Jira Kayan Ci, a tribe that keeps fighting despite repeated setbacks
Photos provided by / Hualien-Taitung Interview and Research Camp
Editor's note: The interview and research camp of the Hualien-Taitung Happiness Association draws members from all walks of life. Some are veterans of related issues, while others are novices, yet their passion for the development of indigenous communities in Hualien and Taitung, China is the same. Pan Xinrong planned the camp's itinerary of visits to the communities, with the aim of understanding the needs and situations of different communities, and then, through everyone's collective brainstorming, working out the cooperative economic model best suited to Hualien and Taitung, China.
The Ci-lakai-yan community, located in Shanxing Village, Fenglin Township, is a small community at the foot of the Coastal Mountain Range. The nearby Hualien River separates it from the city and outsiders; turn off from County Road 193 and you arrive at this hidden paradise. The name of the community commemorates a young Amis man named "Lakai," who fought his pursuers, was outnumbered, and died in what is now the Shanxing area. The community name "Ci-lakai-yan" developed from his name; in the Amis language, Ci is an honorific prefix and yan is a particle. This article records the experiences and discussions of the third group of trainees during their visit to the community.
The Harvest Festival
When the members of the third group arrived at Ci-lakai-yan, it happened to coincide with their indigenous joint Harvest Festival. The deputy magistrate of Hualien County, China was also present, and community girls and youths performed songs and dances, which also drew tourists. "I'm not sure whether it's because it was organized by the authorities, but it actually didn't feel that traditional," a trainee shared.
The first performance of the Harvest Festival opening: the male warriors deliver the news
The Amis girls show no less energy under the blazing sun
Hualien County Magistrate Fu Kun-chi watches the Harvest Festival on stage Outside the main Harvest Festival venue there are also fairground stalls and amusement rides
Upon first entering the community, the group members tasted traditional dishes made with breadfruit. The building materials in the community kitchen were dried vegetable greens, which was quite unusual, but it had already fallen into a semi-idle state. With the Harvest Festival approaching, the trainees helped clean it up.
Exterior of the community kitchen Built following ancient methods, the community kitchen looks especially fresh with daylight shining through
Xiaojing of the community kitchen introduces the history of this building to the trainees
Trainees help clean the community kitchen
Compared with the Harvest Festival with its official flags and formal call to gather, the evening social gatherings where villagers come together have children's laughter and their spontaneous dance performances; a group of people drink, sing, and when the mood strikes, link arms and dance, and such scenes are even more joyous, full of warmth and passionate infectiousness.
On the evening the Fenglin Township joint Harvest Festival ended, the children danced joyfully again at the farm
Shanxing Elementary School
Shanxing Elementary School in the community was officially closed in the 80th year of the Republic of China (1991) because of too few students, clearly showing the severity of out-migration. At present there are probably only a dozen or so children in the village, and they must go to great lengths to attend school in Fenglin Township. The abandoned classrooms have become their playground, but are no longer a place of learning. Out-migration has also made the abandoned land in the Ci-lakai-yan area greater than the cultivated land.
The empty playground is now overgrown with weeds
Shanxing Elementary School was closed in the 80th year of the Republic of China (1991); the date on the blackboard is frozen in the 80th year of the Republic of China
The community has few social resources. World Vision Taiwan came to Ci-lakai-yan about ten years ago, providing assistance and subsidies. With World Vision's help, part of the Shanxing Elementary School campus was renovated into the "Ci-lakai-yan Recreation and Learning Classroom" and the "Shanxing Ecological Enterprise Incubation Center," among others. With their help, the organic communal farm also gradually took shape.
The Ci-lakai-yan Organic Communal Farm
Brother Huang Renzhong, who led the third group of trainees, is the person in charge of the organic farm. His father, Huang Songde, is a master bamboo weaver in the community. The handmade fish traps are conical in shape, varying in height and size, and are so exquisitely made that it is hard to believe they are handmade. This traditional craft is now gradually being lost.
Brother Huang (far left) shares with relatives and friends from the community The fish trap handmade by Brother Huang's father
To help the community escape its difficulties, Brother Huang came up with the idea of obtaining organic certification, and planned to use the organic farm's surplus as a village common fund. But obtaining certification is a hard road. With World Vision's help, Brother Huang and his partners spent six years before obtaining the certificate, and it has been four years since then.
Although they have begun launching their own brand, the various difficulties that have arisen have repeatedly tested the spirit of the organic communal farm. Methods that ordinary people think are feasible always end up producing unexpected situations, Brother Huang told the group members.
