Visiting the Yunlin Organic Rural Market, stepping into the front courtyard of Wuxiang
Press PLAY, and the CD of the album "Sweet Load" spins as Lin Sheng-hsiang sings "The Grain-Drying Ground" from Wu Cheng's poem: "In the hot season, at rice harvest time, our village's grain-drying ground is a field of panic..." The grain-drying ground, called "doorway yard" in Taiwanese, was in childhood a vivid impressionist painting.
In the slack farming season, Grandpa would cross his legs, lean back in a rattan chair and play the erhu, in the doorway yard. In the busy season, Grandpa would fit a yoke on the water buffalo's neck, the old buffalo's round, watery, innocent eyes staring at me, in the doorway yard. After the summer rice harvest, the doorway yard was my playground for chasing sparrows and sliding barefoot across a golden sea of grain.
The doorway yard is the farm household's own courtyard, embraced by the side wings and main hall of the house. There farmers dry grain and fill sacks, listen to the rain and admire the moon, chat with the postman while collecting registered mail, set off firecrackers to thank the Heavenly Lord and make offerings to the good brothers... Occasionally, when craftsmen come into the village to rescreen window screens and doors, replace glass, repair farm tools and sharpen kitchen knives and hoes, the doorway yard can double as a repair shop - truly a perfect space that satisfies many needs at once.
That was the doorway yard of childhood memory, a friendly shoulder generously opened to passing strangers, wandering souls from afar, green rice seedlings and waves of rice, and neighbors alike. I love such a doorway yard.
The Yunlin Doorway Yard in Gukeng
On July 15, 2012, the "Doorway Yard / Yunlin Organic Rural Market" hosted by the Yunlin County Government opened in the Green Tunnel of Gukeng Township. The visual image was beautiful, matching the greenery of the two-kilometer-old mango trees lining the road. This market was planned by Professor Tai Shou-ku of National Formosa University. From the carefully built bamboo sheds and wooden stalls to the uniform apron styles and promotional posters, it had a touch of official air and lacked some of the rustic, handmade charm common to farmers' markets.
Carrying the beautiful impression from the poster, I arrived on site only to feel rather disappointed. The location was cramped into an open space in the middle section of the Green Tunnel, with about 20 stalls neatly arranged in a U shape. The sheds were built by bamboo craft masters from Shibi in Caoling, and given the location along the Green Tunnel, which draws huge crowds every holiday, the overall planning carried a touristy flavor.
I toured among the stalls. Nearly all of Yunlin's larger certified organic farms were there, and farmers and growers smilingly invited passing visitors to taste fruit, homemade pickles, fruit tea and more. Chatting with several farmers, I learned that most of them set up stalls at the National Chung Hsing University Organic Farmers' Market, selling their own produce. The NCHU Organic Farmers' Market is large, has many stalls and a professional image; consumers who go there will definitely buy, so business is naturally decent. The Yunlin Organic Rural Market had just started operating, and the crowd was still mostly tourists who "just look" and do not buy much. Even so, the farmers still earnestly hoped, because after all this market was right at their feet in Yunlin. Although they stood there all day with bleak sales, they were still willing to keep trying.
At the beginning, perhaps the county government's promotional intent was a bit strong. However, in an agricultural county, on land dominated by conventional farming methods, giving birth to an organic market was surely not easy, so appropriate promotion and marketing were necessary.
If you are also willing to come walk around Yunlin, a tour of snacks and historic sites is certainly nice, but I would recommend buying some fresh, safe agricultural products with ultra-short food miles, because that is the real thing - the sweet aroma grown solidly from Yunlin's land.
DATA
● Doorway Yard Yunlin Organic Rural Market / Every Sunday 09:00AM-17:00PM
Green Tunnel, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County (on Provincial Highway 3, from the Douliu/Gukeng interchange of the east-west Provincial Highway 78, toward Gukeng Yongguang)
