Sanctuary fully completed and in full swing

At last, I have completed all the works for the sanctuary and the last thing that I did was to clear the rubbish and leftovers in front of my sanctuary. I have also got back the fountain on the roof in front of the entrance hole in working order. What I need to do now is to observe the swiftlets flying above my sanctuary, watching their behavior, so that I can do the adjustments, if necessary, to attract them into my sanctuary. I hope I don't have to carry out anymore repairs and if there were any if would only be minor which I can do on my own. I have sorted out the construction costs with my partner and what I can tell my readers is that it cost about RM32 per sq ft, all-in, to DIY this sanctuary.

View of Sanctuary from main road

Fountain and Pool in front of Entrance Hole

Birdhouse for Sale in Kuala Terengganu

The owner had asked me to put up this advertisement. It is a 3 1/2 storey birdhouse, 8m x 24m, and situated along the new Binjai Rendah - Rawai main road in Rawai, Bukit Payong, Kuala Terengganu. The total land area is 8 acres. This BH started operation about 6 months ago and currently have about 40 nests. The land is freehold and asking price is RM2.5 million. Those who are interested can call 0199343828.

Front View of Birdhouse

View from the back

Panaromic view of land (1) - opposite side of road is still part of land

Panaromic view of land (2)

Panaromic view of land (3)

Birdhouse during construction

Agriculture Land for Sale in Kuala Terengganu

There is a piece of agricultural land for sale in Mukim Belara, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. This land is planted with matured oil palm It is along the alternative main trunk road from Kuala Terengganu to Kuala Berang and along the bank of Sungai Terengganu which is the the superhighway for swiftlets from Kuala Terengganu to the interrior. Just a few kilometers away from the Telemong Interchange of the East Coast Highway. Ideal for swiftlet farming and open to non-Malays. Land area is 8.8 acres and asking price is RM 1 million. Those who are interested can call 0199343828 for further details.

I Love Living Life, I Am Happy

While others are dissatisfied with life, cursing, insinuating, bad-mouthing and worst of all doing nothing positive, this guy who is without limbs is loving life.

Roof repaired

My workers had finished installing the metaldeck roof over the flat roof on both sides of my sanctuary leaving only the middle portion with pools. The leaks have all gone and I feel a great relief. However, the roof over the roving room which I had painted the top with 2 coats of elastomeric liquid waterproof membrane shows a slight leak when it rained this afternoon and it seems to come from a hairline crack on the side of the roof which was not painted. I will have to purchase a 5 litre can tomorrow and have that portion painted. With that touch-up, I hope have resolved the leakage problem. When I was at the sanctuary today, I was surprised at the number of swiftlets circling the sanctuary. They were still circling the sanctuary at 1.00 pm. Perhaps they liked the blue-coloured metaldeck roof which I had just installed.

View of entrance after renovation

View of the entrance from the back

View of metaldeck roof on the right side of entrance

Another view of the metaldeck roof from the back

It has been 3 weeks now

I had switched on the bird sound for 3 weeks now. Progress made has been very encouraging. Swiftlets have been circling my sanctuary even during odd hours like 10.00 a.m and 11.00 a.m. In the late afternoon, most of swiftlets were seen circling my 4 ways tweeter and hexagonal tweeter . So far, I have found 3 bird shit spots on the 3rd. Floor . One of the spots is directly above the tweeter. One problem that has been nagging me is the leakage on the roof and I had decided once for all to make do without 6 0f the pools on the roof and cover them up with metal deck. I will still be retaining 2 of the 8 pools I had on the roof top.

It has already been a week

My swiftlet sanctuary has already been a week in operation. In operation here means that I had the sound switched on permanently. During the past 1 week I have been fine tuning the swiftlet sanctuary, getting the sounds right, the aroma sprayed and getting the water fountain and mist device set up on the 1st floor. Besides a minor leak on the roof, everything is getting on fine. Yesterday I noticed there are 2 birdshit spot on the 3rd. Floor. This floor is the brightest among the floors and yet this is where the swiftlets are starting to roost. So for those who said that the BH has to be very dark, what say you?. I don't have to paint all the wall and ceiling black either. On this floor I had applied the LP aroma and may be it works. So James, its 1 up for you.!!! I was at the sanctuary from 6 pm to 7.40 pm yesterday. The are many swiftlets flying above but none seem to be entering the sanctuary until it was about 7.30 pm where are 4 swiftlets that went in and out playing in the roving area. This might be the swiftlets contributes to the 2 spots of birdshit in the sanctuary

Birdshit spot

Another birdshit spot

Fountain and mist device on 1st. Floor

Fountain and mist device seen from the top

Bird Bonanza

By Andrew Marshall

Ultrasonic humidifier? Check. Swiftlet Bazooka Tweeter? Check. Feces powder? Er, check. All you need now is a multistory house with no doors or windows but plenty of holes, and you're almost ready to join one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing cottage industries: harvesting edible birds' nests.

ou'll also need birds, of course — lots of them. That's the tricky part.

