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  Today Online 15 Nov 05
A down to earth labour of love
 as told to Jasmine Yin

She quit her job 6 years ago to start a farm the pure, organic way – without chemicals – and is now nearly breaking even

FACE IN THE CROWD: Evelyn Eng-Lim, 58, organic farmer

WHILE fogging was being carried out in the rest of Singapore during the dengue outbreak, one little part of the island stoutly stayed insect friendly.

Insects are welcome to roam freely about the Green Circle Eco-Farm along Neo Tiew Road because they are counted on as important helpers at this organic farm.

"Most of the insects and animals work for us on the farm. We don't spray anything at all, so we have a lot of insect and animal life," says its tanned and petite owner, Mrs Evelyn Eng-Lim, 58. "Bio-diversity is very important to us. The more bio-diverse it is, the farm will have more types of nutrients that come simply from the cycle of life."

Evelyn, who used to work in her family's aluminium fabrication business, and her financial consultant husband, Lim Tian Soo, quit their high-flying jobs to build their rustic sanctuary in 1999.

This decision, the former full-time Nature Society volunteer says, stemmed from her long-standing interest in the environment — which she put on the backburner to concentrate on her career in her younger days.

"But after a while, you wonder, hey, what is life all about? There doesn't seem to be much meaning if all your concerns are about material needs," Evelyn tells Today.

"We forget the importance of other living things and how they connect with us in the web of life. I think relationships between humans, plants and animals are very important. And when you care for the environment, you will also care about the food you eat."

Only organic matter, like compost made out of weeds or tofu waste from factories, is used on the five-acre farm. Weeding is done manually by the childless couple and their team of six workers.

A typical day means getting up by 7am, checking until sundown on the more than 90 types of produce grown on the farm — such as brinjal, tapioca, Chinese cabbage, mint, papaya and sugar cane. More than 300kg of organic produce, including imported vegetables that cannot be grown locally, get sold and delivered directly to the farm's customers every week.

The biggest challenge is the hot and humid weather, says Evelyn.

"We cannot afford to have short working hours even if it gets hot under the sun," says Evelyn. "This is not a lucrative business, especially since our yield is not as high as farms that use chemicals."

After six years of operations, the farm — which has operating costs of more than $10,000 a month — is now only close to breaking even. But it is the lifestyle, not the profit margin, that the couple is interested in.

And this lifestyle includes being close to the denizens of nature – such as the occasional turtle that wanders onto the farm after a storm, or a pair of Black-shouldered Kites that visit regularly to hunt for lizards, snakes and rats.

But mention most people's idyllic image of slow-paced farm life, and Evelyn — who has not taken a holiday since the farm started — chortles.

"Oh, it's not a slower pace of life! I always tell people that I'm climbing Mount Everest on the farm," she says. "When the weather turns, you see your hard work go to waste. The plants weaken, the insects and animals zoom in and productivity drops.

"But then, you have to tell yourself that this is natural cycle of life, and you pick yourself up again."
links

More on the Green Circle Eco-farm website:

Visitors are welcome at the farm but guided tours are available for groups only. Educational tours for school children are conducted to expose children to the workings of nature and to stimulate an interest in life sciences. Also, cooking sessions, farm parties, overnight stays, home-organic farming courses and health related activities and more.
Location: 155 Neo Tiew Road Singapore 710000
Opening hours: Daily 9am to 6pm
Charges: farm tours $6/person, min 20 persons
Contact: 68619286 email soo@greencircle.com.sg

More about farms at Kranji
Related articles on Singapore: general environmental issues
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