Contract farming of eco-friendly passion fruit; the children's bookstore deepens local ties

"I inherited my father's mission, and our shared ultimate wish is this: that the world will one day no longer need the bookstore." Chen Chun-lang, founder of the children's bookstore, passed away suddenly last year, and his son Chen Yen-han has carried on his father's ideal, using nine bookstores to provide hundreds of children in Taitung with nutritious food and a space to dream freely.

Beyond accompanying the children, the bookstore also supports local farmers in transitioning to eco-friendly farming. The contracted eco-friendly passion fruit has been harvested and is now on the market; besides being used in the desserts and drinks at the coffee shop run by the bookstore, it is also available for the public to buy. From caring for children to assisting the local area, Chen Yen-han says he hopes more families can take good care of their children. "Rather than having more bookstores, we hope that in the future every child can grow up confident and happy in an environment full of love."

Storyteller, king of the kids, buildingNine bookstores, accompanying children in the Dazhiben area of Taitung

"The children's bookstore" is located in the Dazhiben area of Taitung. Founder Chen Chun-lang (nicknamed "Papa Chen" by the children) settled in Taitung with his two children more than 20 years ago, and from accompanying his own children, the bookstore grew into a place where other children could come along too.

To date there are nine bookstores in the Dazhiben area, currently serving more than 200 children ranging in age from kindergarten to high school. Any child who needs assistance can, after school, do homework, read books, play music or exercise at the bookstore without worry, even without a parent accompanying them.

The bookstore is a second home for more than 200 children and even has a central kitchen that prepares dinner for the children of all nine bookstores. Wu Chin-tsang, who has helped at the bookstore for more than ten years, says, "For many of the bookstore children, a nutritious dinner is the best meal of the day." Wu Chin-tsang explains that local family situations vary; some parents work several jobs, and some parents are in poor circumstances. "Whether the children eat enough and eat healthily is always a question."

The meals at the bookstore follow the standard of school nutritional lunches: they take in all kinds of nutrients (starch, vegetables and protein), vary the dishes every day, and satisfy the children's taste buds. The central kitchen is clean and tidy. At 4:30 in the afternoon, the kitchen staff have already finished cooking the dishes and are dividing them into baskets for each bookstore. "It takes an hour and a half to deliver to all the bookstores. Packing this way avoids mistakes and ensures the children still eat the food hot."

The bookstore cooks for itself one day a week; Qinglin Bookstore adds its own homegrown crops to the dishes

Besides providing dinner every day, each bookstore reserves one day a week for the children to cook for themselves. On the day of the interview, it was Qinglin Bookstore's turn for the children to prepare their own meal. Bookstore teacher Liao Tsung-fu was in the bookstore's field picking corn, green peppers, cherry tomatoes and various wild vegetables. At 5:30, exactly when junior high school lets out, the children arrived at the bookstore one after another.

"The bookstore is the children's second home, so it's meant to let them relax." Liao Tsung-fu says that although the children prepare the meal, they decide for themselves when to cook, and letting the children decide the dishes and do the cooking gives them autonomy and helps them gradually build confidence. "After they go home, they can also prepare meals for the whole family and take care of their families."

Around a little past six, the children began going into the kitchen to wash and cut vegetables, pick up the oil bottle and soy sauce, and stir-fry dishes and fried rice in front of the gas stove. Almost all the children, after finishing one dish, would walk outside the kitchen to rest. "When adults first see this, they're eager to help the children finish the task, but this is the transition period from just starting to being able to finish it all in one go. We have to be patient; we can only assist, not take over." Liao Tsung-fu says.

"No matter what the children cook, we have to eat it all seriously." Liao Tsung-fu recalls with a smile that in the past some mischievous children made "creative dishes," and the strangest one was once rice with a bubble tea flavor. "Of course we don't scold them, but the other children's reactions are very direct, so they learn the consequences of playing pranks."

"Give a child enough love, and a child will never go bad!"

Dinner started at nearly seven. The children cooked fried rice, stir-fried mushrooms with green peppers, steamed egg with century egg, stir-fried wild amaranth, wonton soup and grass jelly tea. After the meal, the children who had not cooked helped clean up, methodically washing dishes and scrubbing pots and wiping the tables. Then some children began doing homework, some began singing, and some chatted with the teachers about what had happened at school.

"For elementary school students, we ask them to develop the habit of doing homework; for junior high school students, we let go and let them practice self-discipline." Tonight's club class was guitar class, and several older children couldn't wait to go upstairs, pick up guitars and sit down in front of the teacher. Downstairs, the other children did their own things. At nearly eight o'clock, an elementary school boy who had finished his homework started playing basketball outside the house, until his family came to pick him up after their night shift, or a bookstore teacher personally took him home.

Besides staying at the bookstore on weekday evenings, every year during summer vacation the bookstore holds an around-the-island activity, including cycling, canoeing and mountain climbing around the island. "Give a child enough love, and a child will never go bad!" Wu Chin-tsang says with certainty.

From education to local transformation, contracting passion fruit with farmers

The bookstore currently has about 70 full-time staff. As a nonprofit organization, the bookstore's annual expenses are staggering. In the past, Papa Chen was unwilling to accept government funding. "Papa believed that once you accept it, you become limited." Therefore, the bookstore also opened a bakery, Black Kid Black Coffee and more, not only to move toward self-sufficiency, but also in the hope that the bookstore children can have a place to gain experience before entering society.

And the bookstore does not only accompany children; it also accompanies parents and assists local transformation. Chen Yen-han says, "The bookstore's existence is like a doctor. A doctor's existence means there are patients; the existence of a bookstore means there are families that cannot take good care of their children. Rather than having more bookstores, we hope that in the future every child can grow up confident and happy in an environment full of love."

Yuanchong Orchard, which shifted from growing betel pepper to eco-friendly passion fruit, is one such case. Chen Yen-han recalls that Typhoon Nepartak in 2016 flattened the homes and workplaces of many people in Taitung, and the bookstore joined the reconstruction effort at the time, helping families rebuild houses and helping local people find work. The bookstore also helped farmers switch to eco-friendly farming, with the bookstore handling the contract farming and then the sales.

A conventional betel pepper orchard converted into an eco-friendly passion fruit orchard

"Actually, I had long wanted to switch the betel pepper to other crops, and I took the opportunity to do so during the post-typhoon reconstruction." Chang Yuan-chung says that his family used to grow betel pepper with conventional farming methods and often sprayed pesticides. He had always hoped to change the farming method and switch to other crops. Unexpectedly, Typhoon Nepartak flattened the betel pepper net house, so Chang Yuan-chung simply switched entirely to eco-friendly passion fruit cultivation, and has now obtained eco-friendly farming certification from National Taitung University.

Chang Yuan-chung built the net house with double-layer mesh. "What passion fruit fears most is being stung by fruit flies." Walking into the net house, you can see 800 neat passion fruit vines leaning against the posts and stretching out. Each post has two passion fruit vines, one growing to the left and one to the right. "Last year I planted 400, letting each plant grow on both sides, but this year I chose to let each plant grow on only one side, so the burden on the plants is lighter."