"It was a fallow wasteland when we just came here; However, the fallow land also gave the best opportunity to developing organic farming! " Said Mr. Chen Ping-huang, the Chairman of Kangzhuang Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative.
The land in on the southern part of Daxi District in Taoyuan City. Since it closes to Shihmen Reservoir water sources reserve area and must be ecological-protected, causing the land be wasted for a long time and grown wild grasses. However, the land without pesticides pollution is the best natural advantage to develop an organic farm!

Mr. Chen Ping-huang was a high school teacher. After retired, he didn't expect to become the key man who transformed the fallow land. For over the decade, he has collected the community to cultivate the organic kale which foreigner called "Super Food", the "Chocolate Cherry Tomato" which supported by Taiwan's excellent agri-technology, and the "Hanging Watermelon" which grows on the tree on this land. All of those agricultural produces have become the signature corps of the Cooperative.

He established "Kangzhuang Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative" in 2021 and assisted the local smallholders to learn organic production. He connected more organic vegetable farms such as Green Bamboo Shoots, White Bamboo Shoots, Tomato, Corn, Sweet Potatoes, and Strawberries farms to a 20-hectares organic farms cluster today (with citified organic and friendly cultivation area), which is also the highest density of organic farms cluster in the northern Taiwan.

The Cooperative Plays a Marketing Strategy Role
The Kangzhuang Cooperative not only assists and teaches its smallholders in crop growing but also plays a crucial role in marketing strategy and adjusting item distribution. It is also the core platform to connect production, sales channels, and education. Through the working division model, the smallholders can focus on farming, while the cooperative provides new information, matches orders, and develops distribution channels. The cooperative chooses the crops in high quality and values and sells them to the high-end market to avoid price competition. For instance, the organic kale costs between NT$400 to NT$600 per kilogram, significantly more than other vegetables.

In fact, people in Taiwan were not familiar with this super star vegetable, viewed as a super food in foreign countries, while Mr. Chen Ping-huang was starting to grow organic kale. Mr. Chen shared his knowledge and agri-technologies with the farmers of the Production and Marketing Group, discussed problems, and grew alongside the farmers with the farmers together. Today, this technology has spread to many parts of Taiwan.

Supported by the "Empowering Employment Program (EEP)," the cooperative has so far hired 5 staff to promote its agri-products, including setting up stalls at various trade fairs such as Taipei Hope Plaza Farmer Market, Taipei Expo Park, and Taipei World Trade Center etc. They also provide the idea and execute the agri-products processing and give Agri-food education. They had solved the sales issues and increased the revenues for many smallholders and young farmers.

The group of staff assisted in building an organic product-marketing platform for the cooperative, selling products to 25 of America's style super stores or organic shops, including chain restaurants and an e-commerce platform for the vegetable boxes. The cooperative also develops secondary processed products like fruit jams, flower tea, and dry noodles to improve preservation and add value for increasing the tangible profits. Additionally, the cooperative supplies the ingredients for schools' lunch meals.

The cooperative initially sells 100% of its primary agricultural products. Today, its secondary processing products and Agri-food education activities take 20% of the total revenues. Kangzhuang Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative gained impressive revenue growth in recent years. Mr. Chen Ping-huang revealed the cooperative's revenue was about NT$4 million in the first year of 2022. Later on, it reached approximately NT$8 million in 2023 and approximately NT$11 million in 2024.

An Excellent Demonstration Point of Organic Agri-food Education
"Agri-food education is the most important," Mr. Chen Ping-huang said. Agri-food education is another core business of Kangzhuang Cooperative. "While the farmers have right concepts of organic farming, the people will have the concepts of "Eat local and seasonal foods" and to know organic agri-products, so the organic products can be sustainable in the future." Therefore, he regularly hosts farming lectures to encourage both the farmers and the people to learn. He also teaches everyone how to cook and eat its agri-products. For instance, he teaches how to use the organic kales to make green latte, which is the most popular healthy beverage. The organic kales can also make salad or golden kimchi; both are popular among tourists.

Kangzhuang Cooperative is an excellent demonstration site of Agri-Resources collaboration and organic Agri-food education promotion. It launches the Agri-food education experiences such as "Kangzhuang Vegetarian Fun," which is designed from the combination of Daxi's natural sceneries and leisure agriculture operators, and is usually registered by elementary schools and kindergartens. The "Floating Watermelons", made of small watermelons planted on trees, have amazed the tourists and become a hot topic on the Internet. The new variety of tomato is welcomed by the foreigners who came to observe Taiwan's agricultural improvement technology. The Cooperative also promotes ESE (Environmental, Social, Governance) for private enterprises to provide activities such as ecological tours, vegetable or fruit picking experience, and rural-style meals.

In the last four years, Kangzhuang Organic Community hosted over 300 agri-food education activities and 50 private enterprise activities. It attracts many tourists to visit every weekend and brings profits for local tourism and industries. It also hosted over 20 community sharing workshops and increased the amount of co-production to 300%.

"Share Good, also will Share Prosperity." From a wasteland where residents moved out, to a cooperative that has members from ten to about thirty to forty, even farmers from the far townships such as Lalashan, Baoshan, and Jianshih desire to join the cross-regional cooperation. The young people are staying in their hometowns, and the leisure farms, B&Bs, and restaurants are popping up, with even small coffee smallholders joining in. With food, accommodations, and entertainment all available, it attracted more people to Kangzhuang Community in Daxi district, where they can experience the return of fireflies and organic life based on land sustainability and biodiversity. "That is a truly organic life!" Mr. Chen Ping-huang said with a smile.
The Official Website of Taoyuan City Kangzhuang Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative

 

▲The "Floating Watermelon" planted on trees makes the tourists feel fresh and curious and becomes a hot topic on the Internet. (Provided by Kangzhuang Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative)

▲The staff of the Cooperative packaged the organic kale carefully for delivery. (Photo by Ling Ying-cheng)

▲The used wasteland has now been developed row by row into greenhouse farms, offering a variety of products. (Provided by Kangzhuang Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative)

▲Mr. Chen Ping-huang, a retired high school teacher who takes a group of EEP partners to create their second career path in a country field classroom. (Photo by Ling Ying-cheng)
 

Case Story: Empowering Employment Program (EEP)
Interviewee: Taoyuan City Kangzhuang Organic Agricultural Production Cooperative

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