A farm without pets
Halfway up the mountain, five kilometers up a winding trail, we arrived at Taiping Farm, where we were greeted by Hsu Jui-ming, farm manager, heart and soul of the effort to revive the mountain forest, and founder of LFRA.
Born in 1967, Hsu has a pale, clear complexion and dresses neatly. He bears the nickname "The Man Who Plants Trees." Seven years ago, despite his parents' vehement objections, he quit the navy although it was a steady, well paid career and he was only eight years from a generous lifelong pension. His reason was that he no longer wanted to be posted for long periods on Taiwan's outlying islands, where he would not be able to see his children grow up.
Wit the full support of his wife, who is a teacher, Hsu moved with her and their two sons back to his native Taitung, to set up a farm on land owned by his family. But he found that the dense mountain forest he remembered from his childhood had been cut down long ago and the last traces of the animals that had lived in this habitat were gradually disappearing.
To become a professional farmer, Hsu quickly read everything about farming he could lay his hands on. At the same time he worked as an environmental tour guide in two national parks. His experience and conversations with people in the leisure industry sparked a simple idea: to recreate the natural environment of his youth. Hsu said to himself, "If I get the forest road to look the way it once did, the birds and animals are bound to come back!" Exchanging his gun and compass for a hoe, he increased the land under irrigation and proceeded to plant hydrophytes, flowers, plants, and trees over a wide area.
Hsu Jui-ming recognized that reintroducing species demanded biotechnical expertise he did not have. But he also figured that as long as he restored the habitat to its original state, species that were naturally adapted to it would return.
"It wasn't rocket science. As long as I learned from the virgin forest right by the farm, I was on the right track," recalls Hsu.
The Taiping Farm concept is to have no fenced-in animals, flagship species, or fruit trees (fruit picking is a popular photo op for tourists). Instead, the farm makes every effort to be environmentally conscious and recycles kitchen waste and wastewater.
"By piling these dried leaves under this tree, we enable fireflies to lay their eggs here. Isn't that how it works in the forest?" Hsu's aim is to create an environmentally friendly eco-farm where visitors will get to know nature. "There are animal farms and fruit farms where tourists can pick their own fruit. Neither corresponds to my idea of an ecological farm," he explains.
After heavy rains, tadpoles gather in pools by the roadside. Nature teems with new life, and we can only watch in wonder.