What it is:
I visited three different food forests in Hsinchu before flying back. The city is located in the South-West of Taipei, close to the airport and not far from the sea. Its name “Hsin-chu” means “new-bamboo”, it used to be the land of many bamboo species. The city is one of the most prosperous in Taiwan because it is the place of production of many electronic devices (chips etc), so this richness makes it according to Claire, my guide, a successful place to implant food forests, because funding can be provided usually from those companies who are looking for “greenwash” strategies. She introduced me to the principle of a food forest, and the seven layers of vegetation necessary to imitate this ecosystem, as well as landscape design elements that would ease its maintenance.
Here is the manifesto for the Food Forest project.
More than half of the world population live in cities, and this number is expected to increase. Cities raise many environmental and social issues such as poor biodiversity, urban heat island effect, lack of resilience, food insecurity and many more. Our integrative solution is to build food forests in cities. A food forest is a sustainable design which mimics the ecosystem of a natural forest, with food production in mind. It started in Seattle, U.S. where people came up with the idea to build a food forest on a public lawn. We introduced the concept into Taiwan and built the first public food forest in Hsinchu where a partnership was created with the local government and community. Work parties and educational events are held to engage people in holistic learning and to share the harvest with all, including nature. Our solution has provided affordable healthy food for the community and demonstrates an ecosystem-based adaptation that can care for people and land at the same time.
Three food forests :
- the first one was located in front of a residency for old people, that take good care of it but form a closed circle occupying this space, sometimes disrupted by school visits. A real pedagogic impact can be found there.
- the second one was part of a sort of “village” funded by a local company, including a food forest, a restaurant, a plant shop and an occasional local market. The forest was very dry because of the lack of rain in the last months and of the bad management of volunteers. The ONG taking care of the Hsinchu food forests collapsed recently, leaving Claire without a job and the forest without a functioning management system. There would be an opportunity here for self-management of the citizens themselves, and that is what Claire believes will work in the future.
- the third one was located very close to the Hsinchu High Speed Rail station. It was bigger and we arrived at the same time as a group of volunteers maintaining the area, which allowed me to see an other side of the network, led by students and middle-aged women. Part of the forest had been bought by a local company that has left it without any crops.
The biggest issue for Claire with food forests in Taiwan was that Taiwanese people were very focused on the aesthetic aspects and the ecological/social impacts of a food forest, and not so much on the perspective of food sufficiency.
Where it is:
Hsinchu, Taiwan
Why it is relevant:
These initiatives are in line with many STG goals and they could provide self-sufficiency for cities in the future, allowing consumers to avoid buying from corporate companies and control the origin of plant-based ingredients.
https://panorama.solutions/en/solution/urban-food-forest?fbclid=IwAR32uqTkDthOO3rEIRk_Bj2DRTEuA1uLED-RsUdkqdChqDdOvHkzu8Mj2D0
Along the way, I have played around with your text, got out typo’s and […]
Can you share some information about how people are using it (as it is closed to a senior citizens residence)? Who is using it and how? Which role does the volunteers play? How is it embedded in local infrastructures (like markets etc)? What is the business model behind (if it is not subsidized by a company or an NGO)?