New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes'
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Tired of city life, this couple built a retreat on a Hong Kong farm and opened it to the community

Visitors take part in tea meditation on the deck. Maggie Hiufu Wong/CNN

“Don’t focus on achieving huge success at the end, but find happiness in working hard and solving problems during the process,” he says. “You don’t have to be successful before being happy.”

By Maggie Hiufu Wong
CNN
8th September 2021

Excerpt:

The couple, now in their sixties, had an idea: they would build a space that would allow them to farm and store their large collection of books.

“It started with just the two of us, plus Ringo’s younger brother and elder sister,” says Lee.

“We thought after a day of farming, we’d need a place to sit down, read, play music with friends and have a cup of tea. So we wanted to build a holiday book house where we can enjoy and relax. It sounded so romantic, right?”

Not long after kick-starting their “not-so-grand plan,” romance was the furthest thing from their minds.

“Oh, it was such a big challenge — every big and small thing you see here, we had to move by hand,” says Tsoi, pausing a moment to gasp while recalling the energy spent on their many moving trips.

The only structure on their newly acquired farm was a run-down pig shed. So in addition to their books, they started moving some stools and building materials to transform the shelter.

A handyman friend helped them add flooring and set them up with electricity. There was no water so an old well had to be re-dug and a pump was added.

Read the complete article here.