再現回憶中的烏托邦 - 大王菜鋪子 | Da Wang Green Grocery - To Revive a Utopia
隨著工業化與資本主義發展，人人追求成本低、產量高、獲利高，而在這種唯利是圖、向錢看的時代，許多寶貴的資產就這樣慢慢被消磨殆盡，看起來無害的農業生產也成為環境的殺手，螢舞蛙鳴，蟲鳴鳥叫，田野中滿滿的生命氣息在近代農業的摧殘下逐漸銷聲匿跡，在如此絕望的狀態下，許多人希冀著找回當初的樂土，回歸最樸實的生活。因此友善農業出現了，用最自然的方式，溫柔對待孕育萬物的大地。
▌尋找那遍尋不著的自由
「我想創造一個烏托邦」說這句話的人是「大王菜舖子」的老闆——王福裕，童年在農村長大的他離開都市叢林再次回到鄉村，在里山 註(1)，一處位於花蓮壽豐鄉和平村的富饒土地，一步一腳印的重現過去那鄰里互相扶持、孩子在田間抓青蛙、魚兒在水溝悠游的時光。
▌在一個小村，成為所有人的夥伴
大王組織的是一個以環境友善農業為基礎，社區營造為輔的社會企業。友善農業是橋梁，串連起情感，他幫小農尋找通路，幫忙尋找健康食物的家庭準備安全的食材，農夫與家庭兩端，因為認同他的信念，建立起信任，建立起友誼；他讓鄉村的孩子擁有比都市小孩更珍貴的觀察力、對大自然的認知；他支付沒有工作的婦女幫忙產銷，讓她們的生活有了重心。藉著友善農業，大王建構出一個完善的「鄉村支持型農業（CSA）」，他用自己的知識去幫助沒落的村莊，而村莊的人們也出來支持著他，平和村因為他的出現再次生機勃勃。
With the growth of industrialization and capitalism, people are demanding businesses with low cost, high productivity and high profits. Therefore, a lot of valuable assets are being wasted and neglected in this profit and money-oriented world. Agriculture, formerly regarded as relatively harmless, is now damaging our environment. The lives of insects, frogs, and birds are severely threatened by modern agricultural methods. Under the circumstances, some people are hoping to find a pure land and live a simple life. This has given rise to environmentally friendly agriculture, which uses the most natural and tender way to farm Mother Earth.
▌Seek the unseekable freedom
"I want to build a utopia" says Wang Fu-yu, the owner of Da Wang Green Grocery. He returned from the city to his rural hometown, a Satoyama[1] which is located at Pinghe Village in Shoufeng Township, Hualien. He misses the time when people in the neighborhood helped each other and the children caught frogs and fishes near the fields.
▌Become a friend of everyone in a small village
Da Wang is running a business that is friendly both to the environment and the community. This environmentally friendly agriculture connects people in the neighborhood. It acts as a distributor for the small farmers, and provides safe vegetables and other foods for the health-conscious. Farmers and families believe what Da Wang believes, so they trust him and have befriended him. Thanks to him, the children in the village have developed a keener power of observation than one typically sees in children from urban areas, and are more conversant with the nature. He also offers jobs to unemployed women, helping them restart their lives. Da Wang has developed holistic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) based on the concepts and practices of environmentally friendly agriculture. As he uses his knowledge to revitalize the remote village, the villagers are supporting him. Pinghe Village has come back to life with his help.
