The Consumers' Communal Network has been spread headed by the Catholic Pastoral Center for Workers (Kowloon) in Wong Tai Sin district since 2004. The building up of the network aims at enhancing the knowledge of diet of the workers and residents of the district, and through activities and information supply, to help them realize a healthy organic life. The network has served as a platform for the participants to buy the fresh, delicious and healthy organic products directly from the local farmers every week, on collective basis and at reasonable price.

The project also organizes regular seminars and activities to promote the goodness of organic life. For examples, "Workshop of planting domestic organic herbs", " Workshop on the making of natural skin care products", and "Life practice and experience of a holiday farmer". These activities have helped the residents understand the advantages on human bodies by consuming organic farm foods and using related recipes, and have them shared about the tips of using organic natural materials for skin care. Regular visits to organic farms are also arranged for enhancing their understanding of the operation and the production procedure of local organic farming.

Local organic farmer Mr. Au Chi Keung (Au Lo Organic Food Farm)

Local organic farmer Ms. Kwong Tsang Lui (Lui Che Organic Food Farm)

Catholic Messenger of Green Consciousness-- Fr. Anthony Chang（www.greenmessengers.org)

Local organic farmer Au Chi Keung shared about organic farming with the network members.

Au Lo Organic Farm: Mr. Au Sharing

Mr. Au Sharing: To be a farmer who can speak heart-to-heart with his cropWhen I was a city dweller, I only long for having a leisurely life after retirement. By chance, I joined a learning course on natural farming and then started to take a farmer's life. Farming is a very special job. Under the hot sunny days, the burning sun becomes your partner. It is very subtle, when you work busy day and night and could not spare any time to talk with your crop, the crop will soon be disheartened. If you coddle it, it will grow fast to soar aloft.Through natural farming, I have learnt how to communicate with animals and plants. For instance, one day I hanged around the field. I suddenly saw a bird being entangled by a climber of legume and it could not move. I disentangled it and put the bird on my hands, saying, "It's danger, don't come here again. If I shall not see you next time, you will be definitely entangled to death. Now I set you free." Fooo...it flied away and disappeared completely. In that summer, I planted rice. Everyone said it was very nice. Why could it happen? It's impossible. There are many birds in Hong Kong suburban districts. Rice is one of the crops they like. Such harvest is seldom seen. I couldn't believe it too. I remember the day I have saved the bird's life, and perhaps the bird realised my hard work so it didn't eat my crop!
The poor is always happy if he is contended. The poor is always happy if he is contended. Retribution is mutual. I planted another land of rice but it was not that harvested this time. It's because I hope the birds could be full up themselves for hibernation.

Lui Che Organic Farm

Address: Tsing Tam, Pat Heung, Yuen Long
Farm Size: 4050 meter square? ?
Year of organic Establishment: 2000
Member of Vegetable Marketing Organization of Organic Farming Support Service provided by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department
Vegetable farm products include (summer) Clausena Lansium, Jack Fruit, Lai Chi, Gourd; (winter) Chinese Chrysanthemum, Yellow Marrow, carrot, sugar cane, and potato, etc

Sharing the members' activities of the Consumers' Communal Network

How to cook Iced Beam Curd

"Workers News House" Karene

I am one of the members of “Workers' News House” , so I could easily get to buy from the center organic products of bean curd, soya milk and black soya milk all made of organic soya.
Does everybody know what is “bean curd”? Let me briefly introduce it. It is simple. You can just buy some hard tofu from the local market and then put them into the ice tray of a refrigerator. When they turn into pieces of ice, they become ice bean and could be preserved in refrigerator for 2-3 days.
There are many ways to cook “ice bean curd”. Cook, simmer, fry or soak, etc. The simple way to soak bean curd in soup is very convenient for the career women who have to go back home to cook after work, and is sure our most favorite:

“Soak bean curd in soup”
First, of course prepare one piece of “ice bean curd”,? (i.e. put the bean curd into refrigerator a day before), half catty fresh vegetables, 1 liter chicken soup, few pieces of ginger slices. Methods: defreeze and wash “ice bean curd”, and then press off all water; cut them into little square blocks(six pieces); wash the vegetables; put chicken soup into a pot to boil and the add ginger slices and vegetables; later add bean curd and boil for 5 mins at slow fire. It is easily done and a dish good for health?

