The power bestowed by the bear! Lin Yong-Hong returns to Nan'an Tribe to promote organic farming, revive "Pipi Bean," and turn Little Bear Bentou into a deep-tourism draw

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

The "introduction" of the Nan'an bear cub made Nan'an Tribe instantly famous, but even before those glorious "15 minutes," Nan'an Tribe had already astonished discerning consumers and travelers with its breathtaking beauty. One indispensable contributor was Lin Yong-Hong, 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, nobody had ever heard of it." When Lin Yong-Hong smiles, his nasolabial folds stretch into left and right 〈〉 brackets. "Now it's different. The moment 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 borrow a recent catchphrase, the copy written on Lin Yong-Hong's smiling face is: I'm Nan'an, I'm 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 Yong-Hong after ten years of returning home. Just as beneath the "Batongguan Trail Construction Monument" displayed at the Nan'an Visitor Center, a stone plaque reads: "May the rear mountains become front mountains, may the hearts of descendants turn toward nature, and may the heart of nature turn toward descendants." Lin Yong-Hong led Nan'an Tribe in natural farming, building a tribal brand, bringing young farmers home, and attracting visitors from far away. Even the Taiwan endemic freshwater fish, the Kikuchi minnow, which had disappeared for more than 30 years, returned to this ecological land. Their hearts turn toward nature, and Mother Earth naturally gives generous gifts in return: a stunning turn that amazed the world; a homeland where people can live and work in peace.

But the Nan'an Tribe that makes Lin Yong-Hong proud was once a homeland he was desperate to escape. Because his parents worked long-term in an orchard in Lishan, from the time Lin Yong-Hong could remember, he had to shoulder housework, farm work, and other responsibilities of self-reliance in daily life. 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, then before school prepare breakfast for the siblings and take the younger siblings to school together.

"No, no, not going to school together." Lin Yong-Hong corrects himself. The ones going to school were him and his older brother. The younger siblings, 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's Livelihood, 22 Years of Military Service

Even though he is naturally optimistic, when Lin Yong-Hong looks back on his childhood he still cannot help feeling lonely. His parents returned to the tribe only once every half a year. Because of long-term estrangement, when his parents came back they never put on scenes of hugging or acting spoiled. But he always wanted to ask: "Why did you have to go so far away?" "Why did you come back only after so long?" Because he worried that if he spoke he would cry first, he always held back his grievances and acted like a sensible, resigned, good child.

But changing tack, Lin Yong-Hong says tribal children knew well how to find joy in hardship, and much of that was thanks to nature's gifts. Rats hiding in the field ridges tasted best roasted; the fruit was all wild and free for the picking; the frogs caught while checking field water… only, nature would not produce pencils, nor could it pay the 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 escape the hardships of tribal life, Lin Yong-Hong followed in his older brother's footsteps, walked out of the besieged city of crops, and entered the home of the Air Force.

During 22 years of military service, Lin Yong-Hong served in the Air Force's 443rd Tactical Fighter Wing in Tainan. Besides being a master sergeant maintaining "IDF fighters," he also served as a quality assurance officer. When he retired after securing lifetime pension benefits, Lin Yong-Hong was only 39 years old.

Returning Home After Discharge, Rescuing Out-of-Control Farmland Through Friendly Farming

Back in the tribe, Lin Yong-Hong 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 the whole season for nothing, but they had also worked themselves into debt. Lin Yong-Hong's mother was deeply in debt. The business mechanism fattened the dealers, but harmed the farmers and also harmed the land.

Lin Yong-Hong could only go against the tribal agricultural norm, recruiting like-minded people willing to practice friendly farming to change the corrupted, out-of-control situation together. But the farmers who had originally agreed to walk side by side backed out one after another, leaving only 4 people in the whole team. Looking at rice fields that no longer had frogs or rats, Lin Yong-Hong knew the changed land had no time to wait. He upheld the principle of "just do it," believing that even if success would not dock immediately, at least it would follow close behind failure.

Tribal farmers were used to planting rice seedlings in straight lines, with rice and grass "implacably opposed." After Lin Yong-Hong took over the family farmland, because he did not apply herbicides, the rice field was very "green." Tribal elders began whispering to his mother: "Is your son planting rice? Or planting grass?" His mother also thought Lin Yong-Hong 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 no smoke rose from the thatched cottage.

Tribal Organic Rice Finally Builds 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 instruction, and Yinchuan Rice drew on 18 years of successful experience, helping Nan'an Tribe's organic rice build a brand and allowing Lin Yong-Hong's hard work to be rewarded. The tribe finally learned that organic is a win-win practice 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 Yong-Hong and the others.

At present, Nan'an already has more than 20 jia of organic rice fields, and the crisscrossing scene 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 bless it. Everyone can "name it after themselves." "So for me, it is the Lin Yong-Hong tree." He says with a smile, and as the 〈〉 on his face stretches, he again radiates infectious enthusiasm.

The Black Bear Is Family: Helping the Nan'an Bear Cub Find a Home

Although the Bunun are a hunting people, there are three animals they do not kill: the black bear (family), the hundred-pace snake (friend), and the black bulbul (benefactor).

Two years ago, a lost black bear cub appeared at Nan'an Waterfall, a family member of the Bunun. After visitors reported it, neither the Forestry Bureau nor the national park knew how to handle it. Later they contacted black bear expert Teacher Huang Mei-Hsiu, and decided first to confine the cub nearby where it was located. Unexpectedly, it escaped. Once the news spread, check-in tourists surged in, and even tour buses solicited passengers. Everyone took pleasure in photographing the bear in treetops, by the road, and along the stream.

To prevent curious visitors from coming into contact with the black bear, at the call of the village chief and the tribal leader, Lin Yong-Hong and others formed a Bunun patrol team responsible for night watches; the Fifth Special Police Corps, the Seventh Special Police Corps, and the Highway Bureau jointly closed the road to block daytime visitors. About two weeks later, the Black Bear Association and the Bunun found cigarette butts in the cub's droppings, and it appeared to have diarrhea. Having no other choice, they had to try to capture the black bear cub and send it to a specialized institution for care, hoping to raise it until it was two years old and an adult bear