Back to basics

City dwellers enjoy weekends in nature

By Florence Cheng

The Tree Top Cottage is a tree house. The cottage is near Tai Po. It was registered in 1993 and subsequently started to provide a camping service. It won the Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995.

Mr. Yeung Hing Kin is one of the eight founders of the cottage. He said it attracted mainly community service centres at the beginning. But now, schools, companies, and even families and individuals go there to spend their weekends.

“We want to provide people with more fundamental and natural life experiences, other than those provided by other camp sites,” said Mr. Yeung.

He recommends that people rely more on their hands and use primitive methods, rather than use machines. “From cutting grass to building huts, all work at this cottage was done by ourselves,” said he.

“Besides introducing organic farming, we also provide campers with activities which help further develop their potential and emphasize group participation,” said Mr. Edwin Chan, a social worker who is also one of the founders of the cottage.

Mr. Chan cited examples like tree climbing and folkdancing.

“Physically, climbing trees can train the agility of one’s body. It can also strengthen one’s self-confidence mentally,” he said.

Under proper instructions and encouragement from friends and relatives, most participants can climb up the tree and reach the tree house, which is 8 metres high. The tree house is a wooden hut of about 8 square feet in area.

There also is a small animal farm for rearing cows, goats, pigeons, swans, chickens and fish.

“We hope children can treasure animals through direct interaction and communication with them,” said Mr. Chan.

Many city dwellers may be able to develop their career successfully, but they may not adapt well to the primitive environment.

Said Mr. Wu: “Participants very often are less patient. Most of them are unwilling to solve problems themselves and simply seek help early from the start.

“When encountering difficulties, people always think of themselves first. That’s why we emphasize not only exposure to the nature, but also self-motivation and cooperation within a group.”

Aside from Tree Top Cottage, the Music Farm provides more chances for practical training in farming for campers. It was first started in 1993 by Anthropological Survival Out-reach.

Campers can also learn primitive skills such as drawing on stones, making rattan ornaments and baking bread.

“Actually, our main aim is not to promote environmental protection. That’s why we get both organic and ordinary types of farming for participants to choose,” said Mr. Ricky Wu, the executive secretary of Anthropological Survival Out-reach.

“Instead, we introduce music to the farmland with the belief that it makes primitive life more attractive,” he continued.

For those who want to gain real farming experience, the Green Farm Park in Kam Tin may be a good choice.

Some said that through actual farming experience, people will treasure food more.

The rental fee charged for each row of farmland is $380 per month. But still many people are waiting on the list.

March 1996