Contract farming of eco-friendly passion fruit: the children's book house helps kids dream and farmers fulfill their dreams

"I inherited my father's mission, and our shared ultimate wish was this: a world where book houses are no longer needed." Chen Jun-lang, founder of the children's book house, passed away suddenly last year, and his son Chen Yan-han has carried on his father's ideal, providing hundreds of children in Taitung with nutritious food and a space to dream freely through nine book houses.

Extending from education to local transformation: contract farming passion fruit with farmers

Beyond accompanying children, the book house also accompanies 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 desserts and drinks at the coffee shop run by the book house, it is also available for outside purchase. From caring for children to assisting the local community, Chen Yan-han said he hopes more families can take good care of their children. "Rather than having more book houses, we hope that in the future every child can grow up confidently and happily in an environment full of love."

Storytelling, the king of kids, and buildingNine book houses accompanying children in the Dazhiben area of Taitung

"The Children's Book House" is located in the Dazhiben area of Taitung. Founder Chen Jun-lang (nicknamed "Papa Chen" by the children) settled in Taitung with his two children over 20 years ago, and from accompanying his own children, the book house expanded so other children could come too.

To date, there are nine book houses in the Dazhiben area, currently serving over two hundred children ranging in age from kindergarten to high school. Any child in need of assistance can safely do homework, read books, play music, or exercise at the book house after school, without worrying about not having parents around.

The book house is a second home for over two hundred children, and even has a central kitchen that prepares dinner for the children at all nine book houses. Wu Jin-cang, who has helped at the book house for over ten years, said, "For many book house children, a nutritious dinner is the best meal of the day." Wu Jin-cang explained that local family situations vary; some parents work several jobs, and some parents are in difficult circumstances. "Whether the children eat enough and eat healthily is a problem."

The book house's meals follow the standards of school nutritional lunches: balancing intake of various nutrients (starches, vegetables, and protein), with different dishes prepared daily to 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 and portioned the dishes into baskets for each book house. "Delivering to all the book houses takes an hour and a half. Portioning this way avoids mistakes and ensures the children still get hot food."

Book houses cook for themselves one day a week; Qinglin Book House uses crops it grows in its dishes

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

"The book house is the children's second home, so we want them to relax." Liao Zong-fu said that although the children prepare the meal, they decide themselves when to start cooking. Letting the children decide the dishes and cook 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 family."

Around 6 o'clock, the children began entering the kitchen to wash and cut vegetables, picking up oil bottles and soy sauce, stir-frying dishes and fried rice at the gas stove. Most of the children would rest outside the kitchen after finishing one dish. "When adults first see this, they're eager to help the children finish everything, but this is the transition period from just starting to being able to finish it all in one go. We need to be patient; we can only assist, not interfere." Liao Zong-fu said.

"No matter what the children cook, we have to eat it all seriously." Liao Zong-fu recalled with a smile that in the past, mischievous children made "creative dishes," and the strangest was once bubble milk tea-flavored rice. "Of course we wouldn't scold them, but the other children's reactions would be very direct, and then they'd know the consequences of pulling a prank."

"Give children enough love, and they will absolutely never go bad!"

Dinner started at nearly 7 o'clock. 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 hadn't cooked helped clean up, methodically washing dishes and scrubbing pots, wiping tables. Then some children started doing homework, some began singing, and some chatted with teachers about what had happened at school.

"For elementary school students, we ask them to develop the habit of doing homework; for junior high 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, grabbing guitars and sitting down in front of the teacher. Downstairs, the other children did their own things. Close to 8 o'clock, the elementary school boys who had finished their homework played basketball outside until family members came to pick them up after their night shifts, or until the book house teachers personally took them home.

Besides staying at the book house on weekday evenings, every year during summer vacation the book house holds an around-the-island activity, including cycling, canoeing, and mountain climbing around the island. "Give children enough love, and they will absolutely never go bad!" Wu Jin-cang said with conviction.

Extending from education to local transformation: contract farming passion fruit with farmers

The book house currently has about seventy full-time staff. As a nonprofit organization, the book house's annual expenses are staggering. In the past, Papa Chen was unwilling to accept government resources. "Dad believed that once you accept them, you become limited." Therefore, the book house also opened a bakery and Black Kid Black Coffee, not only moving toward self-sufficiency but also hoping to give book house children a place to gain experience before entering society.

