Brother Zhang Mucun, pioneer of organic watermelon, forever remembered by the Wanbao community

Foreword:

This article was originally published in the June 2004 issue of "Green Advocate," the publication of the Homemakers United Foundation Cooperative, introducing Wanbao community farmer Zhang Mucun and his efforts and setbacks in experimenting with organic watermelon. At the time, Wanbao was just a quiet farming village; no one could have imagined that it would later face the fate of having its farmland forcibly expropriated. Farmer Zhang Mucun and his wife Hong Xiang, in order to defend their home, fought alongside other farmers from the village in countless protests. After Wanbao was finally saved, farmer Zhang Mucun unexpectedly passed away recently, which is deeply saddening.

The author was then an editor of the Homemakers United Foundation's "Green Advocate" publication. That month's feature was on Wanbao community watermelons. Organic cultivation of watermelons is extremely difficult; farmer Zhang Mucun made painstaking efforts to try it, but encountered heavy rain that caused the watermelon quality to fall short of expectations, and consumer response was therefore poor. Xie Lifen, then a board member of the Homemakers United Foundation Cooperative, had long encouraged farmers to switch to organic farming and was deeply distressed by this situation, so she specially planned the feature, hoping we could introduce to members the difficulties of organic watermelon cultivation and continue to cheer on the farmers.

Sister Lifen and Brother Zhang Mucun are now reunited in heaven. Perhaps Brother Mucun has brought the sweet potatoes and peanuts he grew to visit Lifen. We hope both elders are doing well up in heaven.

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An Organic Experiment Still Underway - Zhang Mucun and Wanbao Community (2004.06)

Wanbao community is located in Houlong Township, Miaoli County. Its soil is mostly dry sandy dunes. Since the ancestors reclaimed the land in the late Qing dynasty, watermelons and peanuts have been the main crops. "Houlong watermelons" have long been famous across Taiwan, China for their thin skin and sweet flesh, yet few people know that Wanbao watermelons are the finest of them all.

Wanbao residents can be said to have grown up eating watermelons from the womb, but it was not until last year, through the matchmaking and assistance of cooperative board member Xie Lifen, that someone tried for the first time to cultivate watermelons free of pesticide residue. This action rewrote the history of watermelon cultivation in Wanbao, and one farmer even won second place in the sweetness competition held at last year's "Wanbao Watermelon Festival."

Last year, Wanbao's watermelons encountered heavy rain before harvest. Two consecutive weeks of flooding caused water damage. Although they had passed the pesticide-residue-free inspection and their sweetness was within acceptable levels, quite a few cooperative members refused to buy them upon seeing the water-damaged flesh, or complained after buying poor-quality melons. These quasi-organic watermelons had no choice but to make a quiet exit from the cooperative's distribution channels.

What is admirable is that the farmers who took part in this cultivation reform did not lose heart. Not only did they continue to insist on the new farming methods, they even expanded to organic cultivation of muskmelons, taro, and sweet potatoes. This time we want to introduce to everyone a farmer from Wanbao community -- Zhang Mucun. He has persisted from last year to now, never giving up this organic experiment because of weather or human factors. We respectfully invite members to share in this rare experience.