Dear all,
My apology for haven't update my blog for quite sometime. I have been very busy with my work commitment (excuses...). However I never miss my track and always keeping myself updated especially the current swifltet farming industry in Malaysia (and China).
I have just made few trips to Perak and Pahang last week. I went to hilir Perak to inspect my BH which has just operated for 1.5 months.
For Pahang trip I have undergone detailed macro and micro area survey including bird call tests on a piece of 4 acres agricultural land in Raub. It was an exciting trip and the result is encouraging.
I will share this with you in my coming posts this week.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Ready to Go
(Final Stage: Nesting Plank & Sound System Installation and Site Cleaning)
After 3.5 months in construction, my BH project in Selekoh, Perak is finally completed and now waiting for the official opening at the end of this month.
This BH was scheduled to be "activated" on 18/1/2012 but was slightly delayed due to some part of the internal building needs modification as instructed by the consultant before the nesting planks can be installed. The BH contractor and the consultant were very honest and be responsible in this regards as other people who has no experience might not even aware of it and it seems nothing wrong with it. I am glad to have worked with those guys.
They notified me that the contractor needs to do some ractification works but didn't explain further (certainly not with bad intention, I think they might think that it is quite hard for me to underatand the reason behind the rectification works).
But I have noticed the area that need to be modified even they didn't tell me where was it. Can you spot it from the picture below?
There was an approx. 75mm brickwall offset under the concrete beam due to the width of the beam is lesser than the double brick cavity wall (approx. 230mm). Structurally the beam is strong enough to support the load from the brickwall.
However this offset area might create other potential issues as this can become a very good spot for those predators (cockroaches, lizards, spiders, snakes, etc) to stay and yet be able to reach the nesting plank so easily.
The modifed works turned out was what as I expected. They have flushed the wall right up to the underside of the slab above for all floors. I was quite sure that the contractor was trying to fix tis therefore I didn't interfere more. Few days later they washed the entire area to reduce the cement smell and dry off before nesting plank installation take place. Since I have ordered the meranti nesting plank, we have to hold the plank deilvery for few more days as we only want the plank to be there after all these modification works were completed and cleaned. This is crucial in order to avoid any contamination to the plank.
I am glad this project has successfully completed despite I am currently in overseas. I will be back again in April to inspect the BH and also doing a site survey on another plot of land in Raub, Pahang for my next BH project.
Being a building designer and project manager in my career I really enjoyed coordinating and liaising with those guys (the contractor and the consultant) in venturing the world of swiftlet farming.
In my next post i will talk about works that I have done and prepared to the site (well i would say from A to M) before finding a right consultant and contractor to physically build the BH (from N to Z).
Happy Swiftlet Farming Venture
Friday, 3 February 2012
下霹燕屋執照費不起價
公會：與安順市會協商‧下霹燕屋執照費不起價
2012-02-01 11:07
- 吳亞乾：下霹靂燕屋業主可呈上養燕業條規課程證書副本，以舊有收費更新燕屋執照。（圖：星洲日報）
（霹靂‧安順31日訊）安順市議會改變初衷，同意讓下霹靂燕屋執照保持原有收費。
下霹靂養燕商公會理事吳亞乾說，之前養燕業者接到安順市議會來函表示，燕屋執照費將在2012年起價，其幅是面積2千800平方尺以下，每年240令吉提高到500令吉；面積2千800至4千200平方尺，每年360令吉調高到750令吉；面積超過4千200平方尺，每年500令吉漲至1千令吉。
他指出，該會會長吳亞成聯同總務林順福、理事蘇志雄、李順貴、李金帝、黃兆鴻、博明仕等人三度和市議會主席依布拉欣及高層職員洽談爭取，終於取得市議會同意，讓燕屋執照費保持原價。
需出示養燕業條規課程證書
“我們向依布拉欣說，燕窩目前價格低，如果執照費在這個時候起價，對整個燕窩業打擊不小。”
吳亞乾說，在市議會批准燕屋執照費不起價後，業者可以舊收費更新他們的燕屋執照，不過有關業主仍需出示他們的養燕業條規課程證書。
他說，最後一次的養燕業條規課程將在2月間在安順舉行，歡迎安順及其他地區業者報名參與。
他說，今後更新燕屋執照須出示這張證書，才能獲得地方議會批准。有意參與課程者可聯絡他，電話是016-5516631。（星洲日報／大霹靂）
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Dear all my apology as I haven't been update my post for the last two weeks as I have been busy with my works. I wasn't entirely being tied up by work, I have just surveyed a piece of land in Pahang which is close to the river for my next project. Its exciting and I will share with you later.
