Development association lays the foundations
Guilai was selected for burdock cultivation way back in the Japanese colonial era (1895‡1945). It lies on the alluvial fan of the Central Mountain Range, and its soil is rich in oxides like iron and manganese. People of the older generation call this fertile land “red sand soil”; its scientific name is “arenosol.” “Strange to say, in all of Pingtung, burdock can only be cultivated here in Guilai.” Carl Chen, who returned home 11 years ago to take over the family farm, says that due to the local soil properties, as well as historical factors, the burdock grown in Guilai is dark Japanese Yanagawa burdock, which is different from the white burdock commonly seen on the market.
However, the area planted with burdock was small, and the community couldn’t compete economically with large-scale mechanized farming. Then, when an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease hit Taiwan in 1997, Guilai burdock, which was mostly exported, lost its main sales channels.
“The longer we grew burdock, the poorer we got!” Carl Chen’s family has been raising burdock for three generations, and bears witness to its rise and fall. Jiang Jiahuang, a Pingtung city councilor at the time, likewise lamented the decline of his hometown, and in 1996 had already begun to seek out young Guilai natives who were accomplished in their respective fields, inviting them to join the newly established Guilai Community Development Association in hopes of restoring Guilai to its former glory. Carl Chen was one of those recruited.
In 2000, the GCDA put forward a five-year plan for development of the burdock industry. Through the creation of recipes for burdock cuisine, training in cultivation and processing, experiential activities, and promotional events, the association educated local residents about burdock and promoted the brand image of Guilai burdock to outsiders.
After Carl Chen was invited to join the GCDA, he did not immediately return to Guilai. Instead he chose to stay in his job at the Taiwan Tea Corporation in Taipei and learn about how the burdock industry and market functioned, only returning home to work on the farm when he had time off.
There are paintings and couplets on the walls of the Citian Temple in Guilai on the theme of the “three treasures of Guilai”: scallions, yam beans, and burdock. They reflect the importance of these crops to the community’s livelihood.