Taitung's Chong'an Tribal Market Prices by Happiness Index
If a market were set up in a remote township, would it be possible?
Of course it is possible. But it does not set prices according to economics; it sets prices according to a happiness index.
We are a very tiny tribe in Chong'an. Even if the whole village gathers together, there are fewer than 100 people, and most of them are elderly. In the past there were still children cared for by their grandparents, but as the children grew up they also went elsewhere, so the proportion of elderly people increased.
In order to promote tribal economic regeneration and bring the young and able-bodied back to the tribe, people of good will in the tribe worked together to promote a community regeneration plan. And the future of rural areas lies in agriculture, so let us start with agriculture!
The village is small, the tribal agricultural population is aging, and young and able-bodied people look down on agriculture, but the elderly still work hard to plant and harvest. Although they use conventional farming methods, that is their joy and also their life's work. So thinking about it... let agriculture start with a market!
A month ago, Pastor Lin of the tribe's Presbyterian Church led the elders of the community's Evergreen University to take part. We were responsible for arranging the activity schedule and classes, and this tiny "tribal market" began just like that.
Pastor Lin hoped that the tribe's agricultural products would be inexpensive so that the elderly could buy them happily, so a pricing standard based on happiness was introduced. Therefore the rule for every stall is: there must be goods priced within 30 yuan, so that both the elderly and children can buy them. Everyone can set up a stall, selling vegetables, second-hand goods, hot food, and so on. The stall cleaning fee is 10 yuan. Children are encouraged to set up stalls and learn how to run a business, and no stall fee is charged. The stall fee is used to have the children clean the environment and earn pocket money.
The Chong'an Tribal Market is held every Thursday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. The activity schedule is:
1. The market leader opens the event and introduces the situation for the day.
2. Farmers introduce themselves. They introduce and promote the vegetables they are selling (this is the prototype for the producer introductions we want to promote in the future).
3. Farmers' classroom: through a simple 5-10 minute understanding of ecology and agriculture, we try to change farmers' behavior. (Alas! Changing from conventional farming to organic or ecological farming takes a long time!) This course is conducted by my wife and me. This photo shows my wife introducing the Shumei Natural Agriculture method to the tribe's farmers after visiting Japan last month to see it.
At first everyone was very impatient with the classes, but later, after seeing some different information, by the second and third classes they were much more settled, and some elders even asked questions.
4. Shopping time: this is the crazy shopping spree. Because prices are set by a happiness index, a bunch of bird's-nest fern is 20 yuan, a cup of pour-over coffee is 10-15 yuan, a big plate of fried noodles is 20 yuan (and comes with all-you-can-drink soup), and so on. In fact, every elder who takes part is also a source of happiness for the tribe, willing to use very cheap prices to make every buyer happy. (Below: a bowl of crab soup is also only 20 yuan. The elder selling the soup says that as long as everyone is happy, that is fine.)
Below: a bunch of ginger is 20 yuan. The buyer is happy, and the seller is also happy seeing the buyer happy. Selling vegetables has become a source of accomplishment for the elderly.
Below: we help the tribe promote coffee beans, so we sell coffee. The elderly had never drunk pour-over coffee and were all very supportive.
Recently everyone has seen Bhutan's Gross National Happiness index in the media. We promote a happiness index: as long as the price looks happy, that is right. If you are also in a community or rural area, let us together promote a market that prices by happiness, and it will surely create happiness and joy in rural areas! (The author of this article is Shijie of Yibaoban Studio.)