The director asked Nobuo and me through interpreter.
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| The interview |
The original question was in Thai, translated via interpreter to Japanese, and here I'm trying to articulate the memory of it in intelligible English. It was the kind of question that makes one pause and think. It was a good question.
We were talking about our solar sharing farm - how Nobuo and I started it, why there are chickens and goats under the panels, what our typical day looks like, what we plan to do next. The question came in the course of this conversation. I had answered similar questions before, but this one was framed slightly differently, forcing me to reframe my usual answers. I responded clumsily. Oh well. No one died so I guess it's fine.
We were talking about our solar sharing farm - how Nobuo and I started it, why there are chickens and goats under the panels, what our typical day looks like, what we plan to do next. The question came in the course of this conversation. I had answered similar questions before, but this one was framed slightly differently, forcing me to reframe my usual answers. I responded clumsily. Oh well. No one died so I guess it's fine.
The director/program host, Ms. Pattraporn Sangphuangthong, asked more questions, camera crew shot more scenes and even flew a drone over the farm for more majestic views, we chatted with the coordinator/interpreter, Mr. Akrachai Mongkolchai, and in three hours on a cloudy rainish Sunday afternoon the filming was over. That was a week ago.
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| Goats being interviewed
By the way chickens and goats proudly cooperated with the filming, but they did not appreciate the drone. They clearly thought it was a Big, Loud, Scary Flying Monster. They ran for their life. Luckily the Monster disappeared soon and the farm inhabitants recovered from the shock the next minute.
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| To chickens and goats, the drone was a Loud and Scary Monster. They were terrified. |
The interview was for a documentary series about clean energy for Thairath TV, a television channel in Thailand. The production company that visited us on the farm was TV Burabha.
Chickens' Playground will be covered in the series together with Chiba Ecological Energy Inc., which is a large-scale solar sharing project in Chiba prefecture (千葉エコ・エネルギー株式会社), and Higashi-Matsushima City Smart Disaster Prevention Eco Town, which is a town with decentralized, locally governed renewable energy system in Miyagi prefecture (スマート防災エコタウン).
The part featuring Chickens' Playground and Chiba Ecological Energy Inc. should be aired at the end of February 2020. If you happen to have access to Thairath TV on late-February Sunday between 13:30-14:00, don't miss the opportunity :D
(The Higashi-Matsushima Eco Town will be featured separately.)
By the way the 26-part documentary series features clean energy projects in Thailand, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Philippines and Germany. I'd actually love to see them all!
(The Higashi-Matsushima Eco Town will be featured separately.)
By the way the 26-part documentary series features clean energy projects in Thailand, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Philippines and Germany. I'd actually love to see them all!
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| Right: Coordinator Mr. Akrachai, Center: Director Ms. Pattraporn, Left: Suu |
And finally, how did I reply to the question?
What have we gained from the farm in the 5 years since its start?
We gained many things, but maybe the biggest one is that through the goats and chickens we became part of the community. Chickens and goats are the best ice-breakers. Through them we've got to know local people, the farm has become a part of the landscape and we gained a place where we belong.