▌以智慧與萬物共生
▌Coexist Wisely With Nature
(Photo Credit: 黃庭瑞)
「自然農法」就是順應大自然的規則來種植。原始的森林並沒有施肥除草，各樣生物卻蓬勃發展、生機盎然，這是為什麼呢？其實每個生命都有其存在的價值。為什麼會出現在這裡？它們彼此間怎麼互動的？大王說「我們要和森林學習」整個生態系相生相剋，太多被吃掉，太少再復育，一個現象的發生一定是某個環節出問題，而他不斷用科學的思維，以生物的角度尋找解方。
以種水稻為例，雜草、福壽螺、養分等難題，一般農夫會用治標的方式，看到表面的現象便急於處理，有雜草就拔，有福壽螺就抓，營養不良就施肥，但這些手段是與大自然對立的，互相較勁的情況下，造成兩敗俱傷，生態系統被破壞了，而農夫灰頭土臉，收成的質與量也大幅降低，古人說：「誰知盤中飧，粒粒皆辛苦」，但其實搞懂了大自然運作的法則，誰說務農就一定與辛苦畫上等號？大王可是快樂地在田裡生活著，享受其中。
大王的田從不需要擔心這些問題！他的秘密武器就是滿江紅 註(2)。先將荖溪清澈的水引至一渠池塘，將繁衍速度極快的滿江紅放置池中，任其生長，待稻苗高過雜草後，將閘門打開，伴隨著魚蝦貝類和滿江紅的溪水流入田中，一齣好戲就此上演：
溪水淹沒了雜草，而與滿江紅共生 註(3)的藍綠藻 註(4)會進行固氮作用 註(5)，將空氣中的氮氣轉化成植物能利用的氮肥。至於聰明的福壽螺，相較於硬邦邦的稻梗，牠更喜歡浮在水面上翠綠可口的滿江紅，稻米也就逃過一劫，當福壽螺繁殖到一定數量，烏龜、魚類便聞香而至，一物剋一物，生生不息，稻農最頭痛的福壽螺問題就此解決。更棒的是，水面的滿江紅既保護水下生物又可以防治蚊蟲，一舉數得。
友善農業在大王手中，不再是口號，是事實，也是奇跡。
Natural farming works according to nature. Have you ever wondered why plants grow so densely in an old-growth forest, even without fertilizer and weed control? Every single creature deserves to exist. Why is it here? How do they interact with each other? "We have to learn from the forests" says Da Wang. The elements of the whole ecosystem reinforce or counteract each other. Too many are wiped out, but only a few are re-bred. When a phenomenon occurs, there must be something wrong. His scientific thinking helps in finding solutions to these problems.
Let's take rice paddies as an example. What farmers often do involves treating symptoms, but not curing the disease. They eliminate weeds, kill apple snails, and fertilize the malnourished crops. But all these actions go against nature and this opposition hurts both sides. The ecosystem is damaged and the farmers are at a loss when the quality and quantity of crops decline. Although the old saying goes, "Each grain in your dish is a fruit of hard labor", when you know the rule of nature, farming is not always hard labor. Da Wang, nevertheless, enjoys his life in the field.
He has never worried about his fields. His secret weapon is Azolla pinnata[2]. Primarily, he transports fresh water from the Lao Stream to a pond, and then puts the plant in the pond, where it will reproduce rapidly. When the rice seedlings are higher than the weeds, it is time to open the sluice gates and let the fresh water containing fishes, prawns, clams and Azolla pinnata flow into the field. Then, a show commences.
The fresh water will flood the weeds. Cyanobacteria[3] which coexist with Azolla pinnata, will perform nitrogen fixation, which is a process by which nitrogen in the air is converted into nitrogen fertilizers that can be assimilated by plants. At the same time, the clever apple snails will float in the water and eat the soft and tasty Azolla pinnata instead of the hard rice seedlings. When the number of apple snails increases, this will attract turtles and fishes. When there is a pest, there is a natural predator that can subdue it. It is like an endless cycle. The tricky problem heretofore caused by apple snails is thus solved. Furthermore, the floating Azolla pinnata not only protects the crops under the water, but also gets rid of the pests in one fell swoop.
To Da Wang, environmentally friendly agriculture is more than just a slogan. It's both a truth and a miracle.
▌烏托邦的再造
▌To Revive a Utopia
一個人的力量太微小，若要讓「友善農業」更普遍，需要更多人瞭解、學習。於是，大王成為老師，親自教導在地小孩種農作、設陷阱，帶著他們向大自然學習；大王扮演輔助者，提供場域給有理想的年輕人，讓他們自己下田，從實做中尋找答案 ；大王化身顧問，當鄰近的農家遇到瓶頸、一籌莫展之際，他站出來，給他們方向，無私分享寶貴的經驗，讓人們看見希望。大王說他在建造他的烏托邦，而同時許多人在他的烏托邦裡為自己的伊甸園也繪下藍圖。
▌註釋
(1) 村與山之間的氾濫凹地
(2) 淡水浮水生小型蕨類
(3) 兩種生物互利且相依存
(4) 能透過自營與異營獲取能量的細菌
(5) 特定物種將空氣中的氮轉化成植物可吸收營養的過程
One person cannot do much, however. More people should be learning and keeping up with the principles and practices of environmentally friendly agriculture in order to make it widespread. Therefore, Da Wang teaches local children to farm, to set traps, and to learn from nature. He provides land for hopeful young people and lets them work on it to find the answers. He also plays the role of a consultant to help solve the local farmers' problems and gives them directions when they are facing obstacles by unselfishly sharing his experiences. Da Wang says that he is building a utopia. At the same time, within his utopia, other people can start building their own.
▌Notes
[1] The border zone or area between mountain foothills and arable flat land.
[2] An aquatic plant, with its front floating upon the surface of the water.
[3] A phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis.