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202410/09
To promote the use of high-quality domestic timber and preserve the indigenous culture of Nantou, the Nantou Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA), the Experimental Forest of the College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture at National Taiwan University (NTU Experimental Forest), and Jiou-Mei Elementary School collaborated to establish the Jiou-Mei Reading Millet Barn, utilizing verified high-quality domestic timber as the material. The official launch ceremony was held on the morning of October 9 at Jiou-Mei Elementary School in Xinyi Township, Nantou County. Going forward, the venue will not only serve as an essential space for tribal students to gain knowledge and pass down indigenous culture but also stand as Taiwan’s first demonstration school library fully refurbished with domestic timber.
Jiou-Mei Elementary School follows the Mahavun educational approach, using the traditional Bunun wooden calendar as its timeline to document various knowledge and customs related to millet cultivation. The school’s library is named the “Millet Barn” to symbolize how bountiful millet harvests have provided the Bunun people with an endless trove of wisdom on how humanity and nature can coexist in harmony. The goal is for students to immerse themselves in the world of reading, fostering lifelong learning.
The launch ceremony commenced with a Bunun play titled “Storing Millet,” performed by lower-grade students of Jiou-Mei Elementary School. The children carried sun-dried millet to the barn on their backs and invited the attending guests to join them in storing the harvest. The millet stacked in the barn symbolizes not only abundance and prosperity but also the responsibility of those blessed with a bountiful harvest to care for the less fortunate and vulnerable members of the tribe. The FANCA Nantou Branch and the NTU Experimental Forest also donated books on forestry knowledge, hoping to inspire the students to become guardians of the forests, acquire new knowledge, and cultivate more comprehensive and inclusive thinking, fostering self-acceptance and a spirit of shared prosperity.Besides today’s launch of the Reading Millet Barn, in 2022, the FANCA and NTU Experimental Forest invited Tsou elders, alongside youths from the Jiumei and Shanmei tribes, to build a traditional Tsou structure called hʉfʉ, using domestic Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and bamboo, outside Jiou-Mei Elementary School. The completion of the hʉfʉ, a traditional building lost for over 70 years, has provided the local tribespeople with a space for family, clan, school, and community gatherings, as well as a place for emotional connection and exchanges. Over the past two years, it has become a crucial venue for the tribes and school to preserve and pass down Tsou traditional culture.
Director Lee Cheng-Hsien of the FANCA Nantou Branch remarked that most domestic timber is used for construction and interior decoration. To encourage the public to choose domestically sourced, legal, and verified timber for interior renovations, as well as to implement policies on the shared use of forest resources with indigenous communities and the preservation of indigenous culture, the FANCA Nantou Branch, NTU Experimental Forest, and Jiou-Mei Elementary School have been collaborating since 2023 to refurbish the school library using verified domestic Formosan China-fir (Cunninghamia konishii). The design plans were created by the school teachers with a student-centered approach, while the renovations were carried out by the FANCA Nantou Branch and the NTU Experimental Forest. The library has become a space for the tribal children to acquire knowledge, preserve their culture, and engage in exchanges, serving as Taiwan’s first reading-focused demonstration site built using domestic timber. The venue functions as the perfect embodiment of “reading,” “forests,” “sustainability,” and “co-prosperity.”
The Nantou County Government expressed deep admiration for the FANCA Nantou Branch and the NTU Experimental Forest for their long-term collaboration with Jiou-Mei Elementary School on indigenous experimental education courses, awarding them a certificate of appreciation in recognition of their efforts. Principal Tien Chun-Mei of Jiou-Mei Elementary School noted that the school shares a common vision with the FANCA Nantou Branch and the NTU Experimental Forest in striving for Taiwan’s sustainability. This partnership has led to many heartwarming collaborative efforts, with students and clan leaders expressing their gratitude through short poems for the longstanding support of the FANCA Nantou Branch and the NTU Experimental Forest.