FAQs - Sungold Organic Farms
yasir ~يا سر
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Sungold Organic Farms
To join the weekly produce list updates for deliveries, send an email with name, address and cell/tel number to:
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Q.1.
Where is your farm located?
Ans: It is in Deh
Kakar, Union Council Darsanno Channa, District Malir.
Q.2.
How long have you been practicing organic agriculture?
Ans:
We will be ending the fourth year this autumn.
Q.3.
Why do you consider your product organically grown?
Ans:
We follow all the processes identified by the United States
Department of Agriculture as prerequisites for certification as
producers of organic vegetables.
Q.4. How does one
make sure that the product we receive from you is truly
organic?
Ans: This is a very good question. There are
many ways. Farms practicing organic agriculture require to be
transparent and open. We have a continuous stream of visitors and
guests to the farm and we make sure that they observe our
practices.
There is a distinct difference in the taste of
organically and conventionally grown products. Once you have the
organic produce, you will note the difference.
Q.5. We
have seen reports in the media that growers in Malir, Gadap,
Landhi and areas in and around Karachi are using domestic and
industrial sewerage water to irrigate their farms especially
those raising vegetables for the Market, is that true?
Ans: To
a great extent, this is true.
Q.6. Are you using
sewerage water as well? If not, then from where do you source your
water as there are no irrigation canals in the area?
Ans: We bored down to a depth of 416 feet to locate an aquifer that could consistently supply sweet potable water. That is to say, it is free from e-coli (human waste), industrial waste and harmful chemicals.
Q.7.
How do you make sure that the water does not get contaminated
as it does not rain much in Southern Sind?
Ans: That’s a big problem as our natural system of charging local aquifers is the seasonal Malir river. The sand and gravel mafia (truckers mostly from FATA) in connivance with the local police, revenue, EPA and district administration officials are excavating beautiful gravel and sand from the Malir river bed.
Consequently, the monsoon rains do not get absorbed by the river bed and all the water either ends up flooding fields or going into the Arabian Sea. I would welcome your help to start a campaign to fight this mafia and save the ecological balance in the surroundings of Karachi.
To finish answering your very pertinent question, we have water samples tested every 90 days by the AKU Labs to check to extremely high international potability standards. So far we have been well within the limits and more!
Q.8. Are you a Certified Organic Grower? If not, why not?
Ans: I have been tied up for the last 17 years with litigation against me personally. I won the case hands down about ten days ago by the Grace of God!! After I catch my breath, we will begin implementing our plans for certification.
Q.9.
From where do you get your seeds? Are they genetically
modified? Hybrid?
Ans: We do not use genetically modified (GM) seeds. We avoid the hybrids as well though the European Union, Indian, Chinese, South African, Japanese, Australian and Brazilian organic standards allow their use. USDA and Canadian standards forbid the use of hybrid seeds.
We
get our seeds from US, European and Australian certified organic seed
suppliers such as Seeds-o-Change, Burpee, Seeds, etc. We also
produce our own seed and have a seed bank. And we are now talking
with Zahra and Yasir about combining our seed banks for the good of
all of us.
Q.10. Does Sungold use chemical fertilizer such
as Urea, Di-Amino-Phosphate, etc.?
Ans:
Not at all. We use barnyard waste (non-cavernous animal
droppings) cured to eliminate its bacteria.
Q.11. What
about pesticides? What do you use?
Ans: This is an area
where we struggle. We have our own neem, tobacco “ackh” plant
based fermented pesticide which is used to disable bugs. Organic
farming does not allow killing of pests and insects as the food
supply chain for other predator bugs is then disturbed. Hopefully, by
the morning, the disabled bugs have become a midnight snack or
an early morning breakfast treat for the predator bugs! If not, they
come back with a vengeance!!
Many times we
have had to burn standing crops as we could not manage our pests and
insects and were fearful that all our crops would be lost if we
did not eradicate the cause. A lot of work is required in this
area.
Q.12. Do you use herbicides to kill weeds?
Ans:
We have never used herbicides. Along with pesticides, it is
pure poison for the humans. Instead we employ a good size contingent
of village women for hoeing the plants. Furthermore, this is
good for the ecology as the women take the weeds and grass for their
livestock.
Almost all village families have livestock.
Consequently we are recycling weeds and grass rather than killing it
with poison!! You will note that organic farming requires a much
greater labor input than conventional farming.
A Ercelan
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yasir ~يا سر
Nahlah Books
Zahra Ali
Hi.
We sent an email last month to our list, saying that we have stopped supplying Sungold orders for a few months.
Sungold is not supplying vegetables to other clients and stores. But if you want to contact them directly, please message them on their Facebook page or email them. That number is not ours. Must be of Sungold.
Please note that organic city eco store is just helping Sungold farms reach more people. We do not own or run the farm.
Best
--
Yasir Husain
Best Wishes!
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Nahlah Books <nahla...@gmail.com> wrote:
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