What are the benefits of having your own farm?
Freedom. You get to see the food you are going to eat and know where it came from. You’re continually learning every day from the plants and the situations that arise.

What are the difficulties?
Farms require consistency.

Do you think local markets get what Pun Pun is doing?
Many thought we were crazy. We are an organic seed-saving farm and also teach courses, so that you can experience and learn sustainable-living techniques, including farming organics, making a house from sundried mud bricks, yoga and much more. But to create understanding as a farmer, you just have to do it. What we’ve learned is that it’s much more effective to do what you feel is right and then open yourself up for people to come and learn from it. If people can see it themselves, that is the best way to learn. You can talk all day about how people should change to organic, but this way, they’ll learn much more.

What’s going on with Pun Pun restaurant?
Our goal for the restaurant is to help support other organic producers by providing more of a market. We try to bring a mixture of local vegetables into more modern recipes to see how these can be eaten in different ways.

Do you think the idea of organic farming is a growing trend in Thailand?
It’s important that Thailand maintains a strong rural farming society, but in order to do that, they need support and more understanding from consumers.