Meet our Habitants: Andrew & Uncle Khan

We've been working on this permaculture home garden for close to 4 months now and we're stoked to see it shaping up to become an abundant food garden for the Khans! This father & son duo have been real troopers from Day One, helping us move 14 tonnes of compost, learning and participating in the garden with us. Here’s what they have to say:

How's the experience been so far in growing your own food?

Uncle Khan: I realised that while growing your own food is physically demanding, it's actually quite a therapeautic form of exercise. It is also nice to see over time, our own farm coming into fruition, literally. You feel a great sense of accomplishment in addition to the health benefits.

Andrew: It's quite interesting to watch something grow from the sheer effort you've put in. There's definitely a lot of work at the start when growing food, especially organically. There are pests that we have to deal with, but we are hopeful that things will balance out eventually.

What was behind the decision to start a food garden?

Uncle Khan: We are fortunate to have a strip of unused land behind our property where we were already growing some papaya and banana, but we wanted to make it even more productive to feed our family and also share the surplus with our neighbours.

Andrew: COVID-19 was a wake up call as there was the danger of not being able to get fresh produce. Having a food garden is an attempt to be more self-reliant in a way. Also, since my family enjoys preparing home-cooked meals, harvesting vegetables and herbs at our doorstep is convenient and a satisfying experience. There is also the understanding that if you want to make or eat good food, you'll want to know where your ingredients are coming from.

We understand that starting a garden can seem quite intimidating at the start, which is why we were stoked to work with such an enthusiastic family who decided to take a leap of faith to turn an underutilised part of their property into a food garden. Just a few months in and they’ve already managed to harvest a variety of leavy greens and herbs for their kitchen, with the assurance that everything is grown naturally without any chemical pesticides and fertilisers.

We’re excited to pass on everything we know about farming naturally and sustainably to help you succeed. Contact us for an on-site assessment and we will customise a proposal catered to your needs.