Edible birds' nests are the handiwork of the swiftlet, a small bird found mostly in Southeast Asia that builds its nests from its saliva. Bird's-nest soup is an expensive delicacy served across the Chinese-speaking world, and the basic ingredient is in such demand that nests are sometimes called "white gold" or the "caviar of the East." In Bangkok, an 11-oz. (300 g) box can cost $2,600, while so-called health drinks comprising just 1.1% nest sell for $4 a jar. Aficionados attribute nests with the power to treat everything from cold sores to tuberculosis, and to boost both longevity and sexual prowess.

Until recently, nests were mainly harvested from caves in the wild, and the trade was dominated by a ruthless and well-connected élite. Now, fueled by insatiable demand from prospering China, a regional boom in farming nests in purpose-built birdhouses — "swiftlet condos," as they're sometimes called — is democratizing the business. "It's recession-proof," enthuses Harry Kok, a retired Malaysian engineer who owns or has shares in five birdhouses and writes a blog on the subject from his Kuala Lumpur home. "The overheads are minimal. You don't have a factory with so many workers. Right now, those who have birdhouses are smiling."The business has expanded so fast, and with such little oversight, that reliable numbers are hard to come by. There are perhaps 10,000 swiftlet buildings in Malaysia alone, which each year produce 144 metric tons of nests worth $160 million, reports the Malaysian government news agency Bernama. Nests from Thailand's 600 or more condos could be worth another $60 million, according to a 2007 Thai study, "Swiftlet Birds' Nests: Power, Conflict and Riches," by independent researcher Kasem Jandam. Judging by the number of swiftlet condos appearing in many Thai towns, these figures are probably gross underestimates. In Indonesia, the world's largest supplier, the industry is bigger than Malaysia's and Thailand's combined. Hong Kong, a major consumer, imported nests worth $276 million last year, up from $204 million in 2006, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

he little swiftlet has hatched a billion-dollar global business, including a subindustry of how-to books and bloggers who share tips on birdhouse construction and equipment. As with most properties, the value of a birdhouse depends on three factors: location, location, location. Before building one, advises Kok, you must survey the skies for a regular passage of swiftlets. Once constructed — a three-story birdhouse with room for about 40,000 nests costs roughly $100,000 — you must attract tenants. The maker of the Swiftlet Bazooka Tweeter claims it can broadcast "love calls" to birds flying up to a mile away. Humidifiers keep the interior of the house attractively damp like the caves swiftlets prefer. And don't forget your feces powder: bird droppings mixed with ammonium bicarbonate which, when sprinkled on the floor, make a new birdhouse smell like a well-established one.

Even if you build it, they don't always come. Up to two-thirds of birdhouses fail to attract a self-supporting colony of birds, estimates Kok. "We don't really understand them," he says. "They are wild animals. We find that they like to stay in dark areas. But at one hotel in Malacca they are nesting in bright light." Lucky producers can harvest two to four pounds of nests a month, worth up to $500 per pound ($1,100 per kg). Middlemen are buying up all the nests they can source, usually as quietly as possible. "They come to your doorstep and pay you cash," says Kok. "This business is a very secretive thing, because they're not paying any tax to the government. Everyone is doing it on an illegal or secret basis, where you declare 10 kilos but you are selling 1,000 kilos."

In some respects, the birdhouse business resembles the trade in nests harvested from the wild, a side of the industry that is murky and sometimes violent; in the past, only those with money, muscle and good political connections prospered. In Thailand, fewer than a dozen companies harvest nests from some 170 islands in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, in return for paying multimillion-dollar concession fees to the government. The remote islands are guarded by dozens of armed men — in effect private armies — and are often run "like independent states," says Jandam, the author of the industry study. Companies discourage all visitors, claiming they might disrupt the birds' habitat. In Koh Si Koh Ha, a string of islands in Phatthalung province, 14 suspected nest thieves were shot dead in two separate incidents in the early 1990s.

The connection between nests and violence continues to this day. The island of Koh Mak gets about $1.1 million in nest revenue every year, eight times more than the budget of some other Phatthalung subdistricts unblessed by nesting swiftlets. In 1997, the Thai government passed legislation to make the industry more transparent and ensure that government revenue from concessions is funneled back into local communities. But a string of unsolved murders on Koh Mak indicates hazardous aspects of the harvesting trade linger. Pradit Jariya, 35, has been administrative chief of the island for a year now. It's quite an achievement, considering the fates of the three subdistrict chiefs before him. Last July, his predecessor was sitting by a lagoon when the M-16-toting occupants of a speedboat pumped into him what one Thai newspaper termed "many tens of bullets." The man had been chief for just three months. The chief before him had lasted 10 months before being gunned down. And the chief before him met the same fate after eight months. None of the murders have been solved.

