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June 12, 2013

Organic Life, Forms, and Such (Country Farm Warehouse Sale 2013)



Organic. Broccolis are organic. Hyenas are organic. Even when Ripley discovered the Alien slime on the spaceship's floor, you expected for her to say "Hey, that looks organic".

So, now, explain to me why are my plain Jane veggies considered to be 'non-organic', compared to those fancy, 'organic'-labelled veggies at the special section of the hypermarket? Why with the biased treatment...the double standard...the prejudice...the bigotry?

I think I almost did my version of the 'I have a dream' speech, before I was later shot with the fact that 'organic' here means things that we grow, without using manufactured chemicals as fertilizers and pesticides.

If that’s the case, then, is the concept applicable to…let say...my baby beard and moustache?

Anyway, I was tempted to go to the annual Country Farm Warehouse Sale at Sunway Damansara last Saturday. It was my third and only successful attempt for the past three years, after a mixed process of procrastination, doubt and laziness.



The Country Farm Warehouse Sale


It is true that determination can give you wings to go far, even if the actual venue was just less than 1km away. So, I drove, I sought, and I conquered a parking space in front of the warehouse.

I have a set of rules when it comes to warehouse sales, and the first one is ‘Always be the earliest in the very first day’. The sale started last Thursday, and I was only able to be there last Saturday. Oh, well…rules are meant to be… (*you get the idea).


Don't judge a warehouse sale by its...erm...main entrance




When I came in, a lot of the non-edible stuffs were already gone. The first thing that I saw was a display of organic towels, organic baby clothes, organic liquid dishwasher, plus other redundant and unnecessary things that I may never buy in my lifetime.


Organic fabrics and liquid dishwasher

Bottled things that I don't need


The food section was the real deal. But the main problem was the lack of the halal logo on basically all of the products that day. I was really attracted to the Crofter jams. They were claimed to be organic, with no added colouring and preservatives. But the halal status was a factor…so I didn’t buy the jams.

“But, the jams are basically fruit and sugar” you say? Well, you also have to take note of the nature, and the ‘environment’ of the products; the facility, the equipments, and the packaging process. I was approached by three salespersons that day, and all of them revealed that they used to have a halal status for the products, and the company is in the process of reapplying for the certification.


The main area


Manuka honey! Damn, they're still expensive

Jamming around

Spice routes

Oats. Is it halal?



The packagings were nice to look at

Arabica coffee...good addictive stuffs


Tea hehe


Before bread...there were flour, and other powdery substances...


"Uh, oh, we're in trouble...something's come along, and it's burst our bubble" (A Shampoo song)

Organic veggies and eggs




In the end, I only dared to buy a type of organic coffee, tea, and some spices. It’s not that the products are not good. They actually looked like super-cool, high-quality goods with nice packaging and stuffs. But the ambiguity of the halal status made it hard for a Muslim like me to buy things that day.


Coffee, spice, and everything's nice

Organic receipt?


It was an interesting visit, and I later managed to taste the organic coffee and tea. They were ok, and with the knowledge that the products are chemical-free and natural, I actually felt healthier and happier. Hope the company will get the halal cert soon  :)

p/s: I was a little bit frustrated for not buying any honey and jam. So, I went to Giant KD for alternatives :)


"Honey, I'm cheaper"

Let's jam!

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