Renaissance of Things Past
2025 / February
Among Taiwan’s resurgent industries, salt, shell ginger, camellia seeds, and bamboo have unique ecological and economic value. Traditional salt-making techniques are combined with modern technology to develop high-quality sea salt, meeting market demand and promoting local economic development. Cultivation of shell ginger is earning growing attention, not only for use in food, but also in fragrances and biotechnology. The promotion of oil-seed camellia farming is making this healthy oil available to consumers and driving community revitalization. Meanwhile, bamboo is a portable material whose eco-friendly characteristics make it a material of choice for many innovative products, such as furniture and buildings, and it is attracting attention from young consumers.
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Featured Story
Taiwan’s Quintessential Flavor:
Reimagining Local Salt
While serving up a plate of scrumptious-looking baked fish garnished with rosemary and radishes, the waiter brings us a salt pot—a perplexing sight for those of us who are accustomed to Chinese cuisine. Whetting our curiosity, the waiter says: “You might like to try sprinkling some salt on it......
Finding a Road Back Home:
Stories of Shell Ginger
In the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, the children leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind them on their journey, hoping to use them to find their way home. In Taiwan, the Bunun indigenous woman Takbanuaz Ishahavut Pune and the other members of the Gaia Nahuy Workshop have followed shell ginger bac......
Revitalizing the Land:
Cha Tzu Tang’s Camellia Renaissance
Many remote small towns and villages face difficulties because of the aging and outflow of their populations. However, in one community in Yilan County, a different story is unfolding. Behind this new narrative is the “Oil-Seed Camellia Renaissance Program.”......
Making It Evergreen:
Brilliant Bamboo Craft
In modern Taiwan, traditional bamboo utensils no longer play an indispensable role in our daily lives. Nevertheless, we can still come across treasures made of bamboo in shops in Central Taiwan’s Nantou County, a stronghold of bamboo crafts.......
Breaking the Mold:
Yuantai Bamboo Crafts
Walking down Dingheng Street in Nantou County’s Zhushan Township, we are drawn to the retro handwritten sign of Yuantai Bamboo Crafts, a workshop that is breathing new life into a declining industry.......
Tapping into Creativity:
Bamboola
People think that Bamboola owner Liu Wenhuang’s “puzzle boxes” are based on curio cabinets or trick boxes in Chinese craft traditions, but Liu doesn’t agree. Countering such observations, he does not mince his words: “Do you know what creativity is about?”......
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