wfn.org | Aborigines explore new ways to revitalize reservations

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3012 Edition

>November 16~22, 2009

Aborigines explore new ways to revitalize reservations

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

Cinsbu Presbyterian Church from Atayal Presbytery just finished  hosting a tour showcasing

Aborigine culture and the natural habitat near their reserves for  the seventh time. The church

used nature to its advantage to draw tourists and teach them about  the importance of

environmentalism with hopes of revitalizing the economy within  Aborigine reservations at the

>same time.

“In the past, the main income for Aborigine reservations is  our yearly produce. However,

Aborigines are exploring other industries now, such as tourism,  and changing and improving

their financial situation in the process,” said one Cinsbu  elder, A-Dao.

Planting and selling crops such as peaches and persimmons used to  be the main source of

income for Aborigines for a long time. However, their agricultural  industry can no longer

compete with lower prices from other aggressive sellers and  middlemen, causing a decline in

revenues in recent years. Many Aborigine farmers have been posting  losses because they

can no longer compete with other farmers or the price offered by  middlemen for their produce

is extremely low. As result, some are forced to leave their homes  in search for employment in

the cities or elsewhere, causing a decline within many  reservations as well.

To help Aborigines make ends meet, some churches began discussing  ways to revitalize the

economy within Aborigine reservations and after much discussion  and consultation, they

discovered that nature – God’s gift to them – could  revitalize their reservations and create a

new industry capable of bringing in steady revenue.

Nowadays, revenue within Cinsbu comes from three sources: Tourism,  fruit harvests, and

harvests of vegetables planted at high altitude. These three  combined provide enough income

for Aborigines to make ends meet every season.

During the last round of tours, Aborigines hosted a group of  college students. Tour leaders

originally thought students would be more interested in discussing  environmental and cultural

issues, however, to their pleasant surprise, they discovered that  youth nowadays also take a

keen interest on gleaning wisdom from elderly Aborigines.

In related news, Aborigines got a good return for their produce of  peaches this year,

prompting PCT Atayal Presbytery Produce Department to declare that  revenues this year

exceeded NT$3 million and were the highest since the  department’s inception.

“Persimmons and peaches are the main crops for Atayal  people,” said Atayal Presbytery’s

Produce Department Chief Hoi Ciku. Besides securing a good market  price, support from

local churches across Taiwan, as well as PCT organizations such as  Mackay Memorial

Hospital and Changhua Christian Hospital, were also crucial in  maintaining a steady flow of

>demand this year.

There are currently 55 families and 18 churches being aided by  Atayal Presbytery Produce

Department. Hoi Ciku estimates that net revenue this year should  have surpassed NT$50

million, but after everything was accounted for, the actual  revenue received by Atayal

Aborigines was merely a small fraction of this sum because of  exploitation at various stages

>of the sale.

In light of this situation, the department has been striving to  seek out new channels and

approaches to market their produce, as well as spending more time  promoting and

strengthening their brand name and product quality. The department  currently sells directly to

>churches wishing to order.

Hoi Ciku hopes that urban churches will give Aborigine produces a  chance and support their

Aborigine brothers and sisters though sometimes the price of the  produce may be a bit higher

than what they would find at their local supermarket.

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