Flooded Rice Fields: Where Does a Single Grain of Rice Go in a Vast Ocean?

March 16, the spring rural visit day of the 'MIT NCHU Certified Agricultural Products Market'

Today we visited ”Yuanli”, known as the granary of Miaoli

The farm is named 'A Grain of Rice in a Vast Ocean'

After arriving in Yuanli, we felt the good mountains, good water and good air of the countryside~ but so many people really do grow rice!

So when everyone gets lost in the vast rice fields, it is impossible to use the crops grown as landmarks~~~~ every household grows rice!

↑The cabbage at the farmer friend's home, chewed up like this by insects, shows that beautiful cabbages must all be sprayed with pesticides.

Introduction to rice-duck farming:

The farming method of raising ducks and rice together is called "rice-duck farming" in Taiwan, China.

Ducks die as soon as they eat even a little pesticide, which is the best proof of organic farming.

In the fields, ducks eat insect eggs and golden apple snails; as the ducks move around the fields, they muddy the water so weeds find it hard to grow.

And duck droppings are the most natural organic fertilizer. As the rice forms ears, the ducks' work also comes to an end~

The ducks make the ultimate sacrifice, and they can supplement the farmer friends' income. They truly bend their backs to the task and keep going until death!

Schedule of the day's activities:

10-12 o'clock: rice-duck farming tour

12 o'clock: lunch time. The farm will prepare its signature dishes: pickled vegetable duck soup & rice noodles & white rice to treat everyone

Participants~ each family prepares one dish to share!!

Afternoon: free time on the farm (you can bring a bicycle here, or brew tea and chat)

Fee: 100 yuan/person *(the farmer friends even give a bag of organic rice!) What a great deal~

Farm blog: http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/rice-ocean/

MIT NCHU Certified Agricultural Products Market - event introduction: https://www.facebook.com/mitnchu/events

 

Reflections on the event:

Every time we hold an event, people always ask what time it ends. Each time I answer very skillfully, at the latest we will send you home before dark at five o'clock!!

After taking part in these rural visits, everyone feels as if they are at their own grandmother's home in the countryside. It really feels so warm!

After lunch, the mothers and grandmothers help clean up together; some people bring tea-making tools and brew tea for everyone;

the children are full of energy and start gathering in groups to come up with ideas and play together;

some people come from far away and want to leave early, so they say goodbye to everyone!!

——->It is really hard to pin down the end time of the event!!!

Since the market does not have much experience holding events, and the farmer friends do not have much experience giving tours either, we really dare not charge too much~

Friends who have joined the events keep suggesting that we should raise the fee~ we are also thinking about it~

Later, we used the one-dish-per-family approach,

first, to lower the fee, and second, so farm households do not need to tiredly prepare too many things,

having one family prepare 50-60 portions of food in one go,

is extremely tiring whether preparing before the event or wrapping up after it!

When you prepare your own food, everyone also brings their own bowls and chopsticks. After the meal, you see everyone go wash dishes and put away the tableware!

When the event ends, everyone takes the souvenir gift the farm household gave~

Something to eat and something to take home, it really was a wonderful day! (Happy!!!)