Coming to Hualien to scrub the moss off the organic pomelo trees, far away from a disappointing situation.
Editor's note: The author is a member of "Shanzai Market," founded by Huang Rongdun, CEO of the Hualien County Youth Public Welfare Organization Association. It raises funds from technology companies as a social enterprise to support remote tribes in Hualien County, giving rural community residents employment opportunities and productive capacity. It also launches the "Good People Gang" volunteer campaign, inviting people from all sectors of society to take part in meaningful "good people activities." The following describes the process of a TSMC group traveling to Hualien to help organic farmers with their farming work. At the end is an appendix listing the Good People Gang's volunteer needs for this summer; interested friends are welcome to join.
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Tian Rongguang, who grows pomelos in Ruisui, has been farming organically for many years, and he is also the head of the organic pomelo group. This group leader is very plain and poor, and he often gives sales opportunities to others, so he always has many delicious organic pomelos that cannot be sold. This single, devout believer in the land thinks that if you take good care of the soil, the plants will be healthy, and if you help the pomelo trees clean up the environment where pathogens easily breed, the pomelo trees will grow well. So he keeps his orchard very clean.
It has been raining often lately, and moss, that is, lichen, has begun to grow on the pomelo tree trunks and in the tree hollows. These lichens are full of moisture, and they are often places where mosquitoes and aphids easily grow. All by himself, he often takes a steel brush and scrubs the fruit trees in the orchard; this is truly a bitter and patience-demanding task.
So I asked friends from TSMC to go brush the trees. Group Leader Tian prepared steel brushes and borrowed shears from fellow farmers. The task of this group of volunteers was to bathe the pomelo trees in weather that alternated between rain and sunshine. The brushes were used to scrub off the moss, and the shears to prune branches.
That day there was heavy rain on the streets of Ruisui, but the orchard was sunny. Everyone worked in teams of three on one tree, striving to brush off the moss and also cut away dead branches. Nikon, who came from Tainan, was too earnest, disturbed a bee, and got stung, which immediately swelled up. Everyone chimed in, all willing to pee on it for him. Fortunately, after rinsing with water the burning sensation gradually faded, and after applying Ziling ointment it gradually recovered.
This tree-brushing work requires patience and physical strength. Group Leader Tian can only brush three trees in half a day by himself. For this kind of thing, having more people really helps. For people who are used to using their brains and then handing things over to the production and manufacturing department, it is really hard to imagine that something that must be done by squatting down and doing it one by one can be this slow.
On the way back it started raining again.
The next day everyone got up at seven, and by eight they had arrived at Xiulan's sweet potato field.
In the very clean sweet potato field, only six rows of sweet potatoes were left unharvested. Xiao Qu, Zhaojun, Yongyi, Yazhu, and the others all saw a grub for the first time, and only then did they understand the difficulty of growing pesticide-free sweet potatoes in summer. Xiulan thanked everyone for coming to experience it together, and also asked everyone to better appreciate farmers' feeling of wanting to grow larger sweet potatoes. In the future, when you see larger sweet potatoes, you can share with your colleagues that "big ones are delicious."
This group of noble-status otaku men and women actually long for love and also look forward to getting close to the earth. When the trip ended, it was truly delightful to see couples gradually forming, and their feet and hands also truly touched the soil.
I hope even more that they can lead this kind of charitable travel in technology companies, so that farmers and their children can also come into contact with high-tech engineers.
In July, two groups of youths from the homeland came to Hualien to do volunteer work. It happened that at that time I also hoped to have the chance to take them, as well as rural children, to Hsinchu Science Park to hold a sales exhibition. Although they could not visit the factories, at least they could have a meal in the cafeteria.
They will surely say in astonishment: "Wow! How is it so cheap?"
"When fleabane grows among hemp, it need not be propped up to be straight; when white sand is in black mud, it becomes black along with it." Xunzi, Encouraging Learning
Come to Hualien!
Get away from Taiwan's disappointing situation.
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Good People Gang Summer Volunteer Needs
Regarding the Japanese born in Taiwan
1. Help the elderly Japanese born in Taiwan apply for honorary national certificates.
This matter requires a group of people to deal specifically with the Ministry of the Interior, the Council for Cultural Affairs, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in order to obtain a final comfort for these elderly Japanese born in Taiwan.
2. Volunteers to host the family of Kunita Hiroshi, an elderly Japanese man born in Taiwan, at the end of August.
Mr. Kunita, 87 years old this year and born in Hualien, has always believed that Taiwan is his hometown. Last year he began to age severely and could hardly walk by himself, and his family also began to restrict his trips to Taiwan to at least once a year. But because it became too serious, the whole family decided to accompany their father and grandfather back to their hometown one last time at the end of August.
Ginger section
3. Promote a media cooperation project for a special food feature
Taitung's St. Mary's Hospital made ginger crisps, MiniBar mini snack specialty store made ginger milk curd, Good People Curry, and Kaiping Catering School prepared summer ginger drinks, plus Hualien's Yoshino Sugar Japanese-style ginger dishes. Recently I also got to know Tainan's Little Copper Pot French restaurant. Everyone has unique and surprising ginger dishes, and the content is already enough to cooperate with the media on a special feature. This matter needs someone to help.
4. Hold a shaker selection contest
Hold a summer shaker contest for young people at bubble tea shops.
5. Sesame oil ginger crisps
Two people are needed to stay long-term in Hualien to promote the sesame oil ginger crisp charitable travel itinerary.
Hualien Volunteer House
6. The Hualien Volunteer House needs two house managers, responsible for cleaning and receiving guests at the volunteer house.
Good People Melon Movement section
7. Set up a Good People Melon Movement promotion group. The task is to go develop community parks in Taipei and set up good people melons, so that everyone can conveniently join the good people movement. This activity is joined with high school students.
Volunteer vehicle opening event
8. It has already been a year since our volunteer vehicle was put into use, and so far we still have not held an opening ceremony for our hardworking volunteer vehicle. Please let everyone who has ridden in this vehicle gather together joyfully, give it a wash, paste on the name of every donor, and hold a summer birthday party for it.
Farmer travel section
9. Plan a simple itinerary to take farmers' children to Taipei for fun.
Steamed bun distribution section
10. Every year we commemorate Master Xingliang by distributing steamed buns. Last year it was led by Teacher Ruigui of Yonghe Junior High School with graduating students, and this year volunteers are likewise needed to carry it out.
Luggage-carrying volunteers
11. Platform 3 at Hualien Railway Station still has no elevator, and many elderly people really have it rough. Everyone's help is needed. Come carry luggage, food and lodging provided.
For the above matters, interested friends please come to the office to proceed.
Members of the public, seniors, college students, and high school students are all welcome. The above are preliminary volunteer needs, please contact us.
Hualien County Youth Public Welfare Organization ‧ Shanzai Shop ‧ Taipei Good People Hall
No. 8, Fuji Road, Hualien City / 03-8463995 Rongdun [email protected] Sponsorship fax 03-8463996
2F, No. 6, Lane 18, Section 1, Hangzhou South Road, Taipei City / 02-23-223-923
Shanzai Shop http://www.sungrow.com.tw/
Hualien County Youth Public Welfare Organization http://www.youth-volunteer.org.tw/