Given the risks of wild harvests, it's little wonder that the smart money has moved into the more genteel birdhouse business — although here, too, there are complications. Swiftlet condos have become local eyesores. Because nest theft is common, the untreated concrete structures often resemble secret weapons facilities, their roofs adorned with barbed wire and electric fences. Bird droppings are a potential health threat, too, while in some towns, the constant noise from Swiftlet Bazooka Tweeters and other callers has become "unbearable," admits Kok.

So far, the authorities in Southeast Asian countries have not been able to control the building, never mind collect taxes on the profits. But the industry is growing too big to ignore, and there are signs that it might not stay lightly regulated for much longer. Last year Malaysian forestry officials and police raided more than a dozen illegal swiftlet farms across Sarawak, a state where only two of an estimated 1,500 birdhouses have licenses. The rest contravene local wildlife-protection laws that forbid swiftlet farms in urban areas. Sarawak's once profitable industry is grounded for now. But with unflagging demand from China, and increasing numbers of birdhouses popping up in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines, the regionwide trade in birds' nests is heading in only one direction: upward.

To read the actual write-up, visit :

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1909458,00.html

The Hollow Is Ready To Welcome The Swiftlets

After 8 months of waiting, the Hollow is now ready to welcome the swiftlets. All the finishing touches were carried out today and tomorrow, 08.07.09, will mark the opening of my swiftlet sanctuary. I will be switching on the bird sounds permanently. I have 3 types, namely, external, pooling and internal. As can been seen from the video below I have a 4 directional speaker to play the external sound and a hexagon tweeter to play the pooling sound.

Tomorrow, I will be putting in the aroma and switching on the bird sounds to mark the opening of the sanctuary. I will be setting the timers for the amplifiers, the water pumps and the roof top light. I will keep my readers informed on the progress of the sanctuary from time to time.



The video above shows the fountains, the surrounding pools and the interior of the sanctuary focussing on the roving area. It took me guite sometime to get the plumbing works for the fountains and the pools ready. There are minor leakages which need to be attended and rectified before the fountains can be operated.

Plumber fixing the roof top pump

The 4-way speaker, hexagonal tweeter and night light

Solidarity To A Fellow Blogger - Love Potion

I will be using Love Potion which I had bought from James and will be using it on a portion of the sanctuary. For me, if the aroma doesn't work, let it be as it is me and not him at fault for believing in the product. If the aroma doesn't work, there won't be any reorder from him and he could have closed shop. There could have been so many another reasons as well for the aroma not to perform. As for me, I always keep an open mind, act wisely, no sarcam, no bad-mouthing and have a good heart.

There is a group in Low Yat Forum who is trying to discredit him saying that his aroma is useless while they themselves had not tried them, only grapevine from fellow forumners. James had hit back in his blog titled 'Rots amongst the Sour Grapes'. As solidarty to my fellow blogger I produced the write-up in full for all to read. Your comments welcomed.

Rot Amongst the Sour Grapes

Does anyone know why the failed percentage of farm is so high? I guess not..

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The reason is, the mentalities of those in this industry are the rots that make what swiftlet farming are today. Instead of contributing to the industry with ideas, information, etc they actually bad mouth others or trying to mislead others and trying to demobilize or prevent dissemination of good information and products that could help the Swiftlet farming industry. They work in groups systematically when one appeared the other follow. They hide behind forums bash and sabotage others. When you look at the "nick" you know there are the same groups of people. When you ask them for information or there is no bashing they disappeared or never reply. They plant the same tactic in all forums. That is the most lousy strategy to discredit others. I hope they are smart enough to understand this.

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Forum is people's idea and they jump into it and comment. It is not their ideas. They have no idea at all merely just jump into it to comment. There are just like stray dogs, one of them is biting and barking the rest will follow . The aftermath when you ask them why did you do it? their answers are "I don't know. People do, I do, they asked me to follow I follow lah!" If they have ideas and wanted to share then they should have started a blog of their own. Many had started it, some, even the contents of their blogs are not much but they showed the spirit of sharing not having hidden agenda like those. I really respect all these bloggers, Salute all you bloggers!

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These groups thought readers are stupid. They undermined the intelligence of readers. These are the same groups that had been repeating the same bashing and discredit again and again the bolggers.The same old strategy of discredit was used. Why over the years only the same groups? The same old story? There are definitely something hidden under the rocks. How come only these groups? Certainly very fishy here. Even a little boy can tells.