On the other hand my BH in Perak is currently in the process of installing nesting plank. I will complie those photos together with illustration of the BH construction and will post here real soon.
Stay tuned.
On the other hand my BH in Perak is currently in the process of installing nesting plank. I will complie those photos together with illustration of the BH construction and will post here real soon.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Identifying Land - Part 2
In determining the site and construction of BH for swiftlet farming, one must understand swiftlet's macrohabitat and daily activity rhythm. In general, all swiftlets show a similar pattern of daily activity.
Swiftlets will leave their roosting sites by day break (5.30am-6am) and return by dark (7.15pm-7.30pm). Swiftlets with hatchlings will return during mid day to feed their youngs. Their flying range is estimated to be in the radius of 25 to 40km. Studies have shown that swiftlets forage at different areas at different time of the day:
- Area of short plants (paddy field, grassland, bushes, etc): from 6 am to 9am & 3pm to 6pm.
- Area of woodlands (tall forests, palm oil plantations, fruit trees, etc): from 9am to 1pm.
- Area of waterbornes (wetlands, mangrove forest, swamps, ponds, rivers, sea, etc): from 1pm to 3pm.
The propotion of these areas is driven by the major insects activities and characteristics at those areas. For instance the waterborne areas generate relatively less flying insects in the early morning compare to afternoon. Warmer water surface during afternoon will enable insect eggs to hatch and hence produce more flying insects during that period.
Check the existing vegetation around your target land (40 km radius) in order to get the best timing for bird call test and also to determine swiftlets flying path at your land.
to be continued.....
Swiftlets will leave their roosting sites by day break (5.30am-6am) and return by dark (7.15pm-7.30pm). Swiftlets with hatchlings will return during mid day to feed their youngs. Their flying range is estimated to be in the radius of 25 to 40km. Studies have shown that swiftlets forage at different areas at different time of the day:
- Area of short plants (paddy field, grassland, bushes, etc): from 6 am to 9am & 3pm to 6pm.
- Area of woodlands (tall forests, palm oil plantations, fruit trees, etc): from 9am to 1pm.
- Area of waterbornes (wetlands, mangrove forest, swamps, ponds, rivers, sea, etc): from 1pm to 3pm.
The propotion of these areas is driven by the major insects activities and characteristics at those areas. For instance the waterborne areas generate relatively less flying insects in the early morning compare to afternoon. Warmer water surface during afternoon will enable insect eggs to hatch and hence produce more flying insects during that period.
Check the existing vegetation around your target land (40 km radius) in order to get the best timing for bird call test and also to determine swiftlets flying path at your land.
to be continued.....
Identifying Agricultural Land - Part 1
Although swiftlet activities can be seen almost everywhere in Malaysia and in theory swiftlet farm can be built in a lot of places, however I still think that finding a suitable location indeed is not an easy task.
I will focus on agricultural land in this post. In fact when I have decided to venture this field years ago I had decided to set up my first BH on agricultural land despite the draw backs:
1) Upfront capital will be a lot more higher. In addition the finance available for the agricultural & BH construction is quite limited and the borrowing margin is relatively low compared to commercial property. Alternatively you can refinance your property be it residential or commercial. (personally I prefer residential property for lower interest rate and longer/ lower monthly repayment.)
