Don Tait in Kampot

Don Tait - the author of "The Last Drover" and "Tommy" showed us his home - a farm for hydroponics experiments.

Without going into detail, the experiment consists of farming fish in special pools in water taken from the river. And water with fish droppings serves as "soil" for plants (vegetables and flowers, as well as rice). These plants indirectly purify the river water!

This experiment, apart from the main goal, is to show children and youth learning environmental protection tasks in an orphanage. Don has been doing this charity job for years.

Don celebrates his birthday on the same day as me (02.01) and also suspects that he was born in December of the previous year. He just turned 80!

The vital and intellectual forces do not leave it, and his plans are far-reaching.

He is considering moving to Morocco.

He would like us to live in his home for a few years (the land is not his property), for a little rent, and our task would be to feed the fish ...

As we are not afraid of any work, so we would be able to do it. However, for now, we have enough of our own experiments, we do not intend to live on the river, two kilometres from the centre of Kampot.

A small plot, which he leases from the city in a long-term contract, is located on a river whose water level depends on the ocean tides in the Gulf of Thailand. The river, therefore, every twelve hours flows "uphill".

The small brick house built by Don has all the necessary qualities for this climate: the breeze ventilates the house and cools it without the need for air conditioning. The backyard patio with shaded on all sides gives a respite in hot weather, and metal canopies protect against rainstorms.

The Asian environment and neighbourhood give a sense of exotica.

A perfect place for unusual holidays for those who do not demand too much comfort.

This is not an advertising, only a statement how one could escape from European winters.

It is a pity that we did not meet Don before the idea of ​​The Chameleon came to life.