"Fish Zongzi" made with freshly caught Bonito as the main filling and combines the aroma of Moon Peach Leaves and rice, was first introduced at Taitung Slow Food Festival held at Huashan Creative Park in Taipei at the end of 2021 and was sold out in seconds by curious diners. The driving force behind this flash event is Taitung County Nature and Humanities Association (hereto as the Association), which has been operating Green Island with branding concepts in recent years. 
"This is not just a good taste of food but culture," Ms. Zheng Shu-fen said, Secretary of Taitung County Nature and Humanities Association. Although Taitung is a remote destination and Green Island is even a small offshore Island, those are not doused local people's enthusiasm to "introduce the Green Island from the local's perspective."

From Ecology Guide Tour to 2 Special Brands of Green Island
The Association was established in 2009 and initially operated Ecology Guide Tour. Since 2011, the Association has applied for Multi-Employment Promotion and Empowering Employment Program four times and gradually developed brands with strong Green Island characteristics. In addition, the Association members who love the land further integrated 40 local low-carbon alliances and completed the travel carbon footprint label with 12 of them, obtaining the world's first "Tourism Carbon Footprint Label Certification" to set a benchmark for the travel industry in 2018.
In order to sustain their homes, those members not only focus on Regional Revitalization but also "No established or other's models, no boundaries and scope to any possible future. And run ahead of the policy implementation." Said Ms. Zheng, who has devoted herself to the ecological research of Green Island for nearly 20 years.
She also pointed out that the Ministry of Labor has invested resources over time to keep the Association's innovation. For example, the Association's website design tends to be friendly and new which made people feel differently at first sight. You can find the Association's first brand "Hian-Ban" on the website as well. Hian-Ban is named from the Minnan dialect (Hian-ban) harmony, which means fresh and seasonal ingredients. Hian-ban is the brand that the Association used to guide Green Island local mums to make Fish Zhongzi, Bonito Chili Sauce, Peanut Candy, and other souvenirs for sale during the 2011-2013 Social Multi-Employment Promotion Program.

Start to Know Green Island by Old Minnan "Green Island House"
The second "Green Island House" brand is a 60 years old Minnan-style House which renovated to keep the culture Landscape during the 2014-2016 Economical Multi-Employment Promotion Program. Now the House is a well-knowing starting point for visitors to know Green Island and the deep low-carbon travel. 
In 2016, the Association established its third brand, "Tour Learning Travel Agency," assisted by Mr. Chen Xi-Jian, the mentor of Kaohsiung-Pingtung-Penghu-Taitung Regional Branch of Workforce Development Agency. The Travel Agency promotes various ecological tour packages with the concept "Travel is a kind of learning." Through Multi-Employment Promotion and Empowering Employment Programs, the Association optimized Green Island's culture, economy, and ecology in the following 4 years. "Tourism Carbon Footprint Label Certification" was obtained in this period.
In the same period, East Coast National Scenic Area Administration promoted a low-carbon tourism program. Ms. Zheng recalled obtaining the certification: "We just wanted to understand how the carbon emission reduction figure was calculated after people switched to low-carbon and plastic-reducing behaviors." So she invited the Plastic Industry Technology Development Center to give a class and guide the Association to obtain the Carbon Footprint Label Certification. "After taking the class, we just knew how difficult it was and thought "How can we make it?"

