Rural areas in Taiwan are rich in natural resources and humanities, and every corner represents a historical foundation of Taiwan. In order to encourage more young people to develop local culture and industrial resources, The Ministry of Education's Youth Development Administration first held the Grand Tour Recreation Spot DNA Program starting in 2019 and encouraged 14 groups of youths to collaborate with local colleges and non-profit organizations then devoted to doing local development and brain drain reversing. The team designed some grand tour activities for participants from 15 to 35 years old to experience local issues and features. They aimed at motivating more youth to bond with local communities and strengthen local network, meanwhile, provide local businesses a chance to turn over a new leaf through innovation.
NaiYu, Xiao is a member of the "Lushan Young Farmers" team, and Xiao was born in an agricultural family in Gousing Town, Nantou Country. She has watched her family working in this industry since she was a child. Xiao was deeply impressed by the hardships in agricultural industry, and how the harvests were intensely relying on the natural resources and weather. Xiao chose to major in Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences in college and hoped that she could one day make a change in the agricultural industry of her hometown. After graduated from college, Xiao returned to Nantou with some friends who shared the same interests, and they combined local ingredients like tea, fruit and bamboo shoots with bamboo craft artists, tea roaster, chefs, ecology specialists to motivate other members’ to learn more about local crops in the process of experiencing from the activities. Moreover, Xiao also made good use of this activity as a platform for the local farmers to shine and promote reginal agricultures.
The limited land for farming makes the small-scale farming system an important foundation for agriculture in Taiwan. Although the production cost is high and the agricultural land is fragmented, the diversity of farming culture and the rich product selections are Taiwan's local characteristics. The "Lushan Young Farmers" team is looking forward to the integration of Lugu fruit farmers, tea farmers, community development associations, and grand tour recreation spots, so the farmers will no longer fight alone, and furthermore, planning seasonal tours and waterfall activities during the firefly season, and activities for the youth to experience rural lifestyle, such as kiln and tea picking. It provides local industries an opportunity to stay sustainable and to attract more young people to rediscover that they are part of this land. The man force could meanwhile, make up for the lack of rural labor.
NaiYu, Xiao said: "In fact, it is more difficult to commit to returning to your hometown undertaking the family agricultural business than to be an entrepreneur!" The youth of the team stay persistent learning and growing by trying out their opportunities; supporting their dreams of mastering agricultural development with passion and their most valuable asset: youth.
Do you know what local creation is? Are you also an aspiring young person who is full of enthusiasm for local contribution and grand tour exploring? The grand tour DNA project teams