farm.  Hence it has all the basic amenities along with a big kitchen – the area where we prepare our produce for market.

No integrated farm would be complete without some farm animals so we have the kampung chicken, which provides eggs as well as organic chicken for cooking. As we continue to evolve, I am enjoying this adventure which I hope to enjoy for as long as possible.  For regular updates, please visit our FB page under Suria Helang Lui.

14 May 2013
0 Comments By admin Development, Farm Information

Water features at Suria Helang Lui

I love water, I love being close to water, I love hearing the sound of water.  With the wonderful, clean, water source, I try to maximize what I can do with it, both from food production, household water use and aesthetic landscaping.  The beauty of it all is since the water is from a continuous flowing water source, the water needs to continuously flow out or my pipes will burst so I have no guilt feelings of using the water in all these ways.  When necessary, all the plants are also watered from this same water inflow hence continuing the no chemicals concept on the food production.  My suggestion to those of you who are looking for a place for a retreat, always check the water source options.
At the farm, the water is used for household use including as a drinking water source.  For years now, I have been drinking it direct.  I feel no guilt in taking long, cool showers as the water has to continue to flow out.

One of the main farm activities is to produce tasty fish and the water plays an important role.  The water continuously flow in and out of the ponds, keeping the ponds clean and providing good quality water for the fish to grow and breed.  The pond itself was created based on an old stream which still has a pretty shallow water table.  This also serves as a flood prevention pond as this area has been known to flood albeit not very often.
I spend a substantial amount of time at the farm and I have a home there, my getaway from the busy, hectic Kuala Lumpur, and it is less than an hour
away.  To this end, I like to add features that would further provide for a peaceful and relaxing environment.  It took a couple of years but I finally have my landscape fish pond by the front entrance of the house with a mini waterfall as the water outlet.  There is a lot of river stones all over the property which as we work the land, we have “collected” and this pond features the use of these stones.  The sound of the water flowing into the fish pond is relaxing to hear and makes the area as a great place to have my breakfast, a wonderful way to start the day. 
Another water landscape feature is planned and this one is by the patio of my bedroom.  InsyAllah, this will be ready this year as will the house.

30 Jan 2013
0 Comments By admin Armchair journal, Farm Information, SHL Journal

Armchair Farmer – Leaving a legacy

Farming to me is a passion and it is not limited to just plants and trees but also includes animals.  With the creating of Suria Helang Lui, I am finally realizing a dream. one I have had since a child.  Albeit, I went through the normal life paces – studying, working in a professional field, reaching high level of management – everything that the world now marks as making a success of your life.  To me farming is also about leaving a legacy.  Whilst I have left a legacy for the nation – with all its stengths and weaknesses, pros and cons – in the MyKad project, I now hope to leave a legacy of our natural heritage through the farm.

I have never been one to follow what everyone is doing so my approach to farming is also not what everyone else is doing.  I do not follow fads – whether it is farming Arowana fish because you can make tons of money, planting Cavendish bananas because it is commercially better, using chemical pesticides and fertilizers so you can get beautiful produce which makes it cheaper to produce and easier to sell since it looks good to the eyes, and a whole bunch of other fads.  It is based on my priciples of producing quality, healthy, natural foods maximizing nature’s bounty.  It is also a spiritual journey for me, marvelling everyday at Allah s.w.t.’s gifts.

While commerce has driven the research into producing quantity of food cheaper, it does not mean that it arrives at the table cheap nor does it necessarily mean that it is healty.  I often wonder at the impact of modifying genetics – I do not think that we are clever enough to know what it will be as there is a whole wealth of area that we do not know or comprehend.  There are maxim’s that I live by such as “Don’t mess with Mother Nature”.
I find that with an integrated farm, you can work to create a balance with nature and a natural cycle of life.

Starting with the basics of good natural water, lots of sunshine and commercial checimal pesticide and herbicide free soil, you can strive to produce quality food.  I do not disregard scientific reasearch but I prefer research that is focusses on natural or organic components such as improvements on composting, ensuring retention of clean, natural water, etc.

Growing vegetables without chemical pesticides and herbicides requires more time as there is more effort required.  For example to control weeds, it is easier and faster to just spray chemical herbicides as oppose to pulling the weeds out or turning the soil.  I find that by doing my way, I continue to “feed” the soil and prevent it from being contaminated and ultimately introducing it into the food chain as well as not having to worry if my chickens, fish or even the ever helpful earthworms dying.