"Can Wheat and WTO exist together?" Sharing meeting with Korean Catholic farmers

"Workers' News House" Ms. Yan

Ms Yan, staff of "Workers' News House" On the night of 15 Dec, 2005, Workers’News House assisted the Hong Kong Catholic Commission for Labour Affairs to hold a sharing meeting with Korean Catholic farmers. The topic is “Can wheat and WTO exist together?”. It was the closest distance I have kept with the Korean farmers. On that night, our group and the workers of the Chai Wai Centre were responsible for food arrangement. Food was prepared to serve the Korean farmers and let them try the delicious local food, for examples, shaomai, fish ball, brine egg. We insisted in cooking the food, thus we were headached to prepare food for more than a hundred people. Finally, to our relief, the food was very much appreciated.I had not paid much attention to their sharing because of the work of food preparation, but it was a very nice mood. When the Korean farmers were picking the food they liked, I found they liked rice very much and also understood why they came to Hong Kong this time to protest against the World Trade and fight for equal trade, as to keep their rights to grow rice. I also support their movement, in fight for their own rights. Finally, I would like to wish them “Hold heart together, to create our Tomorrow”.

Holiday Farmer Experience

"Workers' News House" Karene & Connie
It was a Sunday suddenly turning cool. It was just pretty hot in the last few days. Such a neutral beauty!Today we had an appointment with the members of the“Organic Assembly” of the Catholic Diocese Pastoral Centre for Workers. A total of ten people went ahead to the “Ah Au Organic Farm” at Kam Tin, Yeung Long, to help the local farmer, Ah Au, for examples, clear weeds, take off grass, transplant seedlings, water sprinkle and harvest carop, etc. We experienced working as a farmer on such day.
We gathered and then took about 10-15 mins walk to the farmland. After arrival, we started to work in groups. I chose to pair another person to plow a patch of field (The field was covered by dry grass for keeping moisture). We both started to separate the long dry grass and the short one, and then reserve them for the field to use for keeping moisture next time. It took us an antemeridian. After lunch, we changed job. Ah Au plowed the soil on a patch of field. My job is to put the seedling of sweet photos into the soil. I have completed work in four rows of the farmland. That’s. Though we were tired, we enjoyed happily being a farmer on such day. I really realized how hard farmers work. If I had not personally experience it, I couldn’t imagine the feeling within as I was such a person who was brought up in a city.
It was an occasional opportunity to meet Ah Au, when I came back to “Catholic Diocese Pastoral Center for Workers” for an activity. I found a leaflet posted on the notice board. It was about a seminar on “organic farming ”. At that time I have scanty knowledge of organic farming, but I felt the urban life in the present days is too unhealthy, in addition, many food has gone through genetic modification. That stimulated me to learn more about organic farming. In the seminar, I realised Ah Au’s vision and direction, and have learned a lot from his full knowledge of farming.
I feel many Hong Kong people in the city are always sick, mostly because they eat unhealthily. For the sake of our health, it was pressing to pay attention to our diet.

Understand the relationship between WTO and Farmers

Workers News House Jessie

In Dec, 2005, most of Hong Kong people were mostly concerned about the WTO Ministerial Conference. I know nothing about the related trade agreement which has been reached by the WTO. Since I have participated in the “Workers’ News House” in one of the Catholic Pastoral Centre for Workers(Kowloon), I started to care the problems about the WTO and on the farmers’ livings. I reported to all that the reasoning given by the government to encourage Hong Kong citizens to support the World Trade were misleading.
In the course of the WTO meeting, our center received the Korean Catholic farmers. It was my pleasure to get involved in this exchange activity with the Korean farmers and to realise that the European and American countries have been through the WTO to take away the resources and markets of the developing countries, and as a result, many people have run into bankruptcy. The agreement reached in the WTO conference is a blow to the livings of farmers and workers. Agriculture is the traditional cultural industry of Korea. At present, only about 30% farmers are still struggling to survive, thus they came to Hong Kong to express their discontent and appeal to the WTO. Although they staged protest in Hong Kong and the police had cordoned off many roads so that the neighboring shops and the drivers were disturbed and they felt discontented. On another hand, many parents came together with their children to protest, and hoped they could learn this experience. Some students were also on hunger strike to support them. The most impressive to me is that they came form different countries, from thousand miles away to Hong Kong to make their appeal, presenting their courage and collaborative spirit. Actually for many years the local workers have been influenced by the north shift of factories, the transfer of jobs, and the big drop of income. I hope we could understand and sympathize the farmers’ condition in many Asian countries, and support their fair struggle.