Indigenising Foodscape: The Resurgence of Natural Farming of Tayal People and their Local Knowledge System in Taiwan

• In Event: Indigenous Knowledges and Technologies 2

Abstract

This paper argues a location of food production is not merely a physical space, but rather a landscape created by a complicated social process within which local people’s traditional value, belief and knowledge system interacts with modern market mechanism and scientific thinking. B’bu territory of indigenous Tayal people in Taiwan and their food production system is the research site and the issues. The researcher employs a participatory action research by engaging with the ecological aspect of Tayal people’s community development, traditional territory, and land rights issues for over 15 years. One central theme of the long-term research is related to the understandings about the foodways of the people. This paper attempts to reveal the resurgence of local foodways of the Tayal people reflected from the past participation experiences. Four major findings will be presented. First, how do the local Tayal people produce food traditionally? Secondly, in what ways the people’s value and knowledge system is linked to their food production? Thirdly, how do the modern chemical agriculture and market system be brought in and impact the traditional food production practices? Fourthly, analysing the resurgence of traditional natural farming of food production so as to create an indigenous food landscape. This paper concludes with discussing the knowledge dialogue between the modern development viewpoint driven by capitalistic market mechanism and traditional scientific perspective, and local indigenous worldview from their agricultural practices.

Author

• Yih-Ren Lin, Taipei Medical University