Half-farming, half-X: Shiomi takes inspiration to farm in Hualien
Reporting / Nongfa Academy, Xu Siting
Photos for this article provided by / Construction and Planning Agency, Urban and Rural Development Branch, Eastern Taiwan Wellness and Leisure Industry and Talent Eastward Relocation Resource Integration Project Photography / Xiaohai
Root downward, sprout upward, and have wings that can ride the wind and fly
One afternoon when I went to the field, Sister Woyang, a partner at Dawang Vegetable Shop, assigned me the job of documenting Mr. Shiomi's talk at Pushi. She said, "Because you joined Nongfa Academy, and you've also found your gift, your life now counts as half-farming, half-X, so I think you're just right to write it!"
To be honest, I was a bit hesitant. After much consideration and changes in my life, it seemed it was time to take on this task. For nearly a year, the only thing I had done was go last summer to Four Seasons Farming and Reading Farm, which cultivates using the Shumei Natural Agriculture method, to help Qinghao and Huiyun harvest peanuts and corn, and I wrote one record for the Hualien Permaculture blog. Why did I not write anymore? I myself am not clear on the reason either. It was not that I had to write a professional record full of literary and emotional flourish; I just felt there was no inspiration.
Follow nature, practice your gift: sharing at Pushi Cafe
This time, it was said, was Mr. Shiomi's fourth visit to Taiwan. This gentleman, wearing an ordinary plaid shirt and jeans, said he is not very used to leaving Ayabe, where he lives, and does not much like to move around.
Mr. Shiomi said he very much liked the Chinese edition's subtitle: Follow nature, practice your gift.
"Nature has its laws of operation, and people must learn to observe and follow the local laws of nature in order to live; practicing your gift means doing work that contributes to society and that you are naturally suited to. We work eight hours a day, so of course we should do work we like; otherwise, how painful that would be. However, I know there are still many people doing work they dislike for all sorts of reasons." After the talk, I asked Mr. Shiomi what he felt had been the biggest challenge he had encountered so far.
He answered lightly: "I am an ordinary person. I do not challenge." Heh heh, what an interesting fellow! This actually echoed what he said about liking the Chinese subtitle. As for following nature, the ancient Chinese ancestor Fuxi also noticed this very early on. In the Yellow River basin, the birthplace of Huaxia culture, through long-term observation of the changes of the sun, moon and stars, the rise and fall of plants, and the alternation of cold and heat and other natural phenomena, the agricultural life principle of "plant in spring, grow in summer, harvest in autumn, store in winter" was established. In early human life, people actually placed great importance on a harmonious pairing between people and the environment. People are part of nature and should follow the laws of change in the natural world, rather than trying to control nature to suit humanity's narrow desires.
Shiomi, born into a traditional farming family, comes from Ayabe, an old village one hour by limited express train from Kyoto, Japan, with only a few dozen households in the whole village. When he graduated from university, like ordinary university students, he entered the workplace without thinking too much. The company he worked for at the time had very good benefits, and the company also provided employees with opportunities for further study. He was very satisfied with this job, but at the same time he also discovered that the colleagues around him were all outstanding, while he was very ordinary. Twenty years ago, because of environmental issues, he had already begun thinking about responding to environmental destruction through farming. However, so far, in Japan, most farmers are still elderly people. When Shiomi was 33, the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred in Japan, showing that the power of nature is beyond human prediction and control.
"This year's 311 nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, Japan, made me believe even more that people cannot control nature." The Great Hanshin Earthquake of that year made the half-farming, half-X life that had long been brewing in his mind even clearer. He spent ten months considering it, then resigned from his stable job. "Even if this is only a small boat, I want to steer it myself." Even though the company he had worked for had good benefits, Shiomi deeply felt that the company should not decide his future lifestyle and goals.
"So, this should be a change in my life!" he said.
Find your "type"
"I feel that what I am doing is helping others find their X..." On this return to Hualien, Shiomi added this chart. He believes it can also be used in school education to help everyone find the keywords of their own life:
In A to C below, for the things you like most, the things you are proudest of, the things you currently consider most important, your life's work, and so on, write down your own 3 keywords. In the blank areas below, in the spaces for stage, please fill in the region where you currently live or the place name you are preparing to move to.
Let everyone think about it together! When you write down the keywords, the blueprint for the future will become a bit clearer, and the motivation to put it into practice will grow a little stronger.
