CyberFair Project ID: 7675

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Rejoice of food, a choice of life
Category: 3. Business and Community Organizations
URL: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2014/gsh7675/index.htm
Bibliography: http://librarywork.taiwanschoolnet.org/gsh2014/gsh7675/bibliography.htm

School: Nanguo Elementary School
    Changhua city, Changhua county, Taiwan

6 students, ages 11-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 10, 2014. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2011,2012,2013

Classes and Teachers: CHEN,YU-YU / LUNG,LI-HUA / HUANG,CHIU-MIEN / CHEN,HUNG-TI / HU,HUAN / LIN,YEN-YUN / YEH,CHUAN-YU / LIAO,YI-TSEN / TSAI,MENG-CHUN

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.nges.chc.edu.tw

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

RCSAG is located in southwest Changhua County in a small coastal village called Fangyuan Township. Fangyuan used to be well known for its oysters raising, fish farming, and asparagus and peanuts growing due to its environmental condition. Wheat used to be one of the first grain choices farmers picked in here and around central Taiwan at approximately 60 years ago during Japanese occupation; yet, as people’s dietary habit started to change over the years, demand for rice became greater while international trading became more common; wheat field were replaced by rice field and massive wheat was imported. However, began with contacted farming, RCSAG has been trying to restore the local wheat plowing over the past few years and so far, the contacted wheat fields has widely spread in places around Taiwan. More importantly is that, RCSAG insists on having its contracted farmers to plow the field with Eco friendly method instead of rushing with any causes; RCSAG’s ultimate objective is to create a relationship for the farmers, the products (food) and the environment to be symbiosis and long lasting.

2. Summary of Our Project

Rejoice Community Supported Agriculture Group (RCSAG), from Changhua County, Taiwan,is a social enterprise. Social enterprises are businesses whose primary purpose is the common good. They use the methods and disciplines of business and the power of the marketplace to advance their social, environmental and human justice agendas. The RCSAG has no donation, no fund raising, nor government subsidy application is accepted. In Taiwan, the majority wheat used nationwide is imported, and this trend has resulted in not only questionable quality control issues, but it has caused the local related industry to fall as well. Nevertheless, RCSAG from Changhua County, Taiwan, noticed the situation and began its devotion on rescuing the industry as well as on protecting food safety that the society consumed.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:less than 20

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:4-6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:4-6

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1.At the first time, we need to conduct land preparation, weeding, but since we are too young to learn to use farm tools, so it costs us a lot of time. Fortunately, school aunties teach us, and finally I know the principle “good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job”. 2.Though we have tried many methods to help the students from low grade to fill the questionnaire successfully, we still worry that they cannot understand or answer it smoothly. Finally we obtain the support from instructors of low grade students to help them fill the questionnaire in order to get the valuable data. 3.Some literatures are not written for children, which is not understandable for us or due to the insufficient life experience of us, we can hardly understand the said situation of the data. Fortunately, our teachers and professionals we met can answer the question at any time, which contributes to the smooth process of our report.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

Founder Ming-huang Shih, who has experienced 15-year struggle from entering bread industry. The struggle and difficult challenge of this long 15 years create today’s Rejoice Bread Workshop. Without a rigorous standardization system and the principle of no cream and egg in the bread, there will hardly be quality Rejoice bread; if we don’t insist on doing this study, this little team will not exist either. We are very glad that we can have the full recognition and support from the teachers and parents, who allowed our participation in this contest. In our “talking” with Director Shi, we learnt much of his life wisdom which tells us to grow up as a big tree rather than regular grass and to be contributive to the society.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

1.Enhance the listening and speaking skills 2.Promote reading and writing skills 3.Statistics and analysis of questionnaire 4.Recognize the growth and cultivation of wheat 5.Recognize flour manufacturing process 6.Recognize crops 7.Understand the history and culture of wheat 8.Understand Social Enterprise 9.Understand food safety 10.Understand of the production process and methods of biscuits 11.Understand bread making process and methods 12.Enhance interpersonal interaction and participation 13.Understand Methods for learning and study and their application 14.Learn wheat art creation 15.Conduct art creation activity with different forms of media

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

1. Network (1) School Network : academic network , inquire relevant data (2) Home network : ADSL, inquire relevant data 2. multimedia (1) Camera: taking picture of events, growth record of wheat (2) DV: recording activity process 3. Other (1) Printer: print related reading data, and questionnaire (2) Telephone, mobile: contacting and planning related activities

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

1. Interaction with relevant personnel (1) Read relevant documentation: We read relevant documentation from network and books to understand our study object. (2) Conduct interviews activities to gather information We obtain data by interview to get closer to the core concept therein. (3) Visit Environment and Experience They grow wheat; make cookies, bread to experience the complete course of the enterprise. 2. Interaction with teachers and students We know the awareness of the school students to rice, wheat foods and the current situation of wheat in Taiwan 3. Interaction with the Community people Each day, we conduct field management affairs in wheat paddock and encounter different asking; therefore, we introduce and explain cultivation of wheat to them.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

1.“Rejoice Bread Workshop” is a well-known social enterprises, upholding the three principles - do not accept donations; do not raise fund from society; do not apply for grants; promote local agriculture and food, local processing, local consumption. 2.At the beginning,people known less about wheat, and the wheat in Taiwan. Through our project, they can learn more about that.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

1.Rejoice Bread Workshop We learn the relevant knowledge about wheat and know the stories of Rejoice Bread Workshop it has been though all the way; it also enables us to understand the operation method and its important equipment though the actual practice. 2.Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station Mr. Hsun-shih Lin from Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station presented us relevant knowledge about growing of wheat and crops, in an easily understandable manner. 3.Lien Hwa Co., Ltd. We understand the whole process of flour making from wheat by the commentary, factory tours, and equipment introduction of specialists from Lien Hwa Co., Ltd. 4.School School is the main source that we learn the knowledge from, where we obtain a lot of help, including survey activities regarding to our school’s vegetable garden, farm tools. We also appreciate the help from our class instructor who often help us to catch up the progress we lost due to the inconsistency between class time and visiting. 5.Family Transportation arrangements, transport service, picturing, and the video help us get a more complete first-hand research data.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

(1) About “social enterprise” We get to know the new concept of “social enterprise” through the entire study process. We found that stories like that are happening in the surroundings of our lives. (2) About “wheat in Taiwan” Through this study, we finally know “wheat”, “flour” which is made from it, and wheat products, which allows us to know the fact that our lives are in effect so deeply connected with rice and wheat. (3) About “study report” Through Cyberfair, we for the first time tries to present the report in the form of “web pages”, in spite of the fact that we have only vague idea about the concept of such transmission methods.

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View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 7675)

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