At the beginning, as many as 20 people worked on the organic farm, but the uneven subsidy situation from the Council of Indigenous Peoples made the community members suspicious of one another, and the number of people on the farm plummeted to 4. There was also the experience of outsiders learning the farming methods and then taking away the sales contacts as well, so community residents are also reserved toward outsiders. On the sales side, they tried contract farming with an organic farm, but once, because of weather conditions, they could not ship smoothly and ended up being fined. For a cooperative farm, these situations are absolutely painful experiences, and because of these internal wounds, the current operating situation is not very good, crop supply is unstable, and they have switched mainly to growing miscellaneous grains. But Brother Huang remains unyielding, striving to keep the farm running.
The Story of the Soybeans
Before beginning their report, the third group of trainees took out four soybeans from Ci-lakai-yan and placed them on each group's table, telling us how extremely precious these soybeans are.
Brother Huang's wife, Sister Jinlan, is sifting soybeans; the bamboo sieve in her hands was woven by her father-in-law himself
Trainees help pick out the soybeans in poor condition
Led by community resident Sister Nan, the group members placed batch after batch of organic soybeans on round bamboo sieves, turning them while judging the quality of the soybeans with the naked eye and picking out the best ones. At present, they can sell online for 120 yuan per jin. These organic soybeans may not look as beautiful on the outside as imported ones, but each one represents the farmer's commitment to caring for the land, and is also proof that customers are doing their part for their own health and the environment.
Sister Nan also took the group to the farmland and poured okra onto the ground to make organic compost. "The soil here is stickier, and sometimes it is hard to coordinate the water source, so some specific crops cannot be grown." The okra turned into fertilizer was also made into organic compost because the sales period had passed and it could not be sold.
A Tug-of-War Between Reason and Emotion
The various improvement methods devised by the third group each have their own rationale, but the hardest thing to overcome is the emotional dimension. Here, tourism and agriculture routes are distinguished.
First, to improve tourism, one could consider turning the abandoned Shanxing Elementary School into a resource, just like the skills classroom created by World Vision. If the elementary school were reorganized, visiting members of the public could experience living inside it, or cyclists, volunteers, and work-exchange participants could stay there, rather than crowding into the small classroom provided by World Vision. As for concerns, if there are too many tourists, it might harm the culture, but if the number of people is limited, it is again hard to keep attracting the public. This is a question the group members are still pondering.
On the agricultural side, having already obtained organic certification is a major advantage, but Ci-lakai-yan has few young people, and most of those engaged in farming are elderly. According to a work-exchange participant the group members met locally, "During work exchange, we would help pull weeds, sort soybeans, ship goods, and so on, and then the community provided us with food and lodging. What I saw at that time was that because the refined organic methods they learned are more complicated, whether in equipment setup or growing methods, it was not easy. Seeing so many elderly people working so hard under the hot sun, I really could not bear it."
If easier organic farming methods from Japan or Australia could be introduced, perhaps the burden could be reduced, but changing farming methods is a concern in the hearts of the community members, because certification is so hard to obtain that if changing methods led to disqualification, they could not afford the loss. At present, the most feasible method is to grow more crops that fetch a good price, such as soybeans, and the second-grade products can also be sold at a cheaper price.
Postscript
The third group shared with us the feelings of the residents of Ci-lakai-yan: "Actually, they do not really calculate whether they have made money, or whether this is profitable. Sometimes they do not even know when they have taken a loss. They are not very ambitious about making money; you could say they are quite content with the status quo."
But the outflow of young people is indeed the community's greatest worry. "We know a junior high school boy who rides a bicycle back and forth to school in Fenglin every day. Because his parents both work in Taoyuan, he has lived in Taoyuan for a period of time." When asked whether he preferred Taoyuan or the community by comparison, "He said he is happier in the community." When asked again whether he would stay in the community after growing up, the boy smiled and did not answer. This has also become our most anxious expectation for the future.
Follow-up discussion: Is organic farming certification really that hard?
Wang Fuyu, "Da Wang" of Da Wang Vegetable Shop, proves that there is still a way out without taking the path of organic certification. "This is indigenous people falling into the trap of the Han Chinese. After obtaining organic certification, most of those who make money are Han Chinese. Our economy arises because we cooperate with one another. Do not go play by the government's rules."
Ci-lakai-yan community official website (agricultural products can be ordered)
Ci-lakai-yan community official Facebook
Bamboo weaving by Mr. Huang Songde, inheritor of Ci-lakai-yan community crafts
Hualien-Taitung Interview and Research Camp: Rolling up our sleeves, transforming new life in the Rift Valley