Thursday, August 20, 2009

Swiftlet Hotel

I would like to apologize for an error I made…

I published this photo in a post dated last June. I described this building, seen in a paddy field in Sekinchan, as the storage for rice. The same photo was also posted in a photography forum, where it was pointed out that this structure is meant for other purpose.

I re-visited Sekinchan in August – this time with Sinji. Upon checking with locals, I have confirmed that the structure in the middle of the paddy field is actually a swiftlet hotel, also known as swiftlet condo or swiftlet farmhouse.

What is a swiftlet hotel? Simply put, this is a structure used to farm bird’s nest. As we know, bird’s nest is a delicacy among the Chinese. With China’s economy booming, bird’s nest has become a big business. As a result, numerous swiftlet farmhouses have popped up in Malaysia and Indonesia.

I hope the farmers in Sekinchan will not dump rice plantation in favor of bird’s nest farming…

22 comments:

  1. Yeah! More and more people are turning into this lucrative business. Even my aunt who owns a farm had built a building specially for this special purpose. :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. It may be lucrative but I always feel that this can be dirty when done on converted shop houses...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow..even swiftlets have hotels!

    ReplyDelete
  4. kikey
    Yes, it's 燕窝!

    tekkaus
    I am also thinking of it, haha...

    Grass
    Fortunately the one in Sekinchan is purpose-built.

    Mei Ting
    Even cockroaches have hotels!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would have had no idea what it was!

    ReplyDelete
  6. now more and more ppl are farming birdnest! some even converted shop lots into birdnest farm, and those are illegal i guess?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I still could accept those people build the swiftlet hotel in the countryside like paddy fields... but i totally object those people setup the swiftlet hotel in the middle of the township and cities... It's a big risk to all the resident who stay in the town/cities.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 很特别的屋子。。可惜不是人住的。^_^

    ReplyDelete
  9. Zhu
    Maybe you can google for more info.

    xin
    Not sure if farming bird's nest in old shoplots is legal...

    TZ
    Correct. We are at risk of bird flu.

    花木兰
    大过我的屋子呢!

    ReplyDelete
  10. hotel? O.o
    luckily no housing nearby if not they will sure go crazy with da noises...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Bird's nest production is just wrong ethically. Well, the Chinese will do anything for money and beauty.

    ReplyDelete
  12. swiftlet farming - http://goldenswiftlet.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. annant
    So, that's a great location for bird's nest farming?

    kyh
    Plus, the Chinese is wealthy enough to consume lots and lots of bird's nest.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 現在有引進一種包籠式的
    較小間集中量更多

    不過啊
    好的燕窝還是在沙巴

    我懂的不多

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for the new feed.

    I read that there is actually no food value in birds nest. The way it is processed, it is actually bad for health as a chemical is used to whiten the originally-tainted nests.

    ReplyDelete
  16. thx for the correction at my blog..^^

    ReplyDelete
  17. 龙猫
    好的燕窝在沙巴?你似乎知道很多呢。

    Happysurfer
    I was told that cancer patients can't eat bird's nest.

    追梦者
    You're welcome :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh! No wonder when I first saw the building it looked like it's for the swiftlets! : )

    ReplyDelete
  19. foongpc
    Yeah, I got it wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  20. And I thought it was for storing grain! Ouch!

    ReplyDelete
  21. JL
    I also made this mistake.

    ReplyDelete