Sustainable Living and Farming - Cultivate resilience at KFBG
Water Self-Sufficiency
Understanding the challenges Cultivate resilience at KFBG Why farming matters? Be the change Featured Projects in mainland China

Hong Kong has been externalising its water footprint for decades by importing water from Mainland China and also importing water-consuming goods from all over the world. In doing so we put our water supplies under threat and leave ourselves totally unprepared for the challenges of Climate Change.

Since the 1950s, on this site, we have been using mostly the natural stream water which passes through the estate (only the ‘Eat Well Café’ uses Government water to meet regulations). We have adopted ‘saving and recycling’ as core strategies to manage our water demands so as to stay within natural limits, leaving enough water for the wildlife in the stream. Initiatives such as water-saving farming practices, constructed wetlands for waste water recycling and other water saving devices at the KFBG have inspired many professionals and farmers from different countries to start their own exploration of self-sufficiency in water supply.

KFBG has phased out use and sale of bottled water at the Farm by 2012. Water serving points are setup for staff and visitors to get purified drinking water that is supplied ‘locally’ from our stream. (Bring your own reusable water bottle or buy one in the shop.)

Hedgerow, cover-crop and mulching at the agroforest help preserve soil and reduce evaporation.

Swale and mini-ponds at farmland drains and retains water at the farmland longer for irrigation.

The Constructed Wetland at KFBG helps recover organic nutrients in black water and create supply of ‘recycled’ water for multiple use.