Page 67 - Hualien Sustainable Living Bilingual Magazine

62 “At first, I came back to my village because my father was sick. After that, I decided to try building this enterprise based on the spirit of ‘doing my best even if the outcome isn’t certain,’because rural places like this only have limited possibilities for development, and I wanted to try every path possible.”At first, Chung started out by getting to know the farmers. “Farmers actually have various options, such as doing farm homestays, farm DIY activities, food and farming education, and mini village tours. I tried to play the role of a liaison to link together each individual location.”Chung describes the case of the Cilamitay tribal community in Fengnan Village, Fuli Township, Hualien County, as an example,“The community grows rice with the purpose of protecting the ecosystem of the river, and they remove the golden apple snails by hand for the sake of the fish in the river.”Manna also collaborated with National Dong Hwa University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences to set up farming village experiences, allowing university students to live with the farmers in groups for five days and four nights, thus creating more profound experiences through hands-on activities, learning, and sharing. For visitors participating in village tours, mothers from the community are in charge of making and serving the lunches. In addition to providing organic rice, the seasonal wild vegetables and local produce are cooked in the most local ways to impart indigenous and Hakka flavors, thereby ensuring that cultural wisdom is passed on.“We use food to convey local customs and culture, so that everyone can connect with the land.” Hualien Issue