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These are the people that happy to see you fails. Perhaps Bloggers are the people that exposed too much of the industry where many can no longer "cari makan" easily or their friends and mentors or Sifus goods are not moving as fast as before (rivalry).Therefore all these tactics were applied. That is why bloggers are being hated and being sabotaged. Well I guess all Swiftlet farming bloggers can't run away from all these because if it can happen to political bloggers (demoralise, threatening...etc) then what is Swiftlet farming Bloggers. "kacang putih lah" go to forum register and blast lah all will follow or ask someone to bashlah, Malaysia culture"

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These people never happy to see other rise or own a successful farm because if you do they feel threaten. There are many like them, so how can we expect the Swiftlet farming industry to move forward? I can't blame the little napoleon in the authority finding ways to make it hard for them especially Sarawak. Look how it hits Sarawak why not other states? Is Sarawak farmers are easier to bully? No, it has been made what it is. Some claimed to be respectable person in the society but looking at their harsh uncalled for comments which touch on people personal life and religion, do you think it is appropriate? Some of them are not young there are at their golden age but the mentality is a problem. They could be my grand father. Grow up please. Soon you are nearing to god.

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A good mentor or a respectable Sifu or someone wants to be respected by others must have the ability to provide information to others, willingly to teach, willing to see his disciples succeed and never bad mouth others. Whenever someone is better then them they felt threaten, this is just very much like the feudal time. I guess there are still in it. Therefore all ways were done to sabotage those who could help the Swiftlet farmers being information or products.

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The good ones are those Swiftlet bloggers. They had contributed intensively to the industry by providing free information. Did all these rotten sour grapes ever thank them for providing info? Being good or bad information.

No, none of them will do that. There only believe in receiving and bashing others but not providing or giving.

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When you ask them to contribute their ideas to the problem solving of the Licensing and unfair guidelines facing by all farmers. They were no where to be seen or heard in the forum. When time for uncalled bashing and condemns others they will be there 1st to appear. Perhaps they have been order to to this. From here you can see clearly they are not pioneer forumers which from year 2007. These groups join just months ago. They appear once a while to sabotage. Let it be. God knows who they are linked to.

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Those days without the Swiflet farming blogs for information pertaining to Swiftlet farming one has to travel to neighbouring country. Even getting Nugroho books was a problem. Not the case now. Much information was exposed thanks to all these bloggers. Books and Cds were available on blogs.

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After all had been said, all are very much link to business rivalry and sabotage. I guess that is human nature there are bad and good. Well to me my conscious is very clear. If we do good and God is with us, whatever and no matter what these rotten sour grapes group did which is evil shall not be succeed.

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I had experienced this many times before. “The more they bashed the more I sell”.

Thank you God. Thank you God. Thank you God.

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Hope one day their mentality would change for the good of themselves, the society and Swiftlet farming. I still have hope in them.

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"God bless them"

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I would prefer "God Blast Them" but I hope God would not do that because I have a good heart and don't pray for such disaster

Swiftlet Sanctuary About Ready To Receive Swiftlets

There have been little report on the progress of my swiftlet sanctuary lately. Today, I would like to inform that my sanctuary is almost ready. I am calling my birdhouse a sanctuary because this is what the place really is that, a shelter conducive for swiftlets to stay. The sound system has been installed and the electricity has been connected. The plumbing works with fountains and internal drainage is almost completed with only minor pipe works still to be carried out. Though there is a stream flowing through, I will not be using the stream water. I have engaged a contractor to bore into the ground and I will be using underground water for my ponds and fountains as well as for daily use. My workers is doing the cleaning up, cleaning the floors and scrapping left over concrete from the affected nesting planks. My workers will also be patching the holes left by the plumbing works and will waterproofed them as well as waterproofing part of the roof slab which have hairline cracks. All these works will take another few days to complete and hopefully I will be able to commission my sanctuary by 1st july 2009. I have picked a few aromas to apply prior to commissioning the sanctuary. I will by applying different aromas to different parts of the sanctuary, one into the plastic containers on the floor, one into the water fountain on the 1st floor, one to the walls and a portion of the nesting planks. Lets see which part will have the nest first.

On top of the Hollow

1st., 2nd. and 3rd. floor topped up with a layer of wire mesh
and 1 1/2 inch cement mortar to strengthen the floor slab

Piping works to pool

4-way tweeter and hexagonal tweeter on top of pole

Another view of 4-way tweeter and hexagonal tweeter
The Hollow mouth is open wide to welcome the swiftlets.
Notice the tweeters at the corner and edge

Sound System Installed

The sound system to the swiftlet sanctuary has been installed and operational. I decided to make a sound test in the evening yesterday and this is the result. See video below.

