Experimental Activity @ Wasan by Syahir.

Yesterday on 17th August 2009, I went to Wasan with the BEACANs for the experiential activity which is harvesting Padi at Wasan.

It was our 2nd trip for our 1st semester. The activity for this week was totally different, where we have to do some community work with farmers at Wasan.

The aim of the activity is to give us the chance to experience being part of the Brunei heritage in harvesting the new Brunei padi brand Laila. I know it will be tiring for us but it is already part of the course to do a community work and I really love doing community work.

Me with all the stuff; gardening hat, boots, cotton long sleeves.. panassss..

As usual, we were told where to meet and at what time to come. The meeting point was at UBD and we were told to come at 6.00am sharp! Then a bus will drive us to Wasan. Unfortunately I came late, so I drive to Wasan on my own.

We were told to bring the following items:

1. Hand gloves
2. Small pen knife
3. Wide gardeners hat
4. Gardening boots
5. Insect repellent
6. Sun screen
7. at least 1 litre of water
8. cotton long sleeves
9. cotton long pants

So I arrived at Wasan at 8.00am. I was late so I went to the farm, and there were also late comers too. Most of the student already done with the harvesting.

The people who work or own the padi Laila are very friendly, the brought us to the farm and straight away and taught us what to do and how to harvest the paddy.

At first I thought it will not be easy to harvest the paddy, in fact it was quite easy, we just have to cut the paddy and put it into the basket (tekiding). However stepping in the farm was not easy as the ground is muddy. I nearly trip myself into the mud twice. After half an hour harvesting the paddy, we had a break. The host (the farm owner) gave us some food and drink.

After that I met the farm owner to gain some information. The men who own the 1.60hectre farm is Haji Md Ali bin Bakar. I was glad to meet him, I thank him for the chance he gave to me to experience how it feels like to be a farmers. Although it was tiring but it gave me invaluable experience. So I went on asking him how the paddy was planted from a seed. The paddy Laila take 3months and 10days in order for them to be mature enough to be harvested. At first the whole 1.60hecter need to be cleared, so they burn the bushes which also make the soil fertile. Then they tramp the soil using a machine to make the ground surface flat. Then they start the planting of seeds in a small area. After 10-15days they will transplant the seedlings to the main farm.

First they made a holes 9-12inches away from each other, each hole will be planted with 3 branches of paddy. It will take 3months and 10days for the paddy to be matured. Then the paddy will grow and when its color turn to dark green its indicate that the paddy is ready to be matured where it will turn yellowish. After 112days, the paddy will be harvested. Then they separate the paddy from its branches using a machine. Then they dried up the paddy under the sun for 3days.

a paddy with some grains inside They put the grain under the sun




Haji Md Ali bin Bakar.

A workers using pesticide to kill kesisang which eat the paddy

daun tarap use to scare the burung pipit..the reason they us it is because the leaf is environmentally friendly where it will decompose into the soil..




use to prevent a rat from coming in.

students

a young paddy a matured paddy

the pathway

I went home at 10am, the owner of the padi gave us 1kg each. They were really friendly and kind. And I think the padi laila planting is important to drive us towards self-sufficiency in national rice production.

That’s all.. bye =)

2nd Trip :Experiential activity on Monday 17th August 2009

Dear Students,
As you can see from the calender set up in this groupmail, the activity we have
planned for you on the date above is to do Harvesting of Padi at Wasan.
The aims of the activity are for you to experience being part of the Brunei
heritage in harvesting the new Brunei padi brand Laila as well as to do some
community work with farmers in Brunei.
The bus from UBD SHBIE car park will leave at 6.00am sharp and arrive Wasan
about 6.30am. And the  bus from Wasan will leave about 8am in time for you to
arrive back to UBD about 9.15am.
You would need to bring with you the following items in preparation for the trip
and after:
1. Hand gloves (cotton)
2. Small pen knife
3. Wide gardeners hat
4. Gardening books as it would be wet and muddy
5. Insect repellent
6. Sun screen
7. at least 1 litre of water
8. wear Cotton long sleeve shirt
9. wear cotton long pants
10. Basket (tekiding) for containing padi as you cut and collect them
11. change of clothes for next lectures
12. camera and notebook and pen for blog records

See you all
Regards
Dr Irene

Trip 1: Proboscis monkey @ Brunei River - Syahir -

Earlier today we went for a trip along the Brunei River for the Brunei Environment Appreciation and Community Action (BEACA/ED-1402) course. It is the first trip for our first semester. We met at 7.30 at the ‘Tambing’ (river bank) near the Ideal Café, Bandar Seri Begawan. So I woke up early at 6.30am, had my shower and breakfast. I arrived at the meeting point at 7.20am. At 7.30am we all gathered, a taxi boat already waiting for us at the river bank. There were two boatmen on the boat, who also operate as our tour guide. Before get into the boat, Dr Irene and Dr Asmah gave us a simple guidelines or briefing regarding the trip. Before we get into the boat, we have to put on the life jacket.

safety 1st! Me,Azri, and Malek

macam sjuk,padahal panas..hehe

The weather on that morning was really good. It wasn’t hot, and thank god it’s not raining even though the sky looks dark. However, as time move on, the sun started to rise and the weather getting hot.

About the trip, the location of the trip was along the Brunei River. The boatmen drove us along the river near the mangroves, that’s where we can see wildlife. Along the way in the river we saw so many things, and thanks to Zali, (the boatmen/tour guide) he was very helpful, he told us so many things. He is a very experience guy. He knows where to find the proboscis monkey. He told us that the proboscis monkey would swim across the river to the opposite bank every morning to find food and return in the afternoon. It’s difficult to imagine how the monkey can stay alive because there is crocodile in the river. I spotted a baby crocodiles on the river surface near the swamps but I didn’t manage to get a picture of it.
perahu laju masa atu,lapas tu the boatmen lagi nda dgr ckpku,limpas tia anak buaya aa..

ambuknya pemalu,nda mau hampir2 yth pyh kan digmbar

Other than the monkey, we also managed to see other animal such as snake, kanawari, komodo..



The trip was good; it did not take a long time, just a few hours. The trip gave me valuable experience and knowledge. Ten dollars were collected from each student fir the trip, though it is a bit much for a student, overall it is satisfying.
On the way of the trip, we also pass around the area of historical value such as the Nakhoda ragam, Makam Luba(the 17th Sultan Of Brunei).

the nakhoda ragam.

makam luba

There’s also opportunity to visit the Kampong Ayer, with the help from Zali, we get to know lots of information about Kampong Ayer. He told us that there is 14 schools altogether in Kampong Ayer. Two clinics, one of them is the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Clinic which is located at Kampong Sungai Kebun and the other one is Clinic Sungai Asam.

clinic Sungai Asam. Sekolah Menengah Awang Semaun

Sekolah Rendah P.A.P,Besar. Masjid Sungai Kebun

the house where we have a tea

I saw the monkey!! Belakangnya aaa =p

Dr Asmah

Dr Irene

After 2hrs+ of trip, we were getting tired and hungry. Then there is a man, a very kind man who invited us to come into his house. His house is located in Kampong Saba. He served us hot tea and variety of ‘kuih’. After that we return to the ‘tambing’ and we went home. That’s all =)

Now I cant wait for the next trip. See you soon.. adios~~