Green Sprouts reached 100 issues through unpaid writers, reader donations and free print copies, while founder Ah Wei aimed to help farmers reclaim dignity and document sustainable food practices in Taiwan.
I. The Seed Bottleneck In Guzhai Yao Township, Mashan County, north of Nanning, farmers’ incomes had soared thanks to growing chayote seedlings, but since last year, they have been plunged into a crisis: they have no seeds to plant. Guangxi experienced several bouts of extreme rainfall in 2024. In Mashan…
In the 2025 Lunar New Year film *Nezha: The Demon Boy’s Havoc*, the leopard spirit Shen Xiaobao won the hearts of many with his witty and adorable personality. However, his severe injuries and uncertain fate in the film bring to mind the real-world plight of the endangered North China Leopard…
Foodthink’s Perspective Termite mushrooms, known locally in Shaoguan, Guangdong as “Summer Solstice mushrooms”, have become a culinary trend in recent years, sparking a picking frenzy across Northern Guangdong. CaiCai and Dayan from the “Springflut” studio ventured into the Yao community and inadvertently found themselves amidst a vast army of mushroom…
I. Returning to 2011 The reserve’s shuttle stopped by the side of a narrow concrete road, flanked by karst limestone mountains that seemed strangely familiar. We passed through a sugarcane grove; in fact, countless bare stone peaks in the area are surrounded by sugarcane. Unlike the black-purple skin of fruit…
Foodthink Says This year is expected to be the hottest on record. However, at the recently concluded 29th UN Climate Change Conference, nations continued to clash over funding issues, leaving negotiations repeatedly deadlocked. The climate funding gap for agriculture is particularly vast. When we talk about agriculture adapting to climate…
Foodthink Insights What kind of agricultural training do farmers actually need? Lao Liu (Huang Guoliang), who has spent nearly 20 years working in rural communities across China, has some thoughts on the matter. In his view, to understand agricultural training, one must first address the question of what kind of…
Sichuan Pepper Trees Climbing Higher Back in 2004, while conducting field research in a village in Mao County, Sichuan, a local told me: “The pepper trees are climbing the mountain.” He meant that while pepper trees once thrived best in the river valleys, that was no longer the case; they…
Sao Qie, a Jino guide in Xishuangbanna, leads a group through Jino Mountain to catch fish, eat wrapped dishes and share a Jino song, while ecotourism reshapes village life.
I. An Unexpected Village Party Secretary “Ecological farming?” Fan Hanquan, who had his back to us, suddenly turned around. “I want to try it.” I was slightly surprised. It was 23 February 2022. I remember it so clearly because since I entered E-Ren Valley in 2021, he has been the…