Prophecy

Today I would like to deviate from my usual topic on swiftlet farming. I would like to talk about prophecy. From Thesaurus.com, one of the defination is as follows:-

Main Entry:	prophecy
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	Something that is foretold by or as if by supernatural means.
Synonyms:	divination, oracle, soothsaying, vaticination, vision

This prophecy had to do with the current political climate and the PAS Muktamar. This prophecy is told to me by an Indian friend who is closed to an 80 year old Indian lady who had set out 2 temples, one in Kuala Terengganu and one in Kuala Lumpur. This Indian lady seems to have divine powers and had made accurate predictions like the tsunami occuring in Malaysia and the recent defeat of the Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE. She had documented her predictions into a book and only available to close circle of friends. My Indian friend used to chauffered her when she comes to Kuala Terengganu and a few of the predictions that she narrated to him are :

1. China and India will one day become super powers
2. China will bomb Kuala Lumpur one day
3. Kuala Terengganu will become the capital of Malaysia one day.

Piecing together the predictions above basing on the current political scenerio, I believed this could possibly happened and looks very scary. As we have seen, DAP, PKR and PAS had teamed up in a marriage of convenience to topple the BN Government and is targeting PRU 13 as their main target to take over the Federal Government. These 3 parties had such diverse ideologies that logically they can't work together and sooner or later they will go their separate ways. This is proven in the recent PAS Muktamar where they show their true colours and among the decisions which had made the non-Malays support the PR in PRU 12, that is, to work with UMNO on a unity government and support the DEB. All this while, PAS has persevered, sacrificing their principles and ideology just to make up the numbers to knock out BN. If PR were to come to power with the help, of course, from the non-Malays, in PRU 13 and if PAS were not given the role ruled out in their recent Muktamar, I am sure they will gang up with UMNO to form a new government and PAS would be given the role to lead. This time around the Prime Minister will be from PAS and PAS have a free hand to implement Islamic Law. the disgruntled non-Malays who ahd been supporting them in PR could go made and create trouble and PAS control government having abolished the 'ISA' could not control the situation and the result is bloodshed among the major races and the one of the super powers mentioned earlier seeing their people being annihilated will strike back and bombed Kuala Lumpur, the center of all troubles. Having suffered devasting damages which would take years to recover, the Government decided to shift the Federal Capital to Kuala Terengganu, which would be very safe from trouble as 97% of the population are all Malays.

Simple but Hard

I was attracted to Swifjames article on It is Dam Simple The Truth It is Dam Hard. This is really true and he seems to be a wise swiftlet farmer. My wife's family farm which is almost 1 year and 9 months old and the pioneer farm in Tirok has about slightly more than 100 nests, a figure which many swiftlet successful farmers would think is not encouraging. But I would like to tell my readers that this not so. In my area in Tirok and the surrounding areas, there are now more than 10 standalone farms. I have checked with other owners and found that the result is almost similar, in fact less encouraging than mine. Most of the farms have not reached the 50 nests mark yet. This area is in the swiftlets flight path and they prefer to go home to KT town to roast.

To those who look down on my farm (I know of one boostful guy in the net) I challenge them to come and build one in Tirok. I can look for land in Tirok, whether they want to JV with the land owner or to buy them I can arrange.

There is a birdhouse which is already 4 storey high and is currently renovating to 5 storey. Though I haven't check with the owner, I guessed the result is not very encouraging and he added an additional floor solely to make the building higher, to be above all the tall trees to attract the swiftlets flying over. There are no other reasons for him to add another floor as the birdhouse is already huge, and when full, as the Hockkiens say, "ciak beh liao". This owner had owned a few birdhouses in town and this is his 1st. standalone. It is already hard building above shophouses in town and it is more difficult building standalone far away from the walet central.

I have passed through many standalone farms in KT, mostly in the outskirts, in the evening and did not see any activities. These could be among the 80% failed farms. You need knowledge and intelligence to be successful. Preserverance is not enough.

To quote James,

"One thing most Swiftlet farmers must need to know is that Swiftlet farming looks dam easy to do and the truth is dam hard to be done which most have to swallow.Commonly most would think that just get a building , close all the windows , open a hole, install some planks, fix the sound system that's about it and wait for the money to pour in."

