Switching to Organic Tea as a Model: A Father and Son Pass Down the Land for Future Generations

 

 

S: "Hello everyone, I'm Xu Shiwen, and I've been committed to growing organic tea for 25 years." 

 

Caption 1: In the early summer countryside morning light, organic tea trees are being harvested

 

OS: In the soft morning light of early summer, driving through a path of dirt and gravel, a whole expanse of emerald green organic tea garden comes into view. In the clear, clean air far from the hustle and bustle, the tea trees are stretching out their lush branches and leaves. This is Miaoli, nestled against the mountains and beside the water. It is now the harvest season for Oriental Beauty tea. The tea pickers deftly twist off the one bud and two leaves at the tips of the branches. Bitten by the small green leafhopper, every leaf is full of rich sweetness, as well as the tea farmers' original commitment to organic farming.

 

Caption 2: Influenced by his father in childhood, the concept of organic first sprouted     

 

OS: The reason he started farming organically is because of the influence of Boss Xu's father.

 

Mr. Xu Shiwen, owner of Rixin Tea Garden: "Back then, my father and grandfather grew more than a hundred Asian pears at home. Because Asian pears often needed spraying, we used to help pull the pesticide hoses after school, so I was rather averse to pesticides." 

 

OS: So, after returning from military service, Boss Xu cut down all the Asian pear trees at home and switched to growing organic tea, and he has been growing it for a full twenty-five years. He told us that because the first victims of spraying pesticides are the farmers themselves, growing organically means not only that he himself will not come into contact with pesticides, but also that the soil will not become acidified and degraded, so healthy land can be left for the next generation to use.

 

Caption 3: Implementation is full of difficulties; the meaning behind buying runs deep

 

OS: Boss Xu proudly told us that he uses natural fertilizers to care for the tea trees, such as covering newly planted tea trees with peanut shells, rice husks, or silvergrass, so that the young seedlings will not be exposed to sunlight for long periods and the soil stays moist. These are the wisdom left by the previous generation, and now Boss Xu is also passing it on to his own son, Xu Yuren.

 

Mr. Xu Yuren, son of the owner of Rixin Tea Garden: "Non-toxic, mutually beneficial and symbiotic for the whole environment, not destroying the entire ecology just to make this money."

 

OS: However, the path of practicing organic farming has not been so smooth. A great deal of time and labor is invested, and the tea-making processes of planting, picking, withering, pan-firing, rolling, and roasting all follow ancient methods, with no step neglected. Yet it is often compared with tea from conventional farming and criticized for not being aromatic enough while costing more, making it always difficult to strike a balance between production and sales.

 

Mr. Xu Shiwen, owner of Rixin Tea Garden: "Too highbrow for most people. It sounds lovely, but few understand it or want to listen. It is the same with going organic. Everyone thinks going organic is fine, not bad, but few people truly agree with it or buy organic."     

 

OS: Even so, Boss Xu has never given up, and his son Xu Yuren is even more determined to take over the family business and carry his father's organic tea garden into the next 25 years. They hope to let more people understand that the meaning behind buying organic is not only non-toxic health, but also supporting small farmers and being kind to the land we live on.

 

Caption 4: Still persisting on a long road, hoping to see the harvest in the future

 

OS: Boss Xu's organic tea garden was officially certified as a demonstration site for organic farmers in the 89th year of the Republic of China, yet even after many people came to observe it, very few tea farmers were willing to switch to organic because of it.

 

Mr. Xu Shiwen, owner of Rixin Tea Garden: "That is, after seeing us farm organically, people are not very interested, because it takes time and labor, and the most important thing is that your product may not sell well. Because with organic, you cannot necessarily see results in three years, five years, or ten years."     

 

OS: Even so, Boss Xu is still willing to take the long view. He knows that organic is a long road, mutually beneficial and symbiotic with the environment, and responsible for one's own health and that of others. This road must have people who persist, and his son shares the same resolve as he does.

 

Caption 5: The insects and birds have returned, hoping you and I will carry it on together

 

OS: Standing in the tea garden bathed in golden sunlight, surrounded by the endless chirping of insects and birds, the organic tea garden is like a small ecological pond. Insects and small animals all coexist peacefully with the tea trees. This beautiful scene of them living together mutually and symbiotically on this land is something they hope can be carried on generation after generation through everyone's support for organic farming.

 

Mr. Xu Shiwen, owner of Rixin Tea Garden: "To let more people get healthy and safe food."

 

Mr. Xu Yuren, son of the owner of Rixin Tea Garden: "I hope to continue carrying on the organic cause."