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I was in Kelantan few days ago to meet up with Mr. W, one of my readers and owner of a soon to be Standalone. He had engaged me to construct a 20x 80, 3 storey Stanalone.
Kelantan is one of the most potential places for Swiftlet farming due it natural environment which has plenty of greens, padi fields, rivers, etc. The industrial development is still lack behind compared to other state but this is an advantage as far as Swiftlet farming is concerned.
Generally Swiftlet farmers look for places that have no industrial pollution. Areas that have low industrial activities are preferred. Areas that have factories that release chemical gases should be avoid as Swiftlets are very sensitive to the chemical smell. Since there are not many industrial activities in Kelantan therefore having a Bh here would have it advantages. Though there are many Bhs here and more are coming up but the ratio of the number of Bh to the green area is still low compared to other state. Therefore it is not surprised the successful rate of Bh in Kelantan is much higher than other state.
Secondly the high successful rate is also the result of the way the Kelatanese built their Bhs. It seemed that they really pay lots of attentions to the heat factors of Bh. I guess they do really understand the importance of macro. Here the roof insulation is a must. If not all at least 80% of the bhs here have double layer roof. If you travel down South or to the West you don’t see this practice perhaps only a handful of Bhs do. That is why I always stressed the importance of wall and roof insulation.
The location of the Bh is at T.Merah which is about an hour drive fron K.B. The standalone is not far from a river and surrounding with good vegetation. There were few huge logging companies around here and when it rains swiftlets storm this area for insects which hide at the logs. This is another food ground for Swiftlets.
There were few existing Stanalones here most are 3 storey. Some are quite new and as usually it will be very challenging.
After visiting the site we went to a Saw mill to have a look at the Nesting plank. Though there are plenty of timbers here but the Dark Brown Meranti which sought after by many are not available in Kelantan. This doesn’t surprise me as many Bhs from Kelantan and Terengganu often order their planks directly from me. The owner of the saw mill claimed that it is hard to get such wood in Kelantan and most Bh owners would settle for the cheaper Meranti. I told him they would have the risk of fungus on planks in future and he agreed.
With such environment of green, mountains and rivers which causes an atmosphere of high humidity and yet most Bhs use non KD low graded planks. I wonder is it the price factor or ignorance factor. I guess only the Bh owners here have the answer.
To be continued……………..
Good Swiftlet Farming All!.