Bangkok Post - Thailand - 30 September 1999

A field of dreams

PEOPLE: Inspired by a passion to grow rare durians, Chom Sowantrakul dragged his family upcountry to an arid piece of land. Despite their doubts in his project, his strong sense of faith bore fruit and now, 30 years on, his son continues the work and people from far and near visit his orchard

Chompoo Trakullertsathien

Chatri Sowantrakul spends his time in the nursery house where he breeds several species and plans to cultivate them in the future. _ SOMKID CHAIJITVANIT
When Chatri Sowantrakul works in his family's durian orchard he feels closer to the spirit of his deceased father. Each durian tree on 60 rai plot in Nakhon Nayok province was a labour of love for his father.

"It feels like my father is still alive. I love spending my time in his orchard, taking care of each tree he cultivated. I vividly remember the happy times I shared with him. He taught me many things about growing durian," said the 37-year-old agriculturalist.

It took Chom Sowantrakul—Chatri's father—more than 30 years to turn the arid area into the fertile patch where 700 plants now thrive. Unlike the other durian farms, the La-ong Fah orchard serves as a botanical garden where about 50 rare species of durian are well-preserved. Most of them are known to botanists as durian boran or ancient durian.

It is rare to see old species of durian in the fruit markets. But La-ong Fah orchard has a wide variety of strange-looking durians; some are oval, others are round and flat. Several have long stems.

And the colour of the meat comes in various shades—white, light yellow, dark yellow, and even gold. Their names are unfamiliar: Even to durian lovers the names kob ratsamee, toranee hwai, chai maa fai, jok loi, thong yoi chat, nom sod and khun non are largely unfamiliar.

"My father loved durian so much. He dreamt of having his own durian orchard and was determined to preserve as many old species as he could. So after he died, I followed in his footsteps and I'm happy to do so," said Mr Chatri.

"My father wanted a peaceful life so we left Bangkok for Nakhon Nayok 35 years ago. He bought some land and turned it into a durian orchard. At first, we disagreed with his decision and didn't believe we could plant any trees on such arid soil. "But with his unwavering determination, our father did it and finally his dream came true," added Mr Chatri, the third son of the Sowantrakul family.

Mr Chatri said when they first arrived the entire family was shocked.

Old varieties of durian which are now rarely seen in the fruit markets, (from top) kob suwan, la-ong fah, hemaraj, yam mae wad, fak khao and med nai kan yao.
Pictures by MANIT JAICHAGUN

"It seemed only grass could survive. But my father had a different idea. He said durian trees would grow well here in the next 20 years. And then he made up his mind to fight the aridity, and won the battle." And the name of the orchard bears special significance.

"One time there was no rain and the trees were dying. So my father asked for rain from the holy spirit. Miraculously, the rain fell all night long. As a result, the trees survived. So my father named his orchard La-ong Fah, meaning the sprinkled water from the sky," said Mr Chatri.

Currently more than 50 species, aged between 30 and 40 years, grow in the orchard. Walking through the orchard one can sense the owner's effort and love for the trees. The trees stand in neat rows and are healthy. Their canopy keeps the orchard cool and shady. In the hot season, each tree bears about 50 fruit.

Mr Chatri said few people realise there are 133 species of durian in Thailand. So why are so few of these found in the markets? According to Mr Chatri, heavy flooding in 1942 destroyed many durian orchards. Thousands of trees died and growers found themselves in debt. Those who wanted to start again selected only three or four species—those with a clear commercial value such as chanee, kan yao and mon thong. As a result, many ancient species are on the verge of extinction and several have already disappeared.

"The growers plant only those species that are well-known and acceptable. Those with unfamiliar names can't be sold although they have a good sweet taste," said Mr Chatri.

With unwavering determination to preserve the old pure breeds, Mr Chom spent years visiting durian orchards both in Bangkok and Nonthaburi and brought some species back to his orchard. It seemed the search for different durians was endless. He even looked for the seed of durians and tried to cultivate them. After collecting more and more species, Chom began his preservation work in 1965.

"We started everything from scratch. We all disagreed with our father's idea. The area was so dry, but he didn't change his mind. Then we began planting one by one," said Mr Chatri.

The first thing the planting team needed to do was turn the parched patch into fertile land. The soil was dug and mixed with natural fertiliser for many months. Then the search began for a reliable source of water. The team first approached nearby villagers but they needed the water for their cattle and poultry. "We had to be self sufficient. In the end we dug wells to supply water to every tree. Durian trees love high humidity. Father taught us how to care for the trees properly. We also learned about the nature of the trees," he said.

Through their efforts, hundreds of plants survived. When the trees bore fruit, everybody was happy. And even though there was no market for the ancient species, Chom was not discouraged.

"My father insisted he would continue planting the old species even though no one appreciated the fruit. He said no other orchards plant them so he would do it himself," said Mr Chatri.

To popularise his fruits Chom took them to agricultural fairs. Now durians from La-ong Fah orchard are sent to fruit markets in Rayong and Chanthaburi provinces.

"The feedback was good. Now we can sell our products to certain groups of people. Most of them are the older generation who may have tasted the ancient durian when they were young. During the durian season, they often visit my orchard and buy the fruit," said Mr Chatri.

"We don't care for the business. We all have a simple life. We only need money to develop our orchard and keep the trees in good health," he added. Apart from regular customers, La-ong Fah also welcomes botanists. Among these visitors is Manit Jaichagun of the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Regulatory Division who is collecting details on the different types of surviving species of durian.

The La-ong Fah orchard serves as an outdoor laboratory for Mr Manit's team to analyse and record each species' characteristics. According to Mr Manit, such information is beneficial to botanists whose work is to develop durian species.

"I can collect more information from this orchard than anywhere else. We analyse the DNA of each species so we can know the strong and vulnerable aspects of each species. Then we can select the strongest species and distribute them to agriculturalists," Mr Manit said.

"Information about our indigenous durians is so scarce. Our team has to set up an information base. Academics can help support agriculturalists with what they are doing and can also provide them with useful suggestions and knowledge," Mr Manit said.

The orchard is also open to the public.

Mr Chatri said love is the best nourishment for the plants and Nature is a wonderful teacher.

"We have to understand Nature and not fight against it. We need to know the nature of species and how to take care of them properly," he said.

Mr Chatri uses a natural fertiliser made of leaves and rice straw.

"Chemical fertiliser is harzardous to the environment. Our work is to preserve the species, so we need to strengthen the trees in a natural way," he said.

"Our trees bear fruit in their appropriate season. In some orchards, trees bear fruit all year round and this can cause the trees to die young. Generally, the lifespan of a durian tree is about 150 to 180 years. Few trees can live to a grand old age if they are bombarded with chemical substances in the soil," said Mr Chatri.

In the future, Mr Chatri plans to expand his garden and find more ancient species to add to the orchard and to expand the rarer species already there.

Mr Chatri's daily work involves propagating trees and planting the seeds in the nursery.

Although the Sowantrakul family doesn't earn a massive income from their durian orchard, they are all happy to follow in their father's footsteps. And they are determined to preserve their precious legacy for the next generation.

"Very often, we barely survive in difficult times. But we continue in our work. We dare not cut down any trees in favour of more commercial fruit. When we are discouraged we think of our father and consider how he survived when times were hard and how he overcame obstacles. In this we find strength," said Mr Chatri.

"My father's work has no commercial value but it does have a spiritual one. We were born in the durian orchard and we are part of it."