The life cycle of plants begins and ends with seed, and by saving seeds, we can renew the tradition, secure our food source, and ensure the sustainable future for both the plants and the people.
Jon Jandai, Thailand’s natural building guru who lives by the motto “life is easy”, founded the Pun Pun Centre for Self Reliance in 2003.
“Pun Pun” means “A Thousand Varieties”, which represents a variety of trees, perennial edibles, fruits, vegetables, flowers, herbs, as well as people and ideas that can be found at the farm.
An organic farm and self-reliance learning centre that is based on anexperimental and experiential learning approach, Pun Pun focuses on the four basic needs of life, which are shelter, food, clothing, and medicine.
To live sustainably and to be self-reliant, the people at Pun Pun grow their own food, raise chickens for eggs, and build their own home using natural building techniques learned from Jon. The main aim of Pun Pun is to save seeds, as the seeds will one day be grown into food. If there is no seed, then there is no food, and if people eat healthy food, then there is no need for medicine.
Seed saving not only retains the food supply and contributes to the self-reliance practice, but also preserves the garden heritage and biodiversity. This traditional but often overlooked agricultural practice is also a significant technique in developing the varieties of plant that aresuitable for the growing conditions of each garden.Pun Pun seeks seeds, both indigenous and rare, from Thailand and all over the world, propagates them at the farm, and distributes the heirloom seeds to the interested farmers and growers.
Visiting Pun Pun for just one day or spending time helping in the garden for a few weeks will unquestionably be an enriching experience where visitors can learn about self-reliance and discover that life is truly easy.
Contact Information:
Pun Pun Thailand
80/1 Mu 1, Tambon Ban Pao, Amphoe Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai 50150
Tel. +668 1470 1461
www.punpunthailand.org
kritsadasabai@gmail.com
Source: 7greens.tourismthailand.org
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