Hualien's Bunun Communities Preserve Rare Beans Through Home Gardening

TaiwanPlus News

In remote parts of eastern Taiwan, Indigenous Bunun communities are preserving rare bean varieties through a traditional home gardening technique called Pisang Lavan. Through the Bunun Bean Group initiative, Bunun elders hope the tradition may be passed down for years to come.

Transcript

00:00In remote parts of Poilien in eastern Taiwan,

00:05indigenous Bunong communities are keeping a special tradition alive.

00:09Called Pisan Lavan, or family garden,

00:12it's a form of home gardening that helps preserve rare and diverse bean varieties.

00:17In Pisan Lavan, some beans are grown along the edges of farmlands,

00:31while others are planted near homes.

00:33In 2014, when the Cixing Organic Agriculture Foundation

00:37began helping farmers switch to organic practices,

00:40they unexpectedly uncovered over 20 rare and ancient bean varieties

00:45thriving in these backyard gardens.

00:57To keep the knowledge of how to grow these beans,

01:00they set up the Bunong Bean Group,

01:02aiming to pass down the community's agricultural wisdom.

01:06Conservation takes place directly in the fields,

01:09with replanting every year.

01:10But modernization is threatening their efforts.

01:15Some of them are still working outside.

01:17They're afraid that they don't want to grow these things.

01:22They're not going to grow these things.

01:22They're going to grow these things, so they're going to grow their果.

01:25If you don't grow them, they'll be able to grow them.

01:27Members of the Bunong Bean Group remain hopeful that their agricultural know-how and traditions

01:35can be handed down to younger generations.

01:38Much like the beans they cultivate,

01:40the tradition will take root in everyday life,

01:42flourishing for years to come.

01:45Alex Chen and Chelsea Wu for Taiwan Plus.

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