Until 2009, we had more than 15 years of experience in conventional manufacturing with contract farming and supplied all the big sauce manufacturers in Thailand. We know how many chemicals and pesticides are in agricultural products and how much it can affect you, farmers and the environment – as we have experienced it ourselves. After years of exposure to chemical use in the farms, Jaruwan got sick with a weak immune system. To recover, Jaruwan stopped visiting farms and tried to heal herself by eating more natural ingredients. That’s when she realized there weren’t many organic ingredients for Thai dishes at the time. We started asking and persuading the farmers in our contact to go organic with us, but no one was willing to give up their chemicals and every farmer thought we were crazy for doing so. From that time, we decided to started our own little farm of 50 Rai (8 Hectares) in the suburb area of Li District, in the south of Lamphun Province, in order to grow the raw materials and ingredients needed for Thai dishes. That’s how Chita Organic Farm was founded in 2009. Little did we know that was just the beginning of a long road of organic farming; from improving the soil quality from rock hard to fertile, using natural methods to get rid of insects, and no growth in the first few crops, to getting organic certified. In 2011, our farm became EU organic certified (and has been ever since!) Once our ingredients were certified organic, we did what we do best and processed them at our factory. The certified organic chili, garlic and other herbs from our farm are processed into “Lumlum” certified organic Thai sauces and curry pastes.
The increase of our farm land and diverse types of plants – including herbs, fruits and vegetable – came with the increase in the variety of our products. Today, Chita Organic Farm is EU, USDA and JAS organic certified and has an area of 400 Rai (64 Hectares). We are producing more than 80 organic products ranging from sauces, curry pastes, dried herbs to fruit, salad dressing, teas, jams and snacks.
