Animal Farm

We're finally back from our isolation on the Permaculture farm in Perak, so here is what we have been up to...

After KL we headed straight up into the Cameron Highlands on a bus driven by a madman. Chugging up the mountain on a busted bus we reached Tanah Rata at 5,000' white knuckled and actually cold! It was our first taste of fall and a welcome change from the sweltering heat that we have gotten used to here near the equator. This area was once a British hill station where they grew lots of tea and veggies, and there are still tons of farms. There is also an extensive network of fairly well kept trails for hiking, which communist rebels once used to smuggle supplies.

We spent a while up here chilling out and taking advantage of the cool temperatures to lead ourselves on some formidable hikes. The highest we climbed was Gunung Brinchang, where we were completely covered by a cloud blocking our views at 6,666'. The moss covered forest on the way there made up for it, however. We also visited the Boh Tea Estate, where we saw miles and miles of beautiful green tea plants covering rolling hills. This was by far some of the most spectacular scenery we have seen in Malaysia.

Next it was off the the very small town of Lenggong in the mountains of Perak to meet up with Ladia and Hana, the Czech owners of a Permaculture farm nestled in 40 acres of wild jungle. Our first sight of Ladia was of him zipping up to us at the bus station wearing green tie-dyed jeans on the most beat up motor bike in town. After telling us a little about the farm, he pointed to a cell tower straight up a hill behind town about 6km away and told us that we would be driving another equally beat bike up it. Yeehaw!

After a bumpy ride through tall grass on a rutted road we reached the place where we would spend the next month. The farm consists of one building that is the home to Ladia, Hana, and a Homestay and another building, formerly a Tea Factory (Kilang in Bahasa Melayu), that is home to the farm animals and Shiela, a German woman living on the farm. We were shown around the factory and told that in three days time we would be living there too, in a room that was full of rubbish, mold and various feces. This was to be our first project.

While fixing up the new rooms for volunteers in the Kilang we learned the basics of the farm. The first night was a major flash flood that drowned out the sound of the generator, which usually fills your ears and keeps you up at night. The next morning we learned how to fix the water input after bouldering up the river so we could have running water again. We met the animals: chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats, quail and 1 rabbit (Mr. Bunny) and learned how to feed them all. Eventually we learned how to deal with thier aggresive behaviour, for example, if a rooster runs at you and pecks at your head, just hit him with your feed bucket, etc.

Life on the farm is difficult to describe as everyday was different with new tasks, crazy bugs and things gone awry (who's going to clean out the septic tank this time?). We learned a bit about local plants and how to use them to cook with and as medicine (food poisoning in the dark with a squat toilet sucks btw). We fished in the pond (literally in the pond, swimming with the fish) for dinner. We killed scorpions, scrubbed bat shit off walls and burnt of countless leeches. Colin also got to spend most mornings running the path down to Lenggong on a motor bike to get fresh coconut scraps for the animals. After a couple of spills and a few mechanical problems he's ready to zip around just about anywhere. Never a dull moment.

We also spent Thanksgiving on the farm, which was an experience we'll both never forget. Instead of a Turkey this year we slaughtered and prepared a rooster for dinner. Plucking the feathers off of it's warm body was an experience that all meat eaters should have, it really makes you think about what you're eating. We dug up sweet potatoes, prepared stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans and even made a pumpkin pie! Although we both missed our familes back home, it was nice to share our tradition of Thanksgiving with new friends in the middle of the jungle.

Off the farm and on the road again we are writing again from Georgetown. We will spend a week here filling our bellies and then it's off to Sumatra on the 14th. Enjoy the photos and send us a line, we miss you all very much.