From Rice Paddies to Fish Farming
Agriculture used to be the fundamental industry of rural villages. As Nam Chung is situated near the sea and there is not much flat land, villagers first developed che-tian (輋田) (terraced fields) on the hillside for farming. In the early 19th century, there was a large-scale land reclamation (圍海造田) movement in Sha Tau Kok, while a large area of Nam Chung was also enclosed for cultivation. The present Luk Keng Road was the enclosed Wai Pok (圍壆) back then, namely Tai Pok (大壆). Today, most of the land in Nam Chung, from the seafront to the hillside, results from sea enclosure.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, villagers grew two crops of rice a year, as well as a small amount of vegetables and grains. Each household also raised a certain number of poultry and livestock, such as chickens, ducks, pigs, pigeons, etc. Agricultural products or other collected natural resources were not only for their own use, but were also sold in neighbouring markets for cash.
Traditionally, villagers live off the mountain and the water. They have to work hard and sweat to make ends meet, whether it is building a house, opening and cultivating a farm field, planting and harvesting crops, collecting firewood, or fishing. Some industries with higher technical thresholds require the participation of the entire family or more people, such as making dried tofu skin, building lime kilns, selling salt, etc.
However, after the war, with the reduction of water supply and increased competition, agriculture declined and a large number of villagers emigrated to make a living. The farmland and later the fishponds fell into disuse one after another.
Photo: By Community Members in 2017, of abandoned terraces in Lo Lung Tin （老農田）.