2) Finding the right land, right size with right price. Developing a swiftlet farm doesn't require a lot of space (BH itself) but sometimes it is not easy to find 1-2 acre land in a reasonable price as they tent to fatch higher price per acre due to the demand on those land size is high. Having more than few acres will certainly increase your upfront capital unless you are financially capable and reserve them for future BH development (if your existing BH can do well).
3) Even if one managed to find a reasonable size land, what about the electrical, water and road access? Does the site require extensive site work before the BH construction can begin? If so, one need to allow provision sum for that purpose.
I will focus on agricultural land in this post. In fact when I have decided to venture this field years ago I had decided to set up my first BH on agricultural land despite the draw backs:
1) Upfront capital will be a lot more higher. In addition the finance available for the agricultural & BH construction is quite limited and the borrowing margin is relatively low compared to commercial property. Alternatively you can refinance your property be it residential or commercial. (personally I prefer residential property for lower interest rate and longer/ lower monthly repayment.)
2) Finding the right land, right size with right price. Developing a swiftlet farm doesn't require a lot of space (BH itself) but sometimes it is not easy to find 1-2 acre land in a reasonable price as they tent to fatch higher price per acre due to the demand on those land size is high. Having more than few acres will certainly increase your upfront capital unless you are financially capable and reserve them for future BH development (if your existing BH can do well).