Good External Sound Attracts Swiftlets Into Birdhouse

Today, I took the opportunity to visit my other birdhouse to replace the external sound. It is not really a new sound because this sound is already being used in this birdhouse but had been combined with other sound tracks in one pen drive. I was at this birdhouse last Friday afternoon observing the swiftlets. A friend standing beside me pointed out that the swiftlets were attracted to only a particular sound track and would respond by coming down close to the birdhouse, circling the hexagonal tweeter to the extent of kissing them and then diving into the entrance holes, the big one facing the river and smaller one facing the return flight path. I decided to pay attention to this particular sound track and when I went home that night I immediately went through my sound collections. I noticed it is the one which I downloaded from one of the swiftlet blog site. I am not going to reveal which blog but if you are one of the diehard swiftlet farmer who reads all the swiftlet blogs you will be able to locate this external sound. It is so good and is FOC. Thanks to this blogger for sharing. Such a good sound would have cost at least RM300, the minimum. I downloaded this sound into my pen drive and kept it until today before activating it. The video below shows that the sound really do wonders. How long the atraction will last?. Lets wait and see. I hope it last forever if that is the response you see in the video. I will keep on monitoring.

Sarawak's Bird Nest Industry Still In Dilemma

By Syed Azwan Syed Ali

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Bernama) -- Probably not many are aware that Malaysia's bird nest industry has grown to RM1 billion per annum in its value following the large scale migration of the edible nest swiftlet from Indonesia about 10 years ago.

The figure is expected to increase due to the steady demand from China where the bird nest soup is a popular delicacy especially among the well heeled segment of the society.

Malaysia is the world's third biggest producer of bird's nest after Indonesia and Thailand with an average of 12 tonnes of nests produced monthly.

The nests made by the edible-nest swiftlet (aerodramus fuciphagus) and the black-nest swiftlet (aerodramus maximus) in Malaysia is said to be of better quality.

LICENSING ISSUES RETARDING THE INDUSTRY

Nevertheless, of late there has been some concerns over the licensing problems of more than 1,500 swiftlet farms in Sarawak that could retard the industry.

In Peninsular Malaysia, swiftlet farms are allowed to be set up within shop houses and commercial lots in towns according to conditions set, but such setups are not allowed within towns in Sarawak.

This is because the Sarawak's Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 does not allow swiftlet farming within towns. At the same time, the state has no guidelines to allow swiftlet farming in towns unlike in Peninsular Malaysia.

Furthermore the Wildlife Protection Rules (Edible Bird Nests) 1998 and Wildlife Protection Rules 1998 expounds that the species can only be bred in agricultural areas in outskirts other that its original habitat like caves.

"By right, the state government should support the industry and liaise with the federal government by having a uniform guideline in swiftlet farming," said Koh Ung Leong to Bernama when met in Sibu recently.

The veterinarian said as the edible-nest swiftlet has high economic value, the industry helps to boost local real estate value and serves as a viable alternative to farmers and fishermen.

A survey conducted by Bernama found that many swiftlet farms have been set up in special structures and altered shophouses in towns along the coast line in Mukah, Sibu, Sarikei and Bintulu.

The state's edible-nest swiftlet merchants association earlier had sought the intervention of Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to find a solution for the dilemma following strict enforcement in Mukah since last October.

THE CURRENT STATUS

Currently there is more than 1,500 swiftlet farms but only two have been licensed by the authorities. This means 99.8 percent of the swiftlet farms in the state is illegal.

"We hope the state government will prepare a guideline similar to the one in Peninsula. We will fully cooperate with the state to solve this issue," said the pro-tem chairman of the Sarikei edible-nest swiftlet merchants association, Wong Hua Ting.

On this issue, the state government has two choices whether to centralise swiftlet farming in a particular location by setting up an eco-park or adapt a specific guideline on swiftlet farming.

"It is impossible to transfer these birds. The swiftlet is not like chicken or duck to be caught and transferred. These birds have made their bird houses as the nest," said the chairman of the federation of Malaysian edible-nest swiftlet merchants association Datuk Beh Heng Seong.

At present, it is still not clear whether the swiftlets can be transferred moreover it is a species protected under the Wildlife Act 1972. As there are risks of the birds dying during transfer, especially the chicks, it is almost impossible to transfer them.

The question remains how the state government especially the Sarawak Forestry Department (SFD) and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) will handle the issue without leaving anyone in the losing end including the owners of the swiftlet farms.

THE STAND TAKEN ON THE ISSUE

The Director General of SFD who is also Chief Executive of the SFC Datuk Len Talif Salleh stressed that the industry should be developed systematically based on the existing laws.

"Many of those seeking license are in towns which by the definition of the law they do not qualify," said Len Talif adding that the risks of epidemics like bird flu being the reason why the state government does not want to allow swiftlet farming in towns.

There were also complaints from the public on the stench from the bird droppings and the din from the speaker to entice the swiftlets to nest in the farms.

Len Talif also claimed that the setting up of swiftlet farms within towns disrupts business for some especially those in the food business or having stalls near the farms.

"There should not be guideline to setup the birdhouse in town. This contravenes the law," he said adding that the state government will build an eco-park and provide licenses for individuals keen in setting up the swiftlet farms on agricultural land in the rural areas.