Contrary to some who think that you can produce better produce through usage of chemical fertilizers, I find that you can produce equally good fruits and vegetables without it and using organic fertlizers.  Having the benefit of having my own farm and selling it directly, I can decide when I want to harvest and when I want to market.  I harvest it just a few days before taking it to market – at its prime – and do not resort to preservatives or additives to make it last longer before selling.  This to me is key to enable us to savour the great, natural taste and its freshness.

Most people are familar with only Cavendish banana but we are blessed in Malaysia with a wide array of bananas.  At this point, I think I have just about all the types of bananas in Malaysia which gives me a selection of bananas to enjoy – either raw or cooked.  It is an adventure for my taste buds, enjoying the nuances in the sensation of the various flavours of the bananas.  I hope the next generation will know that bananas is not synonymous with Cavendish.

A big no-no in my food preparation is the use of Aji-no-moto, a seasoning that is widely used.  There are many ways to season your food naturally, an abundance in herbs and spices.  Then again, if you start with fresh food, there is no need to add aji-no-moto to make it taste good!  I have also rediscovered the tastiness of fresh tumeric and at the same time can get the enjoy the natural nutritions gained from its consumption.  It is amazing to discover what else these herbs can do for you healthwise.

I love “original” durian and have not developed the passion for the newer varieties such as Musang King, and all those alphabet and number varieties.  At the farm, I have one original tree which is decades old.  After having a great tasting fruit from an “original” tree, I decided to try planting one so insyAllah, in a few more years, I will have healthy durian tembaga trees which will bear quality fruit in the future.  I placed 7 seeds and 6 sprouted.  It looks like I will be able to pls into the ground in a few months.  It would be sad if we lose these varieties in our pursuit of faster growing/producing trees that have been “modified” to produce a flavour that is well-received.  I still firmly belief that the best flavour of durians is still what hasn’t been tampered with.  Buying durian nowadays is turning into something similar to buying packaged drinks – there is no more surprises not nuances in the taste, just the same packaged taste.  My new hobby now is to look for tasty original durian and then try to plant them.  Maybe the next generation will still get to enjoy durian in its natural glory.

Farming has also opened a new door for me – the therapeutic and medicinal properties of these living beauties.  The benefits of misai kucing, durian belanda, ruku, lengkuas, tumeric, ginger torch (bunga kantan), ikan haruan, fresh eggs from ayam kampung and more yet to discover.  I am happy with the direction I am taking now and love to share it with as many people.  I hope when the day comes, I will leave a farm that people can visit and rediscover nature in its full glory – my legacy for the next generation.

10 Oct 2012
0 Comments By admin Armchair journal, Farm Information, SHL Journal

Being a small farmer Part 2 – Setting the basics

I am often asked to explain what type of a farm I have and I find it difficult to define it within the more prevalent terms so I created my own term: a natural integrated farm.  At the heart of it, we strive to make the most use out of nature within the farm operations 

To start with, 2 separate polypipes are used to transport water from two separate sources, clean and natural water sources.  One polypipe provides for the water for household and agriculture use and the other pipe is strictly for the fish ponds for aquaculture use.  This ensures that water flows through the ponds 24 hours a day enabling the constant removal of any aquaculture waste and providing for good oxygenation of the pond, critical elements in rearing fish.  From an aesthetic value, the pond does not produce noxious odors and the sound of the water creates a calming environment.

The land clearing was done manually and selective bull-dozing, taking care to preserve as much of the top soil as possible.

Being situated in a water catchment area where there is plenty of rainfall, it was important to have facilities to provide for water run-off and a flood prevention mechanism, hence the ponds also serve this purpose.  The pond is built on the dried stream bed hence its shape is similar to a stream with the outflow going into Sg. Lui.  This is where I will start our aquaculture project of rearing fresh water fish.  With this in mind, it was imperative that no chemical herbicides or pesticides is used at the farm to prevent this being introduced into the ponds and ultimately into the fish,  With the great water quality, it would be almost criminal to contaminate the pond and the fish.  Whilst people who consume the fish may not be aware of any minute amounts of chemical toxins, I would know and this would go against my principle: I only sell produce that I would eat.