3) Even if one managed to find a reasonable size land, what about the electrical, water and road access? Does the site require extensive site work before the BH construction can begin? If so, one need to allow provision sum for that purpose.
Friday, 30 December 2011
《燕窝风波》下篇:营养成分真相 燕窝奥秘
燕窝与华人的渊源可追溯到千百年前，有传吃燕始于唐朝，也有传是郑和南下发现燕窝，中药古典《本草纲目》也有记载燕窝功效。
我们对燕窝的认知或许只停留在“传统说法”上，现代科学对燕窝的研究其实并没预想中广泛，人们对燕窝的认识与吃燕窝的历史其实成反比。
近几个月燕窝事件闹得满城风雨，大家也陷入燕窝的疑惑泥沼当中。无知让人们失去方向，只有了解才是救赎。燕窝课题正热，我们也来剖析燕窝，一探其中奥秘。
马来西亚工艺大学（UTM）资深燕窝研究员兼食物发酵工艺部主任李腾云博士说，燕窝当中的活性营养成分尤其对孕妇、老人及小孩的发育有益。
在国内，专注做燕窝研究的学者就数李腾云做得最广、最深入。他从金丝燕的习性、燕窝种类及营养成分、燕窝加工、燕窝品质到正确经营引燕方面都有相关研究。
许多学者认为燕窝不过是含有许多对人体有益的活性营养成份的食品，人们可以选择进食其他食品如豆类、奶类、牛肉来摄取氨基酸及蛋白质，但李腾云坚决反对这种说法。他表示，在食物科技的研究中，他们发现营养的摄取方式大大影响人体吸收到的营养成份。
不过，他也特别强调：“引燕没错，但正确饲养才是上策，须知道金丝燕也是鸟类，有可能传染飞禽疾病如禽流感，赚钱之余也不要忽略人类健康。”
李腾云博士为你揭开燕窝之谜：
疑问1：燕窝含的营养价值？
燕窝含有多种特别营养，比如促进细胞快速繁殖丰富的表皮生长因子，这是一个综合性营养，只有在综合摄取才能发挥功能。
3种主要好处
燕窝含有18种必需及非必需氨基酸（Amino Acid）、糖化物(Saccharides)及很好的抗氧化剂（Antioxidant），综合这三种营养是燕窝内最主要的好处。婴儿需要9种必需氨基酸（人体无法合成，必须由食物中摄取），成年人人体则需要8种必需氨基酸，而燕窝刚好含成年人人体所需要这8种氨基酸。
含特别糖化物
燕窝内氨基酸、糖化物及抗氧化剂的综合效果，除了对肌肤、抗老有帮助，最新发现也对人体关节起着关键疗效。
我们抽取人体软骨细胞放入试管中，用燕窝萃取物培植，结果发现燕窝能综合细胞外基质元素，修复细胞软骨，有助预防关节炎、关节硬化。
燕窝含有一种非常特别的糖化物，研究迹象显示它可助于开发人体脑细胞及神经系统的细胞，比如可预防老年迟钝、痴呆症，也可助提升儿童脑细胞活跃率。
疑问2：洞燕与屋燕的区别？
洞燕子的学名是Aerodramus maximus，屋燕子的学名是Collocalia fuciphaga。基本上，洞燕最大的好处是燕盏比屋燕大，它也含有丰富的矿物质。坏处是它较多羽毛、树枝、沙土、鸟粪、残存的蛋壳。虽然它含有丰富矿物质，但有时也会拥有超标的铜、铁，严重时还含有高毒性的金属砷、水银，都可能危害人体健康。
燕窝筑在不同的地点、不同的岩石上，燕窝吸收到不同矿物质；加上邻居如壁虎、蝙蝠、蜈蚣造成燕窝高度污染，品质及颜色上难以控制。
如果吃洞燕只为了吃矿物质，那只是在浪费自己的金钱！吃燕窝的目的就是为了摄取纯正燕窝里的珍贵特别综合营养。
屋燕在人为的环境下生产，燕屋卫生、采集季节、燕鸟保护、燕窝的品质都是人类掌控之中。屋燕比洞燕来更干净，在加工处理方面也更容易，也能更好的保存燕窝营养。
疑问3：燕窝的等级？燕窝的分类？
燕窝的等级以形态而定，考量范围包括形状（燕盏、燕饼及燕碎）、体积、杂质、外观、颜色、采集地点及国家来分等级。然而，这种传统的等级分配并不考量燕鸟种类以及燕窝的营养成分，这是等级系统较为不恰当及混淆的一点。
4种燕鸟所产
一直以来，科学家可雨燕科的分类上仍存在争议。
基本上，我们可理解为燕窝由4种燕鸟所产，包括：爪哇金丝燕（Collocalia fuciphaga）、大金丝燕（Collocalia maxima）、淡腰金丝燕（Collocalia germanis）及印度金丝燕（Collocalia unicolor）。
爪哇金丝燕及淡腰金丝燕也被称为白燕，制造纯正唾液的燕窝；另外两种被称为黑燕的燕窝则参杂了羽毛、干草。
只分洞燕及屋燕
但根据砂拉越博物馆，其中人类只食用三个品种的燕窝。