Overcome Tourism Resistance, contribute to Carbon Footprint
Unlike other products, Travel itineraries can't obtain the carbon footprint statistics during the manufacturing process. A trip to Green Island includes tourists, motorcycles, B&BS, restaurants, snorkelers, and even waste weight statistics, involving a wide level. If the co-suppliers can't reach a consensus, the carbon footprint can't be calculated.
The most critical data is the carbon emission of ferries from Taitung to Green Island. In general, the ferry owner has never disclosed business information to the public for commercial confidentiality. With the deep localization and built-up strong trust with the local tourism industries, the Association overcame difficulties one by one.  In 2018, the Association finally passed the verification (ISO 14067) by TÜV Rheinland, a leading international testing company, and obtained four "Tourism Carbon Footprint Label Certifications" approved by the Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan.
This innovative achievement not only obtained international certification but also contributed the data to the Carbon Footprint of a Product (CFP) worldwide! Furthermore, the Association also defines the Product Category Rules (PCR), which lays the foundation and will save workforce and time for future applicants. After Tour Learning Travel Agency obtained the Tourism Carbon Footprint Label Certification, another travel agency obtained it as well.

Save Ecology with Lyudao (Green Island) Primary School
The Association's next step is to apply Green Travel Seal (GTS) to check its sustainability and the creation of green practice operations. Ms. Zheng said with expectations: "If the Association obtains GTS, it will be the first one to obtain the certification in Hualien and Taitung region."
The Association's education process has not slowed down. Ms. Zheng is concerned: "The Association was founded at a time when more than 360,000 visitors flocked to Green Island each year. We believe that education is the way to save the fragile ecology." So the Association partnered with Lyudao (Green Island) Primary School to promote Agri-Food Education through experiencing activities, such as teaching children to grow peanuts, make tofu, and dry fish. By which introducing the early ancestors' lifestyle to the children indirectly.
Mr. Zhao Guang-hua, the Principal of Lyudao (Green Island) Primary School, said: "In the past six years, we have worked with the Association to deepen the local heritage of Green Island." Many children have been transformed after the Association's Marine Resource Conservation Course. For example, we took children who were not good at land sports to the sea and allowed them to find confidence underwater. The course also lets children understand the natural environment is not something they can take for granted but is preserved through many people's efforts. The further influence is, we hope our next generation to make wider decisions when they become the Green Island's owners. Since its inception, the course has trained 22 teachers and students from Lyudao Primary School, and 16 students from Kids' Bookhouse to obtain international diving licenses and they will contribute to marine conservation works in the future.
Mr. Zhao further pointed the Association also assisted Lyudao Primary School's teacher training and even continued to establish a cooperative partnership with the staff who had transferred to the general workplace, which is a special extension. 

"Keep talents in their hometown" is the Successful Key to Green Island
Grown up in Taitung and later moving to Green Island as a new resident, Ms. Zheng expressed:" We want to keep talents in their hometown. When the training is over, most trainees are working in the recreation-related industries on Green Island, 2/3 of them even start their own business!"  Those good results had become the mission that keep Ms. Zheng promoting the Association's affairs.
In her opinion, the Ministry of Labor has been an accelerator in the past 10 years to enhance the workforce of Green Island. Take the initial Social Multi-Employment Promotion Program as an example, the Association regards the maintenance of ecological resources and cultural heritage as the primary goal and trains the staff in skills such as tour guiding, diving expertise, environmental education, and other related skills. It also assisted them to obtain international certification and national examinations, including 22 international diving certificates, 1 outdoor first certificate, 1 junior ambulance technician certificate, 10 tour guides, 3 environmental educators, and 1 class C of Chinese Cuisine Cookery-meat diet. Starting in 2015, the Association has guided the staff into the regular employment market according to their professional abilities.
After 10 years of hard work, the environmental conservation of Green Island has become a successful model through the efforts of a group of dedicated local people. In the future, the Association will expand its experience to make Taiwan a happy nation with sustainable oceans.
Taitung County Nature and Humanities Association (Tour Learning) Facebook Page
 

▲Business Model

▲"Tour Learning" travel agency promotes various ecological tour packages with the concept "Travel is a kind of learning"

▲The traditional fishing method of Green island "Bonito Fishing", allows people to catch a group of Bonitos with just one fishing rod.

Case Story: Multi-Employment Promotion Program
Interviewee: Taitung County Nature and Humanities Association (Tour Learning)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 
Please attribute this article to“Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labor”