The selection of what was to be planted at the farm was also important in order to provide a balanced environment.  The first plants planted was banana plants.  This plant consumes a lot of water so it helps to absorb the water from the rains.  At the farm, only natural banana plants are planted which means that we do not plant any genetically-modified (GM) plants or plants from culture tissues.  In Malaysia, we have an abundance of variety of banana plants and I am on a quest to have all the varieties of bananas available at the farm.  This is my personal conservation effort to preserve our heritage.  It would be a shame to lose it and for us to become a GM culture and not be aware of the richness of varieties available.  Apart from being harvested for the bananas, the inflorescence is also harvested prior to the bananas and this is a great ulam or “vegetable” which has many health benefits based on our traditional medicine practitioners.  The inner portion of the pseudostem is used as a supplementary food for the fish as well as serving as a pond water natural cleansing agent.  Sometimes, we consume the inner portion of the stem as one of the ingredients in a curry.  The remaining portions of the plant after harvesting the fruit is turned into a compost providing for a natural fertilizer.  Hence from this one type of plant, it serves multiple purposes and provides a multitude of benefits naturally.

Since I foresee that there will be times when I will be too tired to drive home, I decided that I needed to have a house built but one with is functional to farm operations, easy to keep clean, comfortable and with lots of natural light.  I do not foresee working the farm alone so I designed the house to accomodate my workers too.  I use a lot of tiles all over the place – all the floors, the kitchen counters, most of the walls and to allow for privacy yet allowing for natural light, most walls have glass tile cubes.  Skylights are also strategically for more natural lighting.  All around the house, just below the roof, a 2 ft. lattice “wall” allows for fresh air to constantly circulate into the house.  The detail work on the house is still being done as the primary focus is the farm but I hope it will be completed before end of this year – my birthday present to myself.

Of course no farm is complete without some animals – other than the fish.  I started my initial stock of kampung chicken which I obtained from Kedah and later added more from my neighbour.  These are free-range chicken so they wonder all around the farm, eating their fill.  Another reason why no chemical pesticides or herbicides are used.  From my initial stock of 4 chickens, we currently have a total of about 60 chickens which I hope to further increase in the coming months.  They also serve to keep the insects at bay as well as helping with controlling the weeds and grass.

With all the different practices utilizing nature, this gave birth to our tag line: Maximizing Nature’s Bounty.  More tales to follow so watch out for the next segment.

12 Sep 2011
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Syawal September Market

It has now been a year since I started doing Sunday morning market at Sg. Penchala – although I did take Ramadhan off.  Alhamdulillah, there has been progress since the start.  We are getting the rhytmn for our activities and with the house almost done, we can focus more on farm production.  I am often asked what do we take to market and I thought it would be fun to have a pictorial description.  On last Saturday, I took out my camera and started capturing all the items that we were taking to the market.
 

Bunga Kantan or Ginger Torch


A must if you are cooking laksa, the bunga kantan is harvested a day before market to preserve freshness.  To store, I find that it is best to store with about 1 cm of water in the fridge or chiller.



Ulam Raja



The king of the ulam , the Ulam Raja is harvested one day before market and placed in a container filled with enough water to soak about 1cm of the stem.  This keeps it fresh.
Ruku and Selasih



The Ruku (with slightly purple leaves and flowers and Selasih (green with whitish-green flowers) can be eaten as ulam or salad and used as a condiment in dishes using beef, chicken or fish – at least those are the dishes that I have tried.  But then again, you can be creative.



Bunga Betik



The papaya flowers have a slightly bitter taste that can be removed by cooking them with senduduk hutan leaves.  It can also be eaten raw.



Sweet Potato leaves -the reddish/green
version and the all green


The ubi keledek  or sweet potato leaves are a great option for leafy vegetable alternative.  It is harvested two days before market and kept in container with its stem soaked in about 1 cm of water.  It can be cooked in the similar manner that you cook kangkung.

Bayam kampung or
broad-leaf spinach

The green broad-leaf spinach loves rich, organic soil and is harvested the day before market day and kept in a cool, moist environment to retain freshness.