BUREAUCRACY HURDLES

Many of the swiftlet farm owners see red over the bureaucracy involving the Land and Survey Department, Sarawak Planning Authority (SPA), SFC and the local government as the red tape is a serious impediment in getting a license for swiftlet farming.

Furthermore as there is no guarantee that the birds will nest in the proposed eco-park, that is why they want the state government to adopt the Veterinary Services Department's Best Practices in Animal Breeding (GAHP) for the swiftlet farming.

GAHP, which is among the conditions for licensing in Peninsula, has set certain specifications to ensure the swiftlet farms are set up in a conducive and environmentally friendly environment, which among others the noises from the speakers should not exceed 40 decibels and the speaker cone set facing the sky in a 60 degree angle to overcome noise pollution.

"We talk about "1Malaysia" which means the same law for everyone. Why then the state government does not want to accept this guideline," said a bird nest trader from Mukah, John Low.

He was referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's statement encouraging the people especially the Bumiputeras to venture into swiftlet farming that can boost the local economy.

The Mukah edible-nest swiftlet merchants association protem chairman, Philip Tiong, wanted the authorities to hold a dialog with swiftlet farm owners to find a solution for the dilemma and any `one way dialog' ordering them to shift out should never be the option.

CLAIMS OF MONOPOLY

Nonetheless, several swiftlet farm owners claimed that the setting up of the eco-park including in Mukah is the work of some to monopolise the industry.

This is because a kilogramme of the bird's nest can fetch RM4,000 and the figure doubles after the nests are processed for export to China, Hong Kong and Korea.

If the Mukah district can produce 100 kilogrammes of bird nest valued at RM400,000 monthly, just imagine the amount of revenue that can be generated by 40,000 swiftlet farms all over the country.

Though the allegations of monopoly is yet to be proven, the authorities should attend immediately to the current impasse that can derail the government's plan to develop the bird nest industry.

Meanwhile, head of the swiftlet unit of the Veterinary Services Department Dr Fadzilah A'ini Abdul Kadir noted that the department, which is the leading agency in monitoring the swiftlet industry, is keeping track on the developments in the industry.

Since the last three years, more than 5,000 samples of the swiftlet have been tested by the department and so far they have been free from bird flu and Newcastle disease, said Dr Fadzilah.

Roving Room Roof Fully Completed

My roving room roof had finally been completed. All the plastering are in place. Plastering cannnot be done in one shot. The cement plaster have to stick to the chicken wire mesh first. The workers have to dab the cement plaster to the chicken wire and wait for the cement to set before continuing on the second dab and subsequent plastering.

Plastering work in progress - Back View

Plastering in progress - Frront View

As solid as a rock after plastering

Plastering completed - Back view

Plastering completed - Front View

Completed roof seen from a distance

Close-up of the completed roof

Harvesting Time

Well, this is not on this farm. I did the harvesting on the other farm belonging to my wife's family. A day before the harvesting I went into the farm and saw many of the nests had been abandoned, especially on the ground floor, meaning that, the young swiftlets had flew off. Not to miss the opportunity to do harvesting and encouraged by others who had said that by harvesting irrespective of the numbers in the farm, the swiftlets will come back to build more nests, I came back the next date. I noticed a few nests have already been filled with eggs. I gave those nests a miss while I harvested the nests which are empty.

My harvest for the day. Enough for own consumpttion

A normal cup shaped 3 fingers nest

A freak nest. 4 inches long

Corner nests. Looks like a pair of bikini top. The nests are
yellowish because have been in the farm for quite sometime
and have been host to a few pair of swiftlets already

View before harvesting

View after harvesting. One nest is left behind

because there are eggs in it

View of another location before harvesting

View after harvesting

Unique fruit discovered on site

I went up to the roof top yesterday with a friend. This friend is a Sifu in swiftlet farming having constructed many successful swiftlet farms for the owners in the state. The moment he stepped foot on the roof top, he immediately turn his attention to a tall tree facing the the entrance hole and told me not to disturb this tree. He said this tree will attract a lot of insects during the fruit season. All this while I just acknowledged this tree as one of the trees around my birdhouse but this time it really caught my attention. This tree is quite unique that its fruits point towards the sky. Only then did I realised that this fruit is almost similar to the one that I am looking for.

I have to admit that this is the first time that I saw this fruit in Terengganu soil. The fruit that I am looking for is called the miricle fruit by XKL because it can cure all sort of illness. It is also called fruit or 'buah tunjuk langit' as the Malays called it. The fruits are from the mahogany tree. I have been buying the dried fruits and processed it into capsules and consuming it for the past 6 months taking 2 capsules daily. I have been having hypertension since my youth and my blood pressure has always ding dong around the borderline of140/90 even after medication but since taking this fruit my bllod pressure has turned normal. I took my blood pressure yesterday using the OMRON digital blood pressure monitor and the result after 3 readings averaged 120/81. Just fantastic. There are a lot of testimonies on the efficacy of this fruit in the net.