The book house doesn't just accompany children; it also accompanies parents and assists local transformation. Chen Yan-han said, "The existence of the book house is like a doctor. A doctor's existence means there are patients; the existence of a book house means there are families that cannot take good care of their children. Rather than having more book houses, we hope that in the future every child can grow up confidently and happily in an environment full of love."

Yuanchong Orchard, which transitioned from growing betel pepper to eco-friendly passion fruit, is one such case. Chen Yan-han recalled that Typhoon Nepartak in 2016 razed many Taitung residents' homes and workplaces to the ground. The book house joined the reconstruction efforts, helping families rebuild houses and assisting locals with employment. The book house also helped farmers transition to eco-friendly farming, with the book house responsible for contract farming and then for sales.

Conventional betel pepper orchard converted to eco-friendly passion fruit orchard

"Actually, I'd long wanted to switch the betel pepper to other crops, and with the opportunity to rebuild after the typhoon, I just went with the flow." Zhang Yuan-chong said his family used to grow betel pepper with conventional farming methods, often spraying pesticides, and he had always wanted to change the farming method and switch to other crops. He never expected Typhoon Nepartak to raze the betel pepper netting house to the ground, so Zhang Yuan-chong simply switched entirely to eco-friendly passion fruit cultivation and has now obtained eco-friendly farming certification from National Taitung University.

Zhang Yuan-chong built the netting house with double-layer mesh. "What passion fruit fears most is being bitten by fruit flies." Walking into the netting house, you can see eight hundred neatly arranged passion fruit vines stretching along support posts. Each post has two passion fruit vines, one growing to the left and one to the right. "Last year I planted four hundred, letting each vine grow on both sides, but this year I chose single-side growth for each vine, so the burden on each plant is smaller."

Upper and lower hanging nets, grass cultivation: passion fruit with intense flavor

Inside the netting house, rows of neatly arranged passion fruit plants can be seen, with a layer of netting above and below. The upper netting is a grid net for the fruit vines to climb, and Zhang Yuan-chong adjusted the grid net height to within reach. "This way it's very convenient for me to prune the vines." The lower hanging net prevents fruit from falling to the ground and turning sour; ripe passion fruit falls into the hanging net, and when the season comes, Zhang Yuan-chong harvests about once every two days.

Besides the vines, the orchard floor is also lush with greenery. Zhang Yuan-chong chose to leave grass in the orchard. "These little grasses help the soil retain water. If the grass gets long, I cut it and place it beside the plants as fertilizer." He said that using grass as fertilizer can reduce the amount of fertilizer needed; now he only needs to apply organic fertilizer before harvest.

Scooping a passion fruit that had turned red and fallen naturally from the net, breaking it open releases a rich aroma. Scooping it up with a spoon, you can taste the tangy, juicy passion fruit. Zhang Yuan-chong said that eco-friendly cultivation requires more time and labor, and the selling price is slightly higher than conventional passion fruit, but there are many repeat customers. "Once you've tasted it, you can't stay away!"

Besides passion fruit, there's also roselle, moving toward greater use of local ingredients

Most of Zhang Yuan-chong's passion fruit is currently supplied to Black Kid Black Coffee for selling fresh fruit, making drinks, and desserts. Tasting the passion fruit tea and panna cotta, the slightly tart passion fruit flavor is rich, making the drinks and desserts incredibly refreshing. Besides passion fruit, there's also a cheesecake made from local roselle. Chen Yan-di, manager of Black Kid Coffee, said that when they helped farmers rebuild their fields, they also used the produce to support the farmers. "The more local the ingredients, the stronger the connection to the local community."

"I hope that in the future, 'a child from the book house' can become a mark of recognition." Chen Yan-han said the book house accompanies children through their student years, and the coffee shop, besides connecting with the local community through ingredients, also hopes to become a practice ground for children before they enter society. He looks forward to the children being proud of the book house in the future.

Appendix - Passion Fruit Gift Box Ordering Information

Black Kid Black Coffee (08-951-6569) or send a private message to the fan page https://www.facebook.com/black.kid.cafe/
Price information: one box of 2 Taiwan jin / 400 yuan (gift box packaging), about 12 pieces per box, each piece weighing 100-120 grams on average, 5% off for 4 boxes or more.
Delivery fees: 100 yuan for 1 box, 180 yuan for 4 boxes, 240 yuan for 8 boxes