另外，也有学者将白燕称为Aerodramus fuciphogus及黑燕称为Aerodramus maximus。
但是，各种品牌对自己的产品也有各种分类名称，造成混淆。再来，如果洞燕Aerodramus maximus飞入屋里筑巢怎么办？为了不再混淆，我们将燕窝的采集地为分辨，因此在我们的研究院里只分洞燕及屋燕。
疑问4：真假燕窝？
在我研究燕窝将近10年来，收集了无数燕窝，从来没有在国内买到假燕窝。但我不排除有劣质燕窝，即是加入了许多添加物，目的让燕窝增加重量，品质大大降低。
注重价钱及外观
中国是燕窝最大市场，他们注重价钱及外观，之前很多人说燕窝有假的。1公斤未加工燕窝现在要4000令吉左右，他们要求1公斤洗好的燕窝4000令吉，叫商家怎么卖？但生意人看到有生意难道不做吗？所以他们便加水、加海藻、蛋白、面粉、食物添加剂，甚至染红燕窝。
如何检验燕窝真假？必须化验燕窝含有的营养成份，真的燕窝必须同时拥有以上提到的氨基酸、特别的糖化物及抗氧化剂。有研究迹象显示，燕窝像红酒、人参般，其品质可随年增长而提升，营养价值会更高。
价贵并非好燕
买燕窝不应该抱着“贵的就是好的”心态，要买到优质的燕窝但又对燕窝不了解的情况下，重点只需知道燕窝的出处、如果有认识的燕农或燕商，最好直接向他们采购，不但能剩下被零售商抽取的金钱，也更能确保燕窝的品质优劣。
疑问5：加工过程中漂白会影响燕窝品质吗？
采用过氧化氢漂白燕窝可以替代耗费大量劳力的燕窝清洗方法，有些厂商会使用双氧水为燕窝漂白。
经过漂白，燕窝上大部分杂物、污染物仅被脱色而非全然洗净，包括羽毛在内，但却无法完整清除污染物如真菌所沉积的毒素。
营养成分流失
双氧水燕窝可能构成燕窝营养成分流失，也会损害人体健康。
双氧水比水多出的额外的氧原子使它极为容易与其它混合物发生作用，离开其化学键并余下水燕窝，氧原子燕窝的性质却异常活跃，也是所谓的自由基，与老化与癌症息息相关。
双氧水可大量氧化燕窝内的唾液酸，也会氧化甲硫氨酸；再者任何高于10%浓度的双氧水皆会引起神经系统反应且破坏上消化道。
疑问6：什么是血燕？
有人说血燕是燕子吐完唾液后吐血来筑巢，其实在我多年的研究中从来没在燕窝中发现含有的血的成份。
另外有说法血燕就是红色的燕窝，红色可能是天然富有也可能是人工上色。天然的情况下，燕窝会吸收外在天然因素而形成红色，但如果是人工上色则不适合被食用。
无论如何，血燕或红燕除了价钱较贵以外，并没有特别的营养值得我们花更多金钱去购买。
制定机制管制品质
燕窝造成的恐慌，该由谁来收拾？显然的，政府应该制定一个机构来管制燕窝的品质、燕窝化验机制及燕窝出口机制。
强制制定标签
李腾云说：“市面上的燕窝就连最基本的营养成份标签都没有，所有食品都应该标明成分、营养、制造厂商，为什么燕窝包装上什么都没有？”
许多消费者对选购燕窝毫无头绪，只能靠零售商的广告、信誉，及燕窝的价格、外观来定夺。如此情况，对消费者非常不公。
他建议，政府应该强制厂商为燕窝商制定标签。他认为，无论业者要添加任何添加剂都不是重点，这是产品选择问题，但前提是让消费者清楚知道包装里头到底有什么样的产品，因为消费者有权利知道他们花钱买了什么东西。
“要买得安心，吃得开心，消费者只能相信标签，只能相信政府指定的机制。”
一站式机制
他也建议政府应该设立一站式的机制来检验燕窝，而不是要商家连跑几个单位，兽医局、化验局，做一些标准的细菌检验。他认为，就是化验机制不够完善，而导致今天被中国方面验出亚硝酸盐的结果。
后记：静观其变
谣言止于智者，可小记岂是智者般伟大呢？撰写这系列时，希望能做到全面，不沦为别人口的报道。
翻阅连月来多篇相关报道，不排除部分为“有心人”自圆其说维护各自利益。该信？该疑？清楚可见的是，这门生意所涉及的利益是大到普通人无法想象的地步，不然怎需出动“假官员”呢？
这场“燕窝风波”其中道理就像“鬼最容易画，人最难画”一样。
正因不是每个人（或没有人）看过鬼，任你说鬼长什么模样，都有人相信嘛！追根究底就是世人对燕窝的认知不深，所造就的局面。身为消费者，我们不知道燕窝到底是真的假的，只希望煮好端在碗里那碗燕窝千万要营养丰富。
身为消费者，我们不怕出高价买燕窝，只是希望买到的燕窝货真价实。
为今最重要的是，消费者千万别被“有心人”的言辞吓坏，以免成为此风波最终受害者。
静观其变，多了解燕窝，然后自己下定论，方为智者。
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