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li-nong elementary school (2014 CyberFair Project ID 7699)
Taiwan,
Taipei
Official Status:
Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 4. Local Specialties
We estimate 16 student(s) from 10 to 12 will work on this entry.
Description of Our Community: 7Profile of the community Yangmingshan used to known as Tsaoshan (or Grass Mountain) which meant a series of mountains embracing agricultural advantages of fertile soil and clear, fresh water. Yangmingshan is renowned for its cash crops of calla lilies, waxberries, and various kinds of vegetables. Among all, tankan (one kind of tangerine) has won the most reputation. The original and major crop in Beitou and Shihlin area where Yangmingshan is located in was Chinese tea-leaves. However, the declination in price of tea-leaves about 60 to 70 years ago had resulted in the mass production of tankan given the facts that tankan weighed more and priced more. Tankan was first taken as a cash crop in LouTsu Village, LouChou (currently known as LouChou District, New Taipei City). Later, farmer brothers Chang Bian at Shihlin transplanted and nurtured tankan seedlings at Shihhubatsupu (a place near the National Palace Museum nowadays). They further transplanted these seedlings in several Grass Mountain encompassing areas, such as Shiazhuzilin (????), Shazaihou (???), Tsukeng (??), Shibafeng (???) , Chungjinchiue (???), Dinjinchiue (???), and Shanchiwei (???), etc. The most prosperous years of Yangmingshan tankan were those ones after the end of Japanese colonial rules. During this period of time, it was widely seen that some corporate from downtown Taipei would contract all farmers worked in one mountain. These corporates handled the tankan business in the following ways. A) retailing tankan to northern part of Taiwan as fruit, B) exported them, or C) processed tankan as preserved canned fruit. When the quality of tankan was in its best situation, two of them would weight more than a kilogram and priced at NT 50 to 60. These prices were considerably higher than the ones of imported apples (high-end fruit at that time). The profit benefitted Beitou area tremendously. The situation that Taipei area was the sole tankan planting area changed when the Chung Shan Freeway was completed in the 60’s. The reasons were that the transportation between the south and the north became easier. On top of that, labor wages were considered low in the south which made the prices of the agricultural products from the south more competitive. Agricultural products transaction market as well as the farmers in the northern part of Taiwan suffered from the impacts of such changes. The sale of tankan declined and farmers’ income reduced significantly. Tankan gardens in Yangmingshan area were unattended gradually. Worst of all, a plant disease called “citrus greening” exploded. Nearly 80% of tankan was infected, which speeded up the collapse of tankan business. Eventually only few farmers want to plant tankan and it becomes less popular. Not many people have the chance to have a bite of the traditional, yet unique taste of tankan. And this should be some unforgettable experience for the lifetime.
Project Description: Our school, Taipei Municipal Linong Elementary School, is located in the Beitou area. Students have been living here since they were very young. To help students understand the formation of the unique lifestyle of this community, teachers and students at Linong Elementary School initiate a different project of research every year. This year, Yangmingshan tankan, was selected even though the economical scale of the same is not as large as the ones of the other two major areas, Ermei in Taichung and ChengKong in Taitong. Since Yangmingshan was formed by the volcano eruption, the soil contains various kinds of minerals and micronutrients, and thus the tankan grown here has a very unique taste and won a very special name of “Tsaoshan Kan”. Students and teachers here at Linong Elementary School strived to conduct the research and made the webpage to present their findings. Along the way, students gained deep understanding of the local geographic conditions and the history of such crops. On the one hand, the deeper they have studied the homeland, the greater passion they have shown for the community. On the other hand, they learned how to make use of the knowledge of information technology and internet education learned at school. Hence, they are ready to see the world with a broader vision and be prepared to be global citizens.