Lin Yung-Hung returns to Nan'an Tribe to revive P'ip'i beans, and Little Bear Bento promotes organic in-depth tours

In July 2018, the quiet Nan'an Tribe welcomed the "15 minutes of fame" that Andy Warhol spoke of. Because a stray Formosan black bear cub appeared at Nan'an Waterfall, the tribe not only became the focus of the news, but also a spot where people rushed to take photos.

The "introduction" of the Nan'an bear cub made Nan'an Tribe instantly famous, but even before this glorious "15 minutes," Nan'an Tribe had already amazed discerning consumers and travelers with its stunning beauty. One indispensable contributor was Lin Yung-Hung, this year's Green Oscar winner.

"In the past, when I introduced my hometown to others, I could only say 'Hualien,' or at most add 'Yuli.' As for Zhuoxi Township, no one had ever heard of it." Lin Yung-Hung smiled, and his nasolabial folds stretched into left and right bracket shapes. "Now it's different. Once I say 'Nan'an Tribe,' who doesn't know it?" As soon as he finished speaking, the brackets on his face stretched even wider.

To use a recent popular phrase, the copy written on Lin Yung-Hung's smiling face is: I am Nan'an, I am proud.

Though nature's gifts are abundant, childhood was still full of hardship

Making the tribe hold its head high is the achievement of Bunun youth Lin Yung-Hung after ten years of returning home. Just as beneath the "Batongguan Trail Excavation Monument" displayed at the Nan'an Visitor Center, there is an explanatory stone plaque that reads: "May the back mountain become the front mountain, may the hearts of descendants turn toward nature, and may nature's heart turn toward descendants." Lin Yung-Hung led Nan'an Tribe in practicing natural farming, building a tribal brand, bringing young farmers home, and drawing visitors from afar. Even the Taiwan endemic freshwater fish Kikuchi's minnow, which had disappeared for more than 30 years, returned to this ecological land. Their hearts turn toward nature, and Mother Earth naturally gives a great gift in return: a stunning transformation that amazed the world; a homeland where people can live and work in peace and contentment.

But Nan'an Tribe, which makes Lin Yung-Hung proud, was once a homeland he urgently wanted to escape. Because his parents worked long-term in an orchard in Lishan, for as long as Lin Yung-Hung could remember, daily life meant taking on the burden of household chores, farm work, and self-reliance. By today's standards, it would almost require social welfare agencies to intervene. He and his brother, 3 years older, had to get up at 3 a.m., either light a fire and cook, or collect eggs and feed the chickens, or go to the fields to check the water, and then before school prepare breakfast for their siblings, and take their younger brothers and sisters to school together.

"No, no, not going to school together." Lin Yung-Hung corrected. The ones going to school were him and his older brother. Their younger siblings, who were not yet school age, could not be left alone at home. Fortunately, the teacher was accommodating and let them sit in the classroom as "study companions."

Leaving the tribe for the family livelihood, 22 years of military service

Even though he was naturally optimistic, looking back on his childhood, Lin Yung-Hung still could not help feeling lonely. His parents came back to the tribe only once every half a year. Because of long-term estrangement, when his parents returned, they never put on scenes of hugging or acting spoiled. But he always wanted to ask: "Why go so far away?" "Why come back only after so long?" Because he worried that before he could speak, tears would fall first, he always held back his grievances and acted like a sensible, resigned, good child.

But changing the subject, Lin Yung-Hung said that children in the tribe knew very well how to find joy amid hardship, and much of this was thanks to nature's gifts. Rats hiding in the field ridges tasted best when roasted; the fruit was all wild and free for anyone to enjoy; the frogs caught while checking field water... It was just that nature could not produce pencils, nor could it pay water and electricity bills. Sometimes nature was instead the source of hardship: the scorching sun, the bone-chilling field water, the endless weeds, the vegetable garden that could never be fully watered. To get away from the hardships of tribal life, Lin Yung-Hung followed in his older brother's footsteps, walked out of the walled city of crops, and entered the home of the air force.

During 22 years of military service, Lin Yung-Hung served in the Air Force 443rd Wing in Tainan. In addition to being a master sergeant repairing IDF fighter jets, he also served as a quality assurance officer. When he retired after receiving a lifetime pension, Lin Yung-Hung was only 39 years old.

Returning home after retirement, using friendly farming to rescue out-of-control farmland

After returning to the tribe, Lin Yung-Hung discovered that because pesticide and fertilizer dealers had developed a business mechanism of "no need to pay in advance; just sign and you can collect goods," farmers had no concept of cost. Often only after harvest, when settling accounts with the dealers, did they realize that not only had they worked for nothing all season, but they had also worked themselves into debt. Lin Yung-Hung's mother was deeply in debt. The business mechanism fattened the dealers, but harmed the farmers and also harmed the land.

Lin Yung-Hung could only go against the tribal agricultural norm, recruiting like-minded people willing to practice friendly farming to change the corrupt, out-of-control situation together. But the farmers who had originally agreed to walk side by side with him one after another went back on their word, and the whole team had only 4 people left. Looking at rice fields that no longer had frogs or rats, Lin Yung-Hung knew that the changed land had no time to wait. Adhering to the principle of "just do it," he believed that even if success did not dock immediately, at least it would follow failure.

Tribal farmers were used to planting rice seedlings straight, and rice and grass "could not coexist." After Lin Yung-Hung took over the family farmland, because he did not apply herbicides, the rice field was very "green." The tribe's elders began whispering to his mother: "Is your son planting rice? Or planting grass?" His mother also thought Lin Yung-Hung was not diligent enough, and the two repeatedly quarreled. During one big argument, harsh words were said, and from then on mother and son turned away from each other, and the thatched cottage had no smoke.

Tribal organic rice finally built a brand, growing from zero to a scale of 20 jia

Fortunately, through the convergence of various causes and conditions, Yushan National Park provided funding, the Tse-Xin Organic Agriculture Foundation offered guidance, the Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station provided technical guidance, and Yinchuan Rice drew on 18 years of successful experience, helping Nan'an Tribe's organic rice build a brand and allowing Lin Yung-Hung's hard work to be rewarded. The tribe finally learned that organic is a win-win approach for both agriculture and the environment. As long as the method is right, organic farming is not hard, and it can make pockets fuller, so everyone joined the ranks of Lin Yung-Hung and the others.

At present, Nan'an already has more than 20 jia of organic rice fields, and the scene of crisscrossing field paths is no less impressive than Chishang in Taitung. In fact, Nan'an has a "Bunun Avenue," and beside the road there is also a large tree, but it has no celebrity name to lend it prestige, and everyone can "name it after themselves." "So to me, it is Lin Yung-Hung's tree." He said with a smile, and the brackets on his face stretched again, radiating infectious enthusiasm.