Long Valley Rice Harvesting Workcamp (3) — Accommodation

One of the characteristics of this workcamp was to promote low carbon’s life, so even though the simple tin house we stayed in was as hot as Sahara Desert in the midday, there was no air-conditioner.  However, we did have three big strong fans and a windy balcony.  When it was unbearable hot in the afternoon, we liked to take the fans to the balcony and slept on the chairs.  In fact, once you get used to the temperature of nature, living without air-conditioners is far more comfortable than always entering and exiting air-conditioned rooms.

The simple little hut that accommodated all volunteers.

Naping on a chair with a strong fan amid the boiling hot weather.

From this experience, I was deeply impressed by the traditional wisdom.   The house we stayed in was also called, ‘Long leg house’ because it was elevated a few feet by several long legs.  The extra area under the house was used to store things and its heat-dissipating function did impress me.  There were several nights that I felt so cold that I needed to turn off the fan and covered myself.  The room temperature inside was indeed much lower than outside, just like we had turned on the natural air-conditioner.

The long legs help to elevate the house, dissipating the heat.

Another characteristic of this workcamp was that we were not served with high beds and soft mattresses, so we had to sleep on our own yoga mat and heat-dissipating bamboo mat.  The thing I loved most was the big mosquito net which was provided by CA, this net made me feel like a princess, in addition to prevent the attack from insects, that transparent space did give us a sense of privacy.

Everyone had their own privacy inside these princess-felt mosquito nets.

As we just stayed beside the farms, all the detergents we used were biodegradable and natural so as to reduce our harm to the fragile environment around us.  For example, we used tea seed powder liquid to wash dishes, soap nut liquid for shower and laundry and citronella oil as insect repellent.  Only until I did the research about natural detergent online before the workcamp, then I knew nature had long provided everything we needed around us.  In fact, it is so easy to stay in harmony with nature, it all depends if you have the heart to discover the way.

This small nut is called Soap nut, its shell easily get bubbles when you rub them, it is the most natural detergent on earth.

This kind of simple life is not unfamiliar with me, because I had lived in villages close to farmlands, tin house without long legs (the boiling hot feeling inside the house was still unforgettable) and I was also used to the simple life in the ashram in India.  However, the biggest challenge was bitten by unknown insects while I was sleeping and annoyed by the rat who kept grounding his teeth while we were on bed.  Actually I didn’t’ mind to be strung by mosquitoes and those smaller than sesame blood-suckers ‘aat zai’, because at least I could see them.  Until now, I still don’t know what kind of insects who stung my feet at night and made me feeling crazily itchy, some said they were fleas, some said mites, some even said spiders.

My piggy foot after stung by red ants and unknown insects.

In fact, why do human beings are dying to kill snakes which they encounter?  If you didn’t hurt them at the first place, they would rather ignore you; why do human beings have to catch bullfrogs to eat?  They are indeed helping us to eat lots of mosquitoes; why do human beings are desperate to attack those ugly flying insects?  They are just lost and fly into your home accidentally.  Therefore, I didn’t hate those insects who stung me because I understood very well that it was me who invaded their habitat, but not they invaded my mosquito net.

We were living with different kinds of insects in Long Vally, eg, very often, we found this beautiful Rhinoceros beetle.

This little long leg house not only provided us a shelter, but also acted as a bridge between nature and us.  My favourite moment was just before dawn, when the eggplants and water spinach were in deep sleep in the farms in front of the house.  Then when the first ray of sun showered on the leaves, the just condensed dew water would reflect the golden rays of the sunrise, the sprinkling colour from the farms was just like saying good morning to me.

At night after the twilight, looking out from the house, it was the dark farms with a row of rectangular shining objects on the top left corner, their light scattering through the sky, that is the civilization of the Sheung Shui town center.  But if you shifted your look to the right, you would only see the darkness, some branches dancing under the breeze and hear the frogs were contending among each other, that is the motherly tenderness of Long Valley.

From the quiet darkness of Long Valley, watching the dazzling city.

How long can such peaceful moments last for?  The Hong Kong government has already planned to develop the surrounding area of Long Valley into residential area.  Can the future residents keep the harmony with the wildlife here?