NTU Department of Agronomy holds a garden party to sell belief; the academic world's conventional thinking is no longer
Guo Hwa-ren, in his article "The Inevitability and Realization of Organic Agriculture," cites a paper by Kao Yi-chen of the Graduate Institute of Environmental Education at National Taiwan Normal University: Agricultural Paradigms of College of Agriculture Students and Their Influencing Factors: A Case Study of the College of Bioresources and Agriculture at National Taiwan University, pointing out that "among freshmen at the College of Agriculture of National Taiwan University, the perceived paradigm leans relatively toward organic agriculture, while after four years of education, graduating students lean relatively toward conventional agriculture. Clearly, as far as the College of Agriculture of National Taiwan University is concerned, the overall learning environment is still unfavorable to a shift in agricultural paradigm thinking." However, with the continuous promotion of environmentally friendly agriculture, there seems to be a turning point in academia as well.
High public acceptance: buying a dozen at a time
"Please try our cream; it doesn't smell very appealing." When customers first hear this, they must think, "What? Did I hear that right? With such a blunt sales pitch, who would still want to buy it?" But the student went on to clarify: "Because we haven't added any artificial additives, and we haven't added essential oils, but it really is very natural; to put it a bit exaggeratedly, you could even eat it." Just like that, the limited run of one hundred jars of winter cream sold out.
The most captivating thing about natural folk utensils is the story behind them! Handmade silvergrass brooms were a craft from the days when farming communities, during the winter slack season, processed silvergrass flowers to get through the lean months. Over the changes of generations, mass-produced plastic brooms seized the vast majority of the market, and handmade silvergrass brooms gradually declined; fortunately Taiwan has still preserved this craft. Nowadays, with the natural and retro trends in vogue, this handicraft of handmade silvergrass brooms, rich in rustic rural flavor, has begun to find a way forward, and community residents turn all the sales proceeds into community charity, helping elderly people in need of living subsidies, so that even in the cold winter they can feel the warmth of human kindness.
Positive beliefs live up to expectations
The winter cream that had originally been looked down upon in meetings made a beautiful turnaround for itself at the garden party, and other products upholding a belief in benefiting the environment also had very good sales. From the professor's one remark at the beginning: "You can't make the decision; who can make the decision?" they resolutely went on to champion products that are healthy, natural, and environmentally friendly, creating a world where both buyers and sellers dare to eat and drink heartily and use freely.
Perhaps the next time you stroll around the National Taiwan University campus, sincere students from the Department of Agronomy will share these wonderful things with you, and at that moment you may recall that there is an article recording their beliefs. "I know you!" you reply in an enthusiastic tone, long awaited, and academia, society, and the environment will move toward a natural, sustainable direction.