THE TRIBE AS THE CLASSROOM: EXPLORING THE INHERENT VALUE OF THE HEART’S ASPIRATIONS
2024/08/05
Sustainable Operation of the BulauBulau
Not wanting the land left by their ancestors to be forgotten, seven elders of the Atayal tribe decided to establish the BulauBulau to invite their people to make a return to farming. This marked the beginning of an exploration of values from culture inheritance to sustainable development, sparking entirely new possibilities.
Agriculture serves as the foundational essence of the BulauBulau. Through it, every member and student must learn the relationship between people and the land. (Image provided by the BulauBulau)
When Kwali, CEO of the BulauBulau in Datong Township, Yilan County, took on the heavy responsibilities of the
position in 2005, the BulauBulau was simply engaged in self-sufficient agriculture and craft production.
Then, they eventually opened a restaurant and weaving workshop to welcome tourists. Nine years ago, they established The Root Vocational School to guide younger generations to discover their potential.
"I will continue to work in the tribe mainly because I see the value of both the land and people here."
Fostering Intergenerational Cohesion to Achieve Individual and Shared Visions
Born and raised in Taipei, Kwali originally returned to his mother's hometown along with his parents just to see if there was anything he could contribute. He ended up staying for 20 years. “My role is more like that of a lubricant, helping to build bridges for communication across all levels," he said. Using dialogue to build consensus, identify and solve problems, and create value together, the BulauBulau perfectly embodies the essence of "going further together."
Just as children returning to the tribe are required to learn farming to connect with the emotions of the land, the vegetables, mushrooms, or millet harvested must be tasted by someone to continue the meaning of production. Therefore, they decided to build a gathering place in the center of the tribe, where dining experiences for a maximum of 30 guests every day for 5 days a week are provided. "Handicrafts are still being preserved by the elders of the tribe. We hope to pass on our weaving skills, so that they aren’t forgotten. So, we established a weaving workshop and created the 'BulauGoodgoods' clothing brand.
"The BulauBulau is not about drawing up a blueprint and then implementing it, but about studying countermeasures and solutions to problems encountered at each stage." Kwali mentions that the tribe now has over forty members. "We feel that even with more people, something still isn’t working. We can't do everything from 0 to 1 ourselves. In recent years, we have started to promote 'Bulau Shared Good' to expand collaboration
with others." For example, they have been working with several indigenous tribes in Taitung, Taichung, and Chiayi to assist in the restoration and purchasing of millet, as well as collaborating with bean merchants in Taichung to launch specialty coffee beans fermented with millet koji.
Establishing The Root Vocational School for the Discovery of Different Paths in Life
Observing various patterns of behavior, Kwali saw that younger generations were more willing to stay, but also found that most of them had only graduated from junior high school or dropped out of school entirely. "I am not a child educated by Taiwan's formal school system,," he said. At the age of 14, he went to study in Australia,
and returned to Taiwan only after graduating from university. He has always been grateful for his parents' unconditional support. Then, encouraged by Stanley Yen, chairman of The Alliance Cultural Foundation, he went to the Brigham Young University in Hawaii for short-term study in 2015. After returning to Taiwan and coinciding with the promulgation of the Three-Type Acts of Experimental Education in Taiwan, he established The Root Vocational School by integrating resources from the tribe, the private sector, and the government.
The non-school form of experimental education curriculum focuses on the development of potential and cultivation of skills. The BulauBulau hires professionals from various fields as teachers to provide specialized guidance according to individual needs.
After graduation from The Root Vocational School, students can either stay in the BulauBulau to contribute what they have learned or venture out to chase their dreams. Over the past eight years, Kwali has accompanied about 30 students, including local indigenous children and those from Taichung, Taoyuan, and NewTaipei City. Young people becoming leaders of other groups of young people - this has always been the
core value of the BulauBulau.With the school, the BulauBulaufurther connects vitality and survival with lifestyle, ecology, andproduction, forming a dynamic balance among the "Five Lives."