Starting a farm of my own

I often get the question, “what are your plans after you graduate from school?” While for many Indonesian students studying abroad the answer is obvious, to become a researcher, to become a lecturer at a university, among many other awesome answers, my own answer might be somewhat an anomaly.

I’d like to start a farm. Make a vegetable garden, grow vegetables, and raise some farm animals, as well as providing my own clean water, electricity, propane gas (for cooking), take care of my children’s education, and try to be more self-sustained.

One thing for sure is that, I don’t want to work FOR other people (working with other people is of course not a problem). By that I mean by not being trapped in a system that ties me up and keeps me away from doing what I want to do most (read books, teach and spend more time with my family, learn Arabic, study the Qur'an, and other personal projects).

And starting a farm for me would probably be a good idea.

Besides that, I want to work for something that I believe would be worthwhile and can sustain my family even after I’m gone. By starting a farm, hopefully I can set up a good framework for my children to not be too worried about the future (especially in these times where insecurity is constantly instilled into our minds).

Why do people work anyway?

Isn’t it for fulfilling needs? What are our needs? What we really need to survive. Not the ones people tell us we need, like what they tell us in all the commercials on TV, but the ones that we really-really need to have a decent and honorable life.

If only we were able to fulfill our basic needs, wouldn’t it be enough for us and we’d be able to live independently and be engaged in activities that we think are beneficial for us? Of course, it’s not always up to us. Sometimes we just have no choice in choosing what we do. Be it economic pressure, hopes from parents, and other factors, sometimes we’re just deprived of choice when choosing our paths.

But if given the opportunity and resources, I’d really like to start a farm. By starting a farm, I’d be able to fulfill many of the needs of my family. It doesn’t have to be a big farm. Big enough to support my small family is more than enough. I’ll be writing more about this dream of mine from now on. So I’ll be regularly updating my blog with these kinds of posts besides the usual topics. Hopefully, it’ll keep my enthusiasm up and strengthen my will to take the plunge.