Sawit success

Two big bunches can fully load a wheel barrow with average weight of 20 kilo per bunch.

It sounds familiar - sweet success.  After a while, after proper care and maintenance of the oil palm trees you can achieve the standard of 20 kg and above per fresh fruit bunch.  The trees that can reach this standard are those that have been grown for about 7 years or more.  Now more and more trees at the park are able to produce 20 kg per bunch of oil palm fruits.  There is no secret to this sawit success.  It is just plain fertilising.  Oil palm trees react well to fertilising.  On the average  the standard is 1 kg of fertiliser per tree per month.  It is very much left to the wisdom of the planters whether to apply the fertiliser per 2 or 3 month basis.  Now don't try to over-fertilise the plants.  This is because you don't want the fruit bunches to weigh 30 or 40 kg per bunch.  Reason?  Who's gonna lift the bunches that heavy during harvesting, carry them on the wheel barrow or load them on the pick-up or lorry?  Imagine harvesting and lifting 50 bunches of 40 kg bunches a morning.  And another 50 bunches in the afternoon.  And who's going to repeat the work tomorrow?  Over-fertilising is not only a waste of money but can play havoc to soil long-term health and a major attraction for pests that devour the tempting fat and very green oil palm leaves for delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The branding of ecological oil palm cultivation

Note the Botanic Island Two at the background.
Pic shows oil palm trees planted at Zone E, looking west.

Orange Bellied Flowerpecker
making residence at the park

 The planting of oil palm in the Kambatik Park strictly follows an eco plan.  Its tree planting integration mode, enhanced land use design and planning, and deep ecology concerns in wildlife conservation are hallmarks of oil palm cultivation the eco-way.  There is no negative perceptions.  No soil erosion due to excessive application of weedkillers so prevalent in the conventional big industry players practice.  Use of toxic weedkillers is totally prohibited because it goes against the grain of wildlife preservation. The characteristic integrative planting  of oil palm trees into the existing forest ecosystems (secondary or virgin) ensures the preservation of ecological bio-diversity.  The Kambatik Park has over two years released reliable images on the different bio-diversity litmus test results generated at the park. More stories and adventures about the branding of oil palm cultivation the eco-way will be shared in future posts.

Another view of Zone E, looking north.
In the background is partly seen Botanic Island Two - a preserved area for bio-diversity purpose.

Less is more

 I am a fortunate guy.  The park is my lab for understanding nature in my private time and place.  Living in a lowland dipterocarp forest environment has provided me with the opportunity to internalize the global concerns of global warming, rainforest destruction, disappearing natural wildlife and untoward corporate greed.  For example the capitalist model of massive consumption has brought much destruction of nature.  In oil palm monoculture, whole original forests in Sarawak are stripped to ground zero only to be replanted with a single oil palm crop.  This unimaginative capitalist urge in corporations is largely driven by quantitative results in the name of  maximum profits.   But in the Kambatik philosophy less is more.  Here oil palm is well-integrated into the existing agro-forestry practices that resulted in increased bio-diversity, more value to the land as in potential economic spinoff in eco-tourism.  In particular this concept can uplift Sarawak into the only state in the world to possess a string of  park lands and nature reserves that can sustain itself through oil palm integration.  Imagine the total length of 800 km of Sarawak's country side situated along the trunk road turned into a continuous  band of wildlife, rainforest biodiversity, eco-tourism centers and the longest learning lab in the world.  This is my hope.

Oil-palm integration into native agro-forestry practices...

A pair of Brown -throated Sunbird finds home at the Kambatik Park...

Kambatik Park - an appreciation (Part 2)

The future happens here at the Kambatik Park

Eight years in days and nights of rain, sunshine, humidity and drought have gradually brought the park to its envisioned state.  It has become a sanctuary of wildlife.  A place where work is fun and joy to be.  A lowland dipterocarp forest environmental habitat enhanced with ecological diversity where oil palm farming is well-integrated into the culturally inspired native  agro-forestry practices.  It is here that I learn the meaning of ecopreneurship.  I am not the conventional planter  because I forever aim to  harvest 'green gold' together with a wealth of teeming wildlife every week in a month for the next 20 golden years (economic life of the oil palm trees) and more.   And this is made possible even without any single loan from the banking or financial institution in the development of the park since day one.  It is a fine example of where there is a will there is a way. 

I have answered the question that bugs and begs me. 
What is your contribution to the future, especially its environment and climate?  Is your contribution unique and of consequence?  I am getting ready to handover an environment where nature thrives ecologically and able at the same time to sustain itself commercially.  When all  the mainstream media currently report about  oil palm farming is the prevalence of  monoculture cultivation  and in its wake the destruction of whole forests, my experience has taught the contrary.  At the park oil palm farming is carried out in an eco-friendly manner.  It has passed the acid test of ecological diversity.  It is my hope that the authorities will see the model experimented here as iconic of the contribution of smallholders in the state in their safe practice of oil palm cultivation.  This model can make Sarawak into a destination with the broadest band of park lands and nature reserves  in Malaysia, if only leaders have the political will.

Overview of oil palm and agro-forestry integration - many more golden years ahead...

 This blog is testimonial enough on the practice of oil palm cultivation the eco-way, something that I would be pleased to pass on to my children and grandchildren and lovers of nature for posterity.  The future happens here at the Kambatik Park.