Papaya shoots or pucuk betik



The Papaya shoots or pucuk betik is picked one day before market day.  It can be stored in a chiller for a couple of days but best eat or cooked within a 2 days from harvest.
Cassava shoots or
pucuk ubi kayu

Two types of cassava shoots or pucuk ubi kayu are sold at the market.  One variety is a thinner and sharper shape and the other is a broader shape.  Once harvested the day prior to market, it needs to be kept cool or it will wilt rather quickly.  These shoots emit heat so it is left overnight in the cool air.



Terong pipit


This variety of aubergine a.k.a. terong pipit is harvested a couple of times of week – Wednesdays and Saturdays – at their prime.  It is kept in the chiller until Sunday market.



Daun salam  shoots


This Indian Basil or daun salam shoots are harvested on Saturday for market.



Terong telunjuk and
terong bulat



This small versions of aubergines, terong telunjuk  and terong bulat, are harvested on Wednesdays and Saturdays, at what I consider to be the tastiest state. 



Belimbing besi



A variety of the starfruit, belimbing besi, is picked as and when they are ready and stored in the chiller for market day.



Tapioca or ubi kayu



Tapioca or ubi kayu, is dug out on a day prior to going to market.  I do not wash the tapioca as this helps retain the freshness of the tuber.

 



Lemon basil or kemangi



The lemon basil or kemangi do not like water on their leaves for long period of time so it is harvested in the late afternoon the day prior to market  and placed in a container where the bottom of the stems just touch the water.  The leaves bruise easily with continued contact with water so care is exercised to ensure the leaves are kept “dry”.




Tumeric leaves or
 daun kunyit



Lemongrass or serai

The tumeric leaves or  daun kunyit as with the other leafy produce is harvested a day prior to market day for freshness.  Whilst the lemon grass or serai is harvested two days prior to market – more because it is time consuming to process it ready for market – and also because it can be kept fresh easily.


Pumpkin or labu

The eggs are collected during the week, jsut after is is laid and is sold weekly.  Similarly with the pumpkin, it is harvested as and when it is ready and stored for market day.




Pisang Kapas



Each week I never know what bananas I will have for market so on Monday or Tuesday, I will make my rounds and check which bananas will ripen by market day.  For “dessert” bananas, when it starts to turn yellow, it is harvested as if it left to fully ripen on the plant, it tends to burst out of its skin.
These are some of the produce we take to market.  As you can imagine, Saturday is the busiest day at the farm and for me as majority of the produce is picked and prepared for market on Sunday.  However, the remaining days are filled with activities of planting, fertilizing, weeding, etc. etc. etc.  I enjoy seeing the progress and it is definitely satisfying when I see people buy and enjoy my produce 🙂

07 Mar 2011
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About Suria Helang Lui

Suria Helang Lui was born out of my dream of having a farm producing food local to Malaysia, without the use of pesticides and as “organic” as possible with comfortable living quarters.  After almost 10 years of looking for the right location based on access to infrastructure (road, electricity, communication and water), within 40 km from my principal residence, good soil with as much “original” top soil as possible, and close to high-density of consumers, I found the right location for me in Sungai Lui, Ulu Langat, Selangor.

The land was an abandoned paddy field which over the years of natural growth, had turned into a jungle, hence it had an abundance of local plants often found in our jungles.

The development of this land was based on the basic principle of maintaining as much of the contour of the land and plants that can be used towards reaching the objective of the farm.
The official start date of development is July 19, 2009.  Prior to that, approximately 1 year was spent in “understanding” the land.  It was important to me to stay as close as possible to the contour and to maximize on the natural beauty and features of the land.
Development of Suria Helang Lui is ongoing and would probably remain so through my natural life.  Currently, construction is underway for a comfortable living quarters along with an irrigation system.  Whilst it often rains, there are spells of hot, dry, weather thus this additional supply of water will ensure continued well-being of the living beings at the farm.

The farm focusses on fruits and vegetables, Malaysian herbs, fresh water fish and eggs.  Crop rotation is practiced as well as natural composting to continually improve on the soil quality.  Among the crops are tapioca (ubi kayu pulut and merah), corn, ubi keledek, bananas, pumpkin/squash, spinach, pucuk manis, various herbs and condiments, and chilli (cili kampung), to name a few.  


The ultimate aim is to be self-sufficient whereby one need only purchase sugar, salt and oil in order to create meals.