Dongshi-Liau Ha: Rearranging the settlement symphony surrounded by humanities and nature

Article: Chyi-How Lay, Meng-Fen Shih, Xin-Yu Cheng, Pei-Yi Huang

Photos: Feng Chia University project team of "International symbiotic eco-community for green synergy and sustainability" and J-Ming Syu (Tamaopu Investigation Group)

Leaning with Dajia River, Dongshi town was called Liau-Ha in old times. The settlements had been formed by hundreds of craftsmen and workers in the late Qing Dynasty, which made the Dongshi main street till the present day. As time went by, social structure and industrial changed, the glory and prosperity had been faded and blurred gradually. However, due to the chaining works by Feng Chia University USR project team of "International symbiotic eco-community for green synergy and sustainability", the town, the land, and the people have the chance to create a new page of history, also play the new movement...

Sonata: Inheriting the foundation, upholding the common good, creating the regeneration

Jia-Wei, the peasant wife returned to Dongshi with her husband four years ago for taking care of parents in law, also brought a huge change and the big chance for her devoting to the agriculture industry that she's never thought. Sustaining the concept from parents in law, she and her husband cultivation and manage the farm with strict quality control and founded the brand, Grandpa Greenland. To increase the knowledge and skills of agriculture, Jia-Wei was involved in the "Youth farmers' inherit-predecessors agriculture plan" of the Taichung government and participated in The Farmer's Academy of COA for advancing the works in their farm. Finally, the blueberry leveling cultivation technique has been improved successfully, and the prize of 5th Top 100 Youth farmers has been rewarded to her in 2020. This brings the new forecasts and vitality for the local prospect.

Variation: Cross-boundary, co-construction, synergy-community, symbiotic-opportunity

The industrial chain of Dongshi was flaking, also the environment was polluting by inappropriate agricultural waste management. Through the Feng Chia University USR project team works, the "Tech-Farmer School" which based on green energy technology as the main core has been settled. The kernel of the school is the development of green energy and eco-friendly agricultural materials; using AI-humanistic cultural marketing combined with integrating selling platforms as the fundamental mode; achieving cultivate of innovative entrepreneurial talents and create a new sustainable localized economic system as the final goal. The green-energy-techs, food and agriculture education, environmental aesthetics, humanities accomplishment, and so on that use to design the site-specific activities by deploying government resources and the workshops by curriculum integration of interdisciplinary and cross-school events. For example, setting up the green synergy demonstration system in the farm to convert agricultural waste such as falling fruits and branches into biogas, organic fertilizer, and biochar. Also, development experiential activities, such as DIY courses and field kitchens to present the potential of renewable and circulated agriculture. In the summer of 2020, the richness and beauty of Dongshi have been recalled and wakened by bursts of laughter from children.

Minuet: Transients, aqueducts, Tamaopu village, the deity of Mountain-Dragon

Dongshi Qingdong Village, commonly known as "Tamaopu", is the area where the village was originally built-in, a typical Hakka mountain village with nearly two hundred years history. At the time, it was close-by with the Atayal ethnic group, which that inevitable to prepare the rigorous defense facilities. The left-over aqueducts and tortuous alleys reproduce the scene at the time. Due to the topography, some aqueducts had to cut through the mountain rocks and form the "Chuan-long-zhen" (crossing-dragon aqueducts), the unique scene of Hakka villages.

The Tamaopu Investigation Group consists of local youth, that hoping to preserve the centuries-old treasure of the settlement by images and texts to record local history and culture. According to the process of investigation, Zhe-Ming Wu, the key man of Tamaoou Investigation Group told us, the residents of Tamaopu in awe of the local deity, Mountain-Dragon, that has started to reflect in the ecological protection of Tamaopu. The main aqueduct is eight kilometers long, and the water quality is clean and clear. And even the ecological indicators such as freshwater clam, goby, loach, and field snail are abundant. The Feng Chia University USR team also constructed the waterwheel with domestic residents, one reason for preserves the rich ecology in the aqueducts, another one for reproduces the cultural memory of aqueducts that has been existed once in the old time. The "Transients Project" holding by Fantasy Story Inc., one of Feng Chia University's cooperative enterprises, makes the living settlements as the base to let young people accumulating experiences through the base, regaining the beautiful and unforgettable memories of hometown, also developing the future goal sustainably. As Guan-Cheng Pan, the associated manager said, "What the people need is not help, is Cheer! It's making a move to reinforce and share!" 

Such as the event of "Mountain-Rivers Dragon Deity Festival" cooperated planned by "transients" and residents in the summer of 2020, it made the emigrated Dongshi residents return to the hometown and find the lost memories back. One of the members of "transients", Pei-Yi Huang, who also is a student of Feng Chia University, Department of Economics, said: "Only by getting into the local can I have the opportunity to subvert my past cognition and perceptions. I have gained so many different experiences, such as walking side by side with people, then the warmth between people can just spread out in the air. Also, the historical stories told by the elderly and the ritual records of traditional chanting group, to help us understand all of that persistence only for the purpose to pray for the peace of the people and the village. And what exactly supporting people here to keep going forward on the long-term process of developing, is the most pious faith."

Rando: Symbiotic eco-community, cultural inheritance, broaden the horizon

Grasping the resource advantage of land, producing, and manpower, Feng Chia University USR team establishes the unique core value of Dongshi, and build-up the Eco-Dongshi platform with local people and groups. Time has added the depth of this mountain village; the localized folks have infused the sustainable connotation of its profound foundation. Through external activities and construction, also insisting the internal intentions by Feng Chia University USR team to inspire popularity, build-up the community with eco-friendly, eco-circularly, and eco-sustainable community. Therefore, the former aqueducts and moat are no longer in use to resist enemies but to guard the heritage of the village and extend the arms to welcome the new opportunities; also lead the way back home for the wanderings who long for smelling the fragrance of the soil from the homeland.