At the end of October 2011 a huge quantity of water from the flooding Northern Thailand flows slowly to the Gulf of Thailand. Flooding is a known situation at every end of the rainy season ( October - November ) in several provinces but this year such levels and duration were not expected. The closure of the gates in Bangkok during a part of the crisis to protect its 12 millions inhabitants, hardens the crisis outside the protected perimeter, in such areas as the Ayutthaya or Nonthaburi provinces north of Bangkok. Access and shortage of supplies to hospitals are among the hardest problems to deal with. The release of crocodiles and venomous snakes from their farms in Nonthaburi are relatively more anecdotal events, though real.
Aleyagarden was set in Nonthaburi, where orchard production and a huge horticulture activity had been driven by a fertile land and the availability of water year round from the Chao Phraya river. Nonthaburi was also at the intersection of northern and southern routes.
During the floods Aleyagarden, in business since 11 years, lose their stock of plants by tens of thousands, some of which that had been propagated during the 8 previous years were unique specimens. Even if a small fraction of a stock is sold every year, a horticulture business cannot run without a big stock. This stock dies, rotting under 2.5 meters of water. Many partners of Aleyagarden face the same situation in Nontahaburi and other provinces too : they will have to relocate in order to stay in business.
Suvarnaphumi airport being almost at sea level the collect of cargo from the farms in the same province of the airport is bound to be difficult each year in October and November. It is worth mentioning that such farms would have to grow plants at a height above flooding level. This would be a problem regarding price competition.
Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on aleyagarden.com Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com
Find all Aleyagarden posts on http://aleyagarden-blog.blogspot.com
A few years ago we had built on the farm a tiny bungalow 5 metres above the ground to accommodate family and team during a flooding situation. A safe raft with a roof would have been more expensive to build.
The bungalow allowed us to to work and rescue a few thousands of Hoya plants to be carried at very high transportation prices. We hanged the Hoya on trees along the road and carried them on a 4 meters long wooden boat over the Chao Phraya river to an opposite pier in Pakkret that would not be flooded for the next 24 hours. Each travel of the small traditional boat across the huge river was dangerous because of the higher current during floods. During one of the travels a snake appeared in the small boat, he was hidden in a bunch of Hoya plants.
In Pakkret a so long awaited 6 wheels truck was there for us to upload the rescued plants and some basic commodities for use on our new site in Phang Nga about 850 km south of Nonthaburi. The car and the van were left on a bridge in Nonthaburi with many other vehicles around.
In Phang Nga, only 35 km from Phuket international airport, Aleyagarden house, in the middle of a vast area of Hevea plantations that extend to a wild forest ( planned to become a national park someday ) looks over a natural environment at every angle. We were surprised to see only meters from our terrace an elephant running to the river before climbing the mountain where he is used to carry logs.
We start to hang the rescued Hoya, a few percents of the tens of thousands remained under the water. They are the rarest species we got over the last years. We use our Heveas to create a natural shade. Being less than 10 km from the sea ( 40 metres above it ) we enjoy nice winds in a very humid environment. The already hanged plants seem to love this setting.
The deserted river from the mountains runs at the end of the land, creating wild beaches of golden sand with wild tress and fauna behind.
This new growing site is remote and scenic. Trails to surrounding mountains and wild unvisited forest with waterfalls start just 2 km from our site. The so many trees would stop the flows of a landslide from the surrounding mountains. Let's hope that we are not exactly in the wrong place regarding earthquakes that are predicted to hit Southern Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.
As the number of partners in the horticulture activity is very limited in Phang Nga, Aleyagarden will specialize in a few sorts of plants : hoya, ferns and some flowering species. Part of the land will be allocated to the cultivation of trees for a non intensive cheese production.
Hoya and other plant collections are for sale on aleyagarden.com . Plant care is available in various posts of this blog. Contact : aleyagarden@hotmail.com
