Making Tofu in an Old House by the Irrigation Canal

The Chuanlong Canal flows ceaselessly all year round, and its clean water has nurtured the rich agricultural produce of Gongguan Township in Miaoli County. Granny Xu, who is over 80 years old, squats by the canal every morning to draw water to brush her teeth and wash her face, and the mothers and grandmothers of the village always take the family's clothes, soaked with sweat and mud, to the washing pavilion to scrub them properly clean. Having moved from Taipei City to the countryside, I am always deeply enchanted by this murmuring, clear stream. It is cool and refreshing, and you can see right to the bottom, where fish and shrimp dart about, feeding on the tiny organisms filtered through the water. The summer of the jujube trees and the dogs cannot do without the Chuanlong water. The Houlong River is like a giant dragon coiled across Miaoli, its long body winding through the towns beneath the Shei-Pa Mountains. For more than 140 years, the Chuanlong Canal has drawn in the surging waters of the Houlong River, bringing abundant minerals and aquatic life. For those who farm, this is exactly the kind of environment they love most!

All right, the many moving fragments of this story should finally be brought together and shared with everyone. I had originally wanted Guozhen to make salt-brine tofu with her own hands on Earth Day, but as it happened, Xie Han, who grows the beans, had gone abroad to study organic farms, so we decided to set the morning of 4/29 as the Taiwan Soybean Tofu Day at the Chuanlong Tofu Workshop. This is the first day, and we expect to do it once a week from now on, until we have used up all the organic soybeans we have on hand. For each day we make tofu, Chuanlong will post a notice adding one more tofu day, and I hope it will not be long before every single day can count as a Taiwan Tofu Day.

Young farming friends in Xihu and Gongguan Townships, who are also in the organic production and marketing group, learned of our wish to find locally grown soybeans and are planning to try planting them too. Ajie of the Return to Simplicity Organic Farm said that if he did not plant beans, he would feel he was letting himself down. Ajie is preparing to work the land and will join the ranks of growers this year as well.

The old house by the Chuanlong Canal has taken on this new life and mission. Through the drifting fragrance of beans, it links together the heartfelt intentions of this group of people who have returned to the countryside to farm. The small farmers are banding together to carry Taiwan's agriculture forward!

At 9:30 in the morning on 4/29, come and make friends with the Chuanlong Tofu Workshop, savor Guozhen's craftsmanship, and give us some encouragement.