Yilan Handmade Tour: Enjoy Farming Organic Fun

Text & Photography / MOOK Travel Life Chen Guanxin

 

Arriving at the end of the Hsuehshan Tunnel, the warm sunlight of the Lanyang Plain spreads across the sky, kicking off the relaxing holiday that many have been looking forward to. Visiting Yilan, besides the iconic Children’s Folk Games Festival, the classic charm of the Traditional Arts Center, and the incredibly fresh seafood in places like Nanfang’ao, where the seafood seems ready to jump out of the tanks, there are also numerous leisure organic farms located along small paths in the mountains, fields, and trails. These farms focus on DIY activities featuring their own unique characteristics, just waiting for visitors to explore. At these farms, not only can you eat and play, but you can also learn through hands-on activities that organic living can be both simple and fun.

When it comes to organic, the general perception usually includes no pesticide use, organic fertilizers, and is distinct from so-called “conventional farming methods,” which traditionally involve pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. However, to truly qualify as “organic,” it’s not just about controlling pesticides and fertilizers—soil, water quality, and seedlings are also part of the inspection criteria. Just in terms of soil, crop fields must undergo a 2–3 year fallow period before obtaining organic certification, allowing any residual toxic substances in the soil to naturally dissipate. This helps explain why simply finding a piece of land and spreading some organic fertilizer doesn’t make a product organic.

 

Summer Love of Wild Ginger—Huaquan Organic Leisure Farm

Huaquan Organic Leisure Farm is located along a rural path in Yuanshan Township, with an open space offering a full view of the surrounding greenery. The owner, Lee Li-chiu, is busy preparing materials for the DIY wild ginger zongzi, while the farm owner, Yang Liuke, passionately explains the ecology within the park, as if introducing his proud child, with a gleam in his eyes.

Huaquan Farm is adjacent to the ancient riverbed of the Lanyang River, where underground spring water continuously flows, giving rise to lush green clusters of wild ginger flowers. The blooming season for wild ginger flowers is every year from July to October. Wild ginger flowers are highly versatile—not only can the blossoms be used for tea, but the tubers, depending on their maturity, can be cooked in chicken soup, used in cooking as zongzi filling, ground into spice powder, and even the leaves can be used as zongzi wrappers, creating uniquely flavored wild ginger dishes.

 

The farm owner, who grew up in the countryside, recalls the days of catching loaches with childhood friends, and then looks at the urban children’s living environment—this inspired the idea of a toxin-free environment, eventually leading to today’s organic wild ginger cultivation. Although friends around him believe that wild ginger flowers, which have low economic value, aren’t worth being developed as an organic product, the owner remains committed, hoping to let more people enjoy healthy, toxin-free wild ginger dishes. For instance, when it comes to fertilizer, the owner believes that when the plants fall and decompose in place, they become the best natural fertilizer, eliminating concerns about pesticide and soil contamination—no wonder the owner’s wife proudly says, “We are currently the only certified organic wild ginger farm in the country!”

Below the wild ginger zongzi experience area, amidst a lush green landscape, a swing suspended about 30 centimeters above the cool, refreshing pool instantly captures everyone’s attention. The spring water gushes from underground, maintaining a constant temperature of 20 degrees Celsius all year round—cool in summer and warm in winter. On a hot summer afternoon, swinging on the swing while enjoying the breeze, with cool spring water beneath your feet taking away the discomfort of the heat, plus a glass of the farm’s special chilled honey vinegar drink, is simply delightful.