Building a Self-Sufficient Farm: Lessons from Coffee, Livestock, & Soil Restoration

Raising Cows for Compost: The Unexpected Hard Work

To be truly self-sufficient in organic farming, we started by raising a few cows to produce compost for our fields.

However, taking care of them was far more demanding than expected—three meals a day, early morning, noon, and late evening. Every meal was marked by a long, deep moo as they signaled their hunger.

Since our land was sloping, we had to cut fresh grass manually or lead them to a nearby grazing spot. It was a fun experience, but also a profound realization of how much effort farmers invest in livestock care.

 

Chemical-Free Farming: A Struggle Against Weeds

Our first step toward sustainability was eliminating herbicides—but that also meant cutting the grass by hand.

🌧 The rainy season:
✔ Weeds grow back rapidly within a month
✔ Requires high labor effort and additional costs to control

☀️ The dry season:
✔ Weed layers act as natural mulch, improving soil moisture retention
✔ No need for frequent weed control

Reviving Depleted Soil & Growing Food Sustainably

Years of chemical overuse had left our land dry and nutrient-poor in the dry season—but during rainy months, it softened, allowing weeds to grow abundantly.

To improve soil quality, we:
✔ Covered the land strategically
✔ Planted small patches of vegetables for self-sustenance

 

Planting Bananas: Biodiversity & Soil Restoration

Biodiversity is key to sustainability, so we planted bananas to:
✔ Moisturize the soil
✔ Regenerate nutrients
✔ Detoxify the land
✔ Allow intercrops like vegetables to thrive
 

Hosting Our First Farmstay Guests: A Humbling Experience

When we decided to open our farmstay, we knew it wouldn’t be easy—but nothing prepared us for the reality of welcoming our first guests.

Our farm was located 2km from the main road, accessible only by a dirt path. On rainy days, the road transformed into a muddy trail—some visitors had to trudge through ankle-deep mud, their shoes sinking into the earth as they arrived.

Inside, we did our best to convert an old grocery store into a cozy guest room. It was small, rustic, yet clean—because I believed cleanliness was a matter of professional ethics, even in the simplest of spaces.

I priced the room at $10 per night on Airbnb—the lowest I could set. But that $10 meant everything:
✅ It equaled two full banana bunches, cultivated for a year
✅ It was worth 30kg of pumpkins, harvested through heavy rains
✅ It represented the effort behind countless vegetables and fruits

Despite my limited English, I eagerly listened, using Google Translate to communicate each sentence. What mattered was not perfect grammar—but the shared passion for sustainable farming that united us, beyond any language barrier.
 

Sustaining a Livelihood Beyond Coffee

As small-scale farmers without access to large sustainability grants, we sought alternative income sources:
✔ Growing vegetables for food & selling fruits
✔ Offering eco-farm accommodations for visitors
 

Facing Our First Failure in Coffee Sales

Despite treating our coffee with respect and care, the market didn’t accept it.

🚚 Out of 3,000 kg harvested, only 50 kg were sold—the rest was liquidated to big companies for cheap instant coffee production.

Sitting on the truck loaded with bags of coffee that we had worked so hard to produce, we looked at each other—and said nothing.
 

Learning from Farmers: Honoring Coffee Cultivation Traditions

While pursuing sustainable coffee farming, we embraced traditional farming wisdom:
✔ Local farmers guided us on planting techniques
✔ Optimizing yield for long-term stability
✔ Balancing sustainability with practical farming needs

Ultimately, stability in yield means stability in life—ensuring farmers can afford food, send their children to school, and secure a better future.
 

🌱 Supporting Sustainable Coffee Farming

💡 Explore organic coffee crafted with care
✅ Hand-picked, ethically grown coffee
✅ Eco-friendly practices improving soil & biodiversity
✅ On-farm experiences to witness sustainable coffee production firsthand

🔗 Browse our coffee selection: HuyEco Coffee Collection
🔗 Visit our farm & coffee tour: Eco-Friendly Coffee Farm Tour