Living green in the nation’s capital
Architect uses sustainable traditions from his small hometown in his Bangkok garden, writes Sukhumaporn Laiyok
Moving to Bangkok almost 30 years ago was daunting for Phichet Sowitthayasakun who comes from a small town in Sukhothai province. His life in the city goes at a fast pace. He is racing against the clock, and always in a rush to do things.
The cost of living in Bangkok is also higher than in the provinces. He has to spend more on utilities, transport, groceries and health care.
“In our hometown, we lived more sustainably. We grew most of our food and made nearly everything from scratch,” Mr Phichet recalls.
Growing his own food helps the environment as it enables his family to use less refrigeration and fewer resources.
“On top of that, food from our own organic garden in the backyard is safe, nutrient-rich and tasty. It also helps us save money, and helps make us healthier,” he said.
For Mr Phichet, living sustainably means keeping his life both economically and environmentally sustainable.
Mr Phichet loves plants, gardening and nature. But living in his small, 30 sqm house limits his options.
However, his attitude towards living sustainably in the city changed after he did a training course at the Agri-Nature Foundation, a non-profit organisation offering skills for sustainable growth.
Mr Phichet applied the knowledge he acquired to create a design for his garden that incorporated sustainable components and which meshed with his family’s values and lifestyle.
His garden is rich and practical. His ability to make the best use of a small space suggests he is no stranger to the architecture field.
“I love sitting in a garden where I can relax after teaching at university. It inspires me to work,” said Mr Phichet, who is dean at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang’s faculty of architecture.
A closer look at his simply designed garden reveals the plants are inexpensive, and can be found in the local market.
“Our garden is not at all wild and wacky. We want to make the most of the space we have. We pick up plants we love and which will be useful to our family,” he said.
Mr Phichet varies plants as much as he can in his garden. From perennial plants to ornamental trees and shrubs, and from ground cover to aromatic leaves, herbs and root plants, his garden has it all.
“If we grow different kinds of plants, they will require different nutrients if they are to do well,” he said.
Some of the trees, plants and crops from his garden include star gooseberry, kalaya ( dok kaew), pandanus ( baitoey), mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and kaffir limes, to name but a few.
“Mushrooms are healthy and good for everyone in our family as they are a source of antioxidants. I love the powdery-floral scent of dok kaew and it helps hide the scent of our dog’s urine and droppings. And mosquitoes hate lemongrass,” said Mr Phichet, who has a five-year-old son.
He is also proud to have a tiny grape vine which bears fruit once a year. Kaffir can be good for cooking. As for kaffir lime peel, it has a practical use, as he can use it to help clean the bathroom floor.
The key is to grow a plant that is able to co-exist with the plant next to it. Plants with similar physical features and growing patterns will often draw on the same nutrients, which can affect how they grow, he said.
For example, longan and mango are not good together as they both produce fruit, competing for limited space.
“I just use common sense. If a tree doesn’t grow well where we have planted it, we try to find out why it’s not happy and move it to a new and better place,” Mr Phichet said.
Gardening is about learning by doing, he added. It’s common for a gardener to grow plants in several places before finding the perfect spot.
“I usually learn by trial and error. I’ve often made mistakes and learned from them. When we pick a plant that may not grow well where it is, I don’t panic. There is always next season,” he said.
Entering Mr Phichet’s house in Lat Phrao, we noticed he stockpiles large amounts of water in various containers.
He said the importance of storing water is a lesson his family learned from the floods of 2011, which killed hundreds of people and inundated villages, temples, farms and factories.
His community was hit by the flooding, which damaged the piped water supply system, forcing many residents to relocate.
But Mr Phichet’s family decided to stay put. He bought several large ceramic jars to store water in the event the bad times return.
Since then, he stores running water and rainwater in containers as much as he can. His family stores up to 7,000 litres of water at home, he said, adding one person uses an average 200 litres of water on a daily basis.
Currently, he has more than 3,000 litres of water in several containers set aside for the long summer months.
He usually collects rainwater in the middle of the rainy season when levels of pollution, pollen and contaminants are low.
“Rainwater may be cleaner and tastier than piped water,” he said, adding he usually boils rainwater to improve its quality before drinking.
“Rainwater is a form of water supply for much of the world’s population. It helps us save money. And it can be made safe for consumption,” he said.
City dwellers are growing more aware of living sustainably, Mr Phichet says, citing people who have sought his advice on architectural designs for their gardens and rainwater storage systems.
He said these days, people are more concerned about safe food and water as well as their health and well-being.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he said.