Living simply can be surprisingly empowering for those who ditch the bright lights of the big city and return to the land, where they find even the most rudimentary garden vegetables and herbs are treasure troves of phytochemicals and stacked full of healing properties.
Despite all the trappings and temptations of advanced technology and communication, 44-year-old Pichit "Sai" Kantharat decided to move back to his home in Phayao near the Lao border after discovering most of his needs could be met from within the grounds of his 5-rai of land.
Mr Pichit even has a pet name for his plot in tambon Thung Kluai of Phayao's Phu Sang district. He calls it his hom phaya garden, two Thai words that evoke both local wisdom and images of bountiful nature.
But it is more than just a garden. It is a health farm -- a trove of herbal plants, each with curing properties for different ailments. If mixed together, these concoctions can relieve discomfort and even help treat common sicknesses, he claims.
Bunarat Kantharat: 'Important to live a balanced life'.
Known to locals as "Dr Sai", he organises seminars to educate locals on which ailments these herbal formulas can fight or ward off, as well as how to prepare soil and other topics. The garden is offers visitors herbal massages using plants freshly grown and cultivated there.
Mr Pichit said that in order to get the most out of the herbs' curing properties, the plants must be consumed in just the right amount. They can also be worked into a mixture or paste for rubbing on the body to deliver a therapeutic result.
The principle concept of Hom Phaya health farm is safety first so the herbs are all consumed in a way that focuses on fortifying the constitution, he said.
The Ramkhamhaeng University graduate said he let the idea of the farm percolate for a while before making the move. He was one of many young people from the provinces who wound up working in a big city but felt driven to exit the rat race early to tend the land and raise livestock, he recalls.
He set aside a pocket of land for farming chemical-free rice and vegetables which grow there lush and green, nourished by an organic fertiliser he produces from the leaves of discarded plants.
As the water he diverts into his field may be contaminated by other farms that spray their crops with chemical fertilisers and pesticides, he stores it first in a pond where water hyacinths float on the surface.
The roots of the hyacinths absorb the chemicals in the water and store them by way of a natural "aquatic cleanse".
The water is then pumped into the fields to feed the plants. He said he never uses water fetched from natural waterways that has not been treated.
"Although some people may think what I'm doing is trivial, because they might be accustomed to being exposed to chemicals by the outfits they wear or the food they eat, I would encourage them to opt for healthy products," he said.
"The very least this will do is help you live longer and extend the age of your good cells, making them better able to fight germs for better health."
Mr Pichit is erudite and an autodidact. Relieving people's suffering through natural, time-honoured remedies is clearly both a hobby and a passion.
He plans to make Hom Phaya a place where people can appreciate the slow pace of life. "Those who are impatient would not enjoy it here," he said.
He also warns locals which herbs are toxic and must be avoided.
His wife Bunarat, a former nurse, says it is important to live a balanced life and not become too concerned by political or economic woes. "We don't need to follow popular trends or be swayed by the economic or political situations," she said.
During rice-growing season, Mr Pichit rises before dawn and begins his day on the paddy. His neighbours sometimes give him a hand planting seedlings, he says.
While giving the Bangkok Post a guided tour, he grabs a hoe and starts swinging it close to the ground to cut the grass before getting his hands dirty by planting seedlings.
The rice is stored in his barn so his family can live on it throughout the year.
"At the end of the day, it is down to us to take care of our own health," Ms Buranat said, adding: "Living a healthy lifestyle is the best defence against disease."
Somporn Wianrob, the village headman in Ban Pong Mai, said Hom Phaya breeds a knowledge of herbs and promotes sustainable living.
He said the garden also runs a small facility to process herbal products, which can be consumed easily.
Village elders who suffer chronic illnesses often drop by to learn how they can cultivate or obtain herbal remedies to alleviate their dependence on antibiotics and other modern medicines with concerning side effects.
The garden also trains young people to apply herbal compresses and perform messages to reduce fatigue, which can later become a vocation for the more competent.
A number of trainees have gone on to enrol in more advanced courses elsewhere. Some have been offered jobs at the province's respected Chiang Kham Hospital.
"The knowledge is shared with those who are willing to cultivate it," Mr Somporn said.
Ratanaporn Kamyan, a member of the tambon Thung Kluai administration organisation, said Hom Phaya herbal products are popular among pregnant women who are troubled by the occasional headache, bouts of nausea or dizzy spells.
The herbal compresses, steams and massages, coupled with the consumable products, have delivered favourable results in her case, she said, adding that the medicinal benefits are long-lasting.
