Lin Yi-lung used to be a deputy director of research and development for a large optoelectronics company in the Hsinchu Science Park. The stark pressures of the high-tech industry often left him physically and mentally fatigued, to the point where he could no longer drag himself into the office. He had no choice but to quit. In July of 2005 he visited the Tatun River Natural Educational Farm after seeing media reports about it. With the total support of his wife Wang Hsiao-ping, he moved to Luyeh in Taitung County the very next month to begin a life in the fields.

When he first arrived in Taitung, Lin decided that to meet his family responsibilities he would first need to find some other form of paying work before becoming a farmer. He started off at Austronesia Community College, developing various plans for local Aboriginal groups. These included promoting ecotourism and organizing efforts to gather and sell wild food products. Later, at an organic farm attached to a homestay, he learned various management and planting techniques. His wife Wang Hsiao-ping also frequently went north to study at the Tatun River Natural Educational Farm.

In July of 2006 the couple went to Japan to visit several farms that had adopted shumei methods. The purity and security of the self-sufficient farmers there prompted a sense of longing in them. When they returned to Taiwan, they decided to buy some land, where they established their own Hsiayun Natural Life Farm.

After changing careers in mid-life, Lin Yi-lung had the good fortune to buy 0.6 hectares that had been a starfruit orchard. Once he took over the land, he began to use natural farming methods to grow cross-pollinated, sweet and juicy "crystal starfruit." Their children, who used to hate starfruit, now enjoy gorging on it.

Yet the determination to practice natural farming has its costs. The farm has only been harvesting one-third of what it had under conventional methods. A relaxed Lin says that Japanese practitioners of natural farming all experience reduced crops at first. Some don't have harvests at all for the first six years. But as the purity of the soil is gradually restored and the land regains its power, crops can begin to find for themselves the needed nutrients in the soil, and yields grow. After seven or eight years harvests can reach 70% of conventional methods.

Lin Yi-lung emphasizes that because Taiwan is in the subtropics, insect damage is greater here than in Japan. And the oriental fruit fly, which has plagued Taiwan for more than a decade, has damaged fruit crops of all kind. As a consequence, perhaps crops simply can't be expected to be as successful here as they are in Japan.

In terms of price, conventionally grown starfruit sell for about NT$60-70 per kilogram, whereas the price per kilo of naturally farmed starfruit is about NT$100. Last year was the first harvest, and Lin notes he made many novice mistakes. Repeatedly raising his head and arms to pick fruit, he soon grew very stiff and sore. He also had to get in touch with customers, pack the fruit and send off the boxes. It was an extremely hectic month, but his profits were extremely low.

Fortunately, his friends have been very supportive. Moreover, as soon as customers tasted the fruit, sales spread by word of mouth. The other crops of the farm, such as sweet potatoes, vegetables and pineapples, have also been well received, and his customer base has been steadily growing. Yet, although he is now a full-time farmer, he doesn't plan to expand the area under cultivation. In fact, he is even considering chopping down some fruit trees that are planted too close to each other, all in the pursuit of growing the highest quality "crystal starfruit."

For Lin, 42, farming hasn't been overtaxing physically, but he's had trouble adopting the plan-for-a-rainy-day mentality of farmers, who have to suffer the whims of the weather. For instance, Taitung was in the midst of a long drought this summer. Not understanding the destructive capacity of a drought, he took no defensive measures. Fortunately, local farmers reminded him to put in an irrigation system, lest he suffer huge crop losses.

The biggest gain he's had from leaving a top job in high tech to become a professional farmer is time. Work for high-tech companies may appear on the surface to be hip and lucrative, but the pressures of 15-hour days make it hard to enjoy family life. Although he is in constant motion as a professional farmer and out in the fields rain or shine, his body and mind feel at peace. He works only about eight hours each day, giving himself ample time to spend with his children and also reviving his own childlike enjoyment of the natural world-frogs croaking, birds chirping.

Lin and Wang have built a simple farming life that promotes natural farming. Apart from producing and marketing natural produce, their farm also gives volunteers a chance to experience farming. They have befriended people and nature, finding great joy and giving more meaning to their lives.

"Crystal starfruit" grown with shumei natural farming techniques.

The red okra provide both tasty food and beautiful cut flowers.