Greetings from Taiwan

Lee-Mika

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Hello to one and all.
My name is Mike, I'm an English teacher working in Taiwan. Although I am married to a Filipina for 10 years now, We have just bought some agricultural land in the Philippines, 16,000 square meters. We are planning to build a self sufficient farm. There are about 150 coconuts trees on the land now with a few mango trees and some others. Also planning to plant Cacao trees under the coconut trees. We should get around 1,500 trees from what I have been told in there.

We are also planning to go into chicken production, with about 300 laying hens. A nice battery of quails as well nothing to much. We are looking at adding some broiler chickens into it. Then being the Philippines my wife really wants to raise a few hogs as well. The land has a beautiful stream running most of the year but not always. There is no power there right now. But it is possible to get it, but thinking of going solar. using a 500w solar system. But the chicken incubator worries me as I can't really find out how many watts you need to run one. My wife name is Lee and my name is Mike, but the Chinese always say Mika. sounds different so I use it.. Sorry to be so long winded.. I am happy to be here.
 

Mark

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Gday Mika, so glad you have joined us mate I was hoping you'd "sniff " the forum out after we met on youtube but I didn't want to seem pushy and ask directly.

Being an English teacher in a foreign country is extraordinary imo but expanding into farming and self-sufficiency is even more interesting and I hope you share some of your experiences with us here please :)

There are a few guys here who know quite a bit about off-grid solar so post any power usage questions in our energy section.

It sounds like an exciting time in yours and Lee's life and I wish you all the best on your new property.
 

Lee-Mika

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Thank you for the nice welcome Mark. Had to come check it on this as it is almost everything I am interested in all in one place.
 

Tim C

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Hi Mika. I'm new here. I say good on you! Taiwan....Fascinating and diverse..Filipinos are wonderful too. What about coffee? I bet there are other produce there we never even heard of!
 

Lee-Mika

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In the Philippines coffee is pretty much handled by Nescafe. There is a great deal of coffee planted in the Philippines. I drink coffee but not really interested in growing it. As the coffee tree are all hybrid, and require a great deal of care and chemicals to keep them alive a producing.. I am into Natural Farming, with IMO's.
 

Tim C

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Nescafe use robusta-and a poor Vietnamese variety. I have Indian Elk Hill Robusta-as good as Arabica. If you are at elevation you may well profit from Arabica. Not all Arabicas are high-grown either. You should not only research varieties, but not take as gospel any negative and all-encompassing generalisations in any horticultural decisions. I realise any plantings take years to come to fruition, but that is all the more reason to research. Make the mountain come to Mohammed. Not wait for Mohammed to come to the mountain. There are many Papuan, Javan and Java-Sunda varieties also. I am sure coffee is a much larger market than cocoa.
There may be purpose-bred coffee, but the definition of a hybrid generalises sterility of seed. Camellias (coffea) do not breed sterile. Even crosses of Arabica and Robusta, plus less well known variants, will produce viable seed. The Rubiaceae family are well known for their diversity.
Your stance on natural farming is therefore noted, and enforced, by my reply. Find the plant and variety that thrives, whether it is cocoa,coffee or whatever else. But please do not ever, ever be influenced by mis-informed generalisation. Lest it be at your detriment.
If you drink Nescafe, I am not surprised at your aversion to growing the "foul cup". I have grown and roasted my own coffee for many years, and will drink tea over granulated coffee always. You may well change your stance against coffee in general given a good cup. Even PNG robusta is better than the commercial Robusta. MUCH stronger (up to double the caffeine) and a flavour and antioxidant hit that satisfies immediately.
 

Lee-Mika

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My friend has 4,500 coffee trees. I know what he has to go through to produce coffee. We have worked together for years. I know just about every that happens on his farm. Every bean produced on his farm goes to Nescafe. He has also has about the same amount in rubber trees as well. I have hundreds of mature Coconut trees on my farm. But honestly my interests are in poultry, mainly production of eggs. As far as cash. Organic vegetables and fruit are under development. But this is my retirement project. I have little interest in debating farming with anyone.
 

Tim C

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Maybe when you are being given the minimum price for your eggs by the middle-men, debating farming will be further up your list of priorities. All of my friends and family are dryland cereal farmers who complain about prices given, yet are also of closed mind to alternatives, like your friend may be. Slowly they are adapting to on-farm storage to negate the supply-and-demand price volatility. My grandfather was a soldier-settler in the SA Mallee, but also ran the wheat stacks, then the silos, for CBH. He was also the local Godsborough-Mort (now Elders), supplying everything from foodstuffs to hardware to clothing and linen. And the Golden Fleece fuel supplier-all in drums. With the de-regulation of the grain industry in Australia, my father became a grain and commodities merchant, running this business out of his 24 hour truckstop.
Working in a cash economy does not change the dynamics of doing business. It just makes prudence more important. Surely if this man was your friend, you would be imparting your knowledge and experience to further his success?
A friends father retired from farming. He took up carpentry, wood-carving and lead-light windows at 70, and made more money in the next 6 years than in the previous 40. Eventually he had to turn people away. I am unsure of your aspirations, apart from boo-hooing outside opinion. The Aussie knocker is still well-and-truly alive in you at least.
 
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