Today, I went up the roof again to make sure if the fruit is sky fruit or another type of fruit. Looking at the fruits again and paying more attention, I saw that the texture is a bit different from sky fruit. I tried to ask one of the workers doing plastering on the roof top and he seems to know the fruit. He told me the fruit is called 'Diah' and when ripe will drop down. They are edible and usually the fruits are collected and fried before eating. The texture of this fruit resembles the nangka or cempedak. I went back to my office, still not convince on my discovery and I asked one of my collegue who is from Besut who use to live in a kampung. I described to him the characteristics of the fruit and tree and he seems to recognise right away as there are a few trees in his kampung. He told me that this tree is a jungle tree and very tall and it bears fruits similar in size to a small cempedak. He told me the villagers called the fruit 'buah diah'. To counter check that this fruit and tree really exist by this name 'Diah", I did a search on the net typing the words 'buah diah' but I could not find them. It could have been known by another name and could have been very rare. Hope readers can enlighten me on this fruit and tree. I find the fruit unique because the fruits ponts upward instead of hanging down like the nangkas or cempedaks and also it looks similar to the sky fruit which I had described earlier as the miracle fruit. .

Do contact me if you would like to have a look at this fruit or tree. one of the few with its fruit upright and as unique as the swiftlets which fly non-stop and do not hang or stop on trees.

Below is a short write-up about the miracle fruit which i want to share with my readers.

Skyfruit - How Beneficial Is It To Human Body And Why It

Is Called The Miracle Fruit ?

In 1996, a renowned American biochemist Dr. Larry Brookes, whom during his research he encountered a major discovery, that is he found abundance resources of Flavonoids and Saponins to be the active ingredient of SkyFruit.

Active Ingredient of Sky Fruit:

Flavonoids (found in Citrus, Gingko, Tea and Red Wine)

• Able to promote a smooth blood circulation and to interfere with the formation of atherosclerotic plague.
• Lowers cholesterol levels and lowers fats build-up in the blood stream.
• Reduces the risk of coronary heart disease.
• Have an anti-inflammation action, it is able to inhibit body's natural enzymes that produce the chemical which park tissue inflammation.
• Ability in reducing pain, bleeding, bruising, and the fluid retention that result from tissue injuries.
• Act as anti-oxidant.
• Act as a free radical scavenger.

Saponins (found in Ginseng and has a bitter taste)

• As an agent in cancer prevention and reduces body fats.
• Enhances immune system and improves vitality.
• Reduces blood clotting and alleviates blood sugar.
• Enhances the functions of the heart and prolonging blood clotting process.

Isoflavoniods (found inPueraria Lobata)

• Anti-cancer Effects
• Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease.
• Prevention of Osteoporosis and Reducing Menopausal Symptons

In addition, the SkyFruit contains various natural proteins, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and other body essential nutrients, where its easy absorption contributes an important factor for staying healthy.

In recent years, the SkyFruit has been widely accepted by medical specialists and doctors. Its consumers' testimonials have made its recognition of its core values to be one of the best health products among those available in the market. Not only is SkyFruit pure in nature, its basis of suitability to health makes it an excellent product. No ill side effect is encountered even for long term consumption.

Core Usage::

• Revitalize sex drive
• Revitalize energy
• Increase strength
• Rebuild tissues
• Increase pregnancy rate
• Supporting healthy energy
• Reactivate cells
• Beauty agent
• Anti-aging
• Strengthen stomach, heart, lungs, liver, spleen
• Replenish blood and strengthen arteries
• Regulate blood sugar
• Restore healthy heart and brain, etc.

Target User:

• Diabetes,hypertension,
• skin allergy,
• malaria,
• heart problem,
• asthmatic,
• menstruation pain,
• Alzheimer,
• first stage stroke,
• gastritis,
• rheumatic,
• impotency,
• poor appetite, poor health
• liver disease,
• sensitive skin, pimples and blisters,
• low immune system,
• inconceivable,
• foul breath,
• high cholesterol,
• constipation, digestive system problem,
• neuralgia,
• secretion disorder,
• tumour or growth,
• remove pimples and freckles,beautify skin and etc.

The 'Diah' tree in the background

The 'Diah' tree

Closer view of the 'Diah tree

Close-up of tree. Fruit can be seen clearly
pointing up like the sky fruit

Another close-up with fruits visible.

Sky fruit on Mahogany tree

Dried sky fruits

Dry seeds and processed seeds packed into capsules