compost. They have 40 cows roaming thefield. Ducks and chickens have their
pond. They also dug a large pond for breedingfish. They grow bananas, fruit trees,
vegetables, and rice without using chemicals. They make their own compost from
straw, cow manure, grass and green residues from the garden, and kitchen leftover.
They eat what they grow and they grow what they want to eat. They also buy or
barter organic products such as organic soybeans with other organic farmers in their
network. They are very good at adapting all they canfind in the farm to make
nutritious and delicious vegan/vegetarian food. They eat sometimesfish and eggs
from their own farm. They all wear simple clothes and a pair offlip-flops. They
practice yoga. The children receive love and care from the members. Everyone
looks healthy and happy.
When people have freedom to design their own lives, they will have
self-confidence and less fear. A step further is sustainability that I am going to
address next.
- Sustainability
According to Jon ( 2013 :76–79, 124–125), the index of economy growth is an
indicator of self-destruction. We are lured to consume and think that happiness
depends on more and more consumption. In fact, overconsumption burdens us and
that takes a toll on our health. Moreover, safeguarding valuables create suffering.
Worse than that, to be able to consume more, one needs to work more, which means
no leisure time and no bonding in the family. Many Thais realize that we have
enough quantity of food but not much variety as food has been monopolized by a
few transnational corporations. The work that they do is to destroy natural resources
to grow monocrops with chemical fertilizers and we are left with polluted and
infertile soils.
Jon, in his interview with Songglod ( 2012 : 79), indicates that Thailand had been
sustainable before we changed to consumerism the Western way about 50 years
ago. The old life is good; it just lacks the health dimension so we need to improve
on it. When we discarded our old system and jumped right onto the bandwagon of
modernization, we became slaves of the system right out and had no time to enjoy
life.
Sustainability means a holistic way to live in harmony with nature, and that way
of life will nurture our sustenance. Thinking that we are an inseparable part from
nature, we will treat the nature with understanding and respect. As a consequence,
we will have fertile soil and clean water to use. We will be able to consume healthy
food from our own production. We can build our own home. We can be a part of a
fair trade. We should be free from being a slave to money, a hierarchical system,
amnaj (power), fame, etc. Sustainability also means that understanding that life is a
cyclic order; we always have happiness that comes together with suffering.
Happiness is not the most important thing in life. The understanding of oneself in
life is more important, states Jon in his interview with Songglod ( 2012 : 80). Jon
gives an interview about his view on understanding oneself and life as follows:
6.6 What I Learned from Punpun 99