1. Hackers who look for microbes:
Yi-tze Lee
2014 ＴＷＳＴＳ ,
ＮＣＴＵ
Transplanting agronomy,
farmers’ networking,
and self-help organic movement
in Taiwan
2. Movement of Open-Source Activities on the LandMovement of Open-Source Activities on the Land
This paper aims to delineate the dynamics of transplanting
agronomies through NGOs of Taiwan, and the self-help process of
forming network among the newly settled farmers from urban area.
Based on the idea promoted by the group leaders of such
networking: “microbes hunting is a process of hacking,” farmers
searching for alternative agronomies in the networking consider that
self-help agronomy a “movement of open-source activities on the
land.”
Farmers’ networking based on this movement becomes an exciting
front in the array of organic farming. The discussion from this
microbe-hunting group sheds light on the way of transplanting
technology, a new networking of knowledge sharing, and the
meaning of hacker in the practice of agriculture and environmental
awareness.
4. Farmers with hacker spiritFarmers with hacker spirit
Chien-Jia, Hsin-Chu: A suburban
community with relocated
indigenous workers and engineer
working on agrarian experiments.
Talampo, Hualien: indigenous
farmers planting daylily on their
territory claimed by the
government as state property
5. Agriculture in TaiwanAgriculture in Taiwan
In 2002, Taiwan ranked the 2nd
largest amount in petrochemicals
consumption per hectare in
agricultural sector of the world
(The first position was Costa
Rica).
Up to the joining of WTO in 2001,
the agricultural practice in Taiwan
has been much afflicted by the fact
of imported goods and
problematic chemical application
for production efficacy. Systematic
agricultural knowledge is mostly
hold by governmental agricultural
extension.
Organic farming was introduced
to Taiwan in the early 1980s. The
first few professionals were
inspired by reflective communal
view of Japanese “teikei” （提
攜） agronomy.
Since 2005, interaction with
environmental NGOs also results
in gradual awareness of
agricultural practice should be
combined with environmental self-
sustainability. Most important
group is the KKF (Khao-Kwan
Foundation) from Thailand.
7. Microbe hunting in urban CSAMicrobe hunting in urban CSA
Chien-Jia, led by an engineer
who takes farming a new
hacking and education process.
Contact and networking with
Thai agricultural NGO, KKF.
KKF was funded in 1984, for the
sake of reacting to the overuse of
petrochemicals, and promote
farmers’ self-sustainability.
Microbe hunting and fertilizer
culture is the most important
part of the agronomy.
8. Chien-Jia: The matrix of hackingChien-Jia: The matrix of hacking
xn
+yn
=zn
“Fermat’s Principle for
the land.”
“Sharing” is the meaning of
open-source. Therefore the spirit
of community-supported
agriculture.
Bring the relocated/unemployed
urban indigenous people to the
activities they are familiar with.
Getting the agronomic matrix
out of seed-recognition and
microbe fermentation.
9. KKF activities in TaiwanKKF activities in Taiwan
KKF was first introduced to
Taiwan by the connection of
Buddhist and environmental
activists.
Since 2007, KKF leader Daycha
constantly visit Taiwan and
exchange his experiences of
making fluid fertilizers, selecting
seeds, and identifying fungi with
local farmers.
KKF in Taiwan has become a hub
for conventional and new farmers.
However NGOs mostly connect to
Han farmers, leaving indigenous
farmer finding their own help.
11. Talampo: Self-help agronomy andTalampo: Self-help agronomy and
affective organic transitionaffective organic transition
Talampo: the smallest
indigenous Amis community in
Taiwan, planting daylily as cash
crop from post war.
Dropping price of cash crop and
dream in the organic valley.
Two engaged and affective
community leaders as “hacker”
in their fields.
Help from amateur agronomist
and self-help microbe hunting.
12. Talampo: Indigenous knowledgeTalampo: Indigenous knowledge
making new sharing networkmaking new sharing network
Standardization of organic
practice, as “bible study”
Self-made bio-formula, for wood
vinegar, honey and ash mixed
fertilizers, and microbes for
mushroom cultures in the
daylily farm and low altitude
forest.
Land title to be reclaimed by the
recognition of land usage of the
elders.
Docile organic farmers vs.
certification agents
13. Unintended Shadow grown andUnintended Shadow grown and
hacking via empowering tourismhacking via empowering tourism
Land title and organic farming
bundle debunked via
empowering tourism
Visitors learn and blogging
about the issue of land title
dispute between indigenous
community and the government.
Unintended shadow grown
daylily as symbol of
environmentality
14. Reciprocity, Assemblage andReciprocity, Assemblage and
Biocapital for hacking networkBiocapital for hacking network
Three aspects in the two cases:
Reciprocal relationship within governmental and
NGO networking
Technical assemblages from the transnational to the
local, where new networking starts
Ecological knowledge as basis of biocapital and
affect, connecting innovation and property.
15. KKF’s popularity among new farmersKKF’s popularity among new farmers
Comparing to other “alternative” agronomies,
KKF’s fertilizer and microbe culture is more visible
among the lab-like environment.
Taiwan’s farmers are familiar with the leader-
initiated and self-modifying model of knowledge
transplantation.
Networks of farmers are entangled with folk religion
as well as community revitalization activities.
Microbe is a boundary object for negotiating
(intellectual) property.
16. Affect and Biocapital:Affect and Biocapital:
The Embodiment of Hacker’s LaborThe Embodiment of Hacker’s Labor
“Projected alienation in social reproduction” as the making of new
agricultural movement
Affect is attached to the deployment and consumption of technological
initiatives, and biological properties, including the use of body affordance
and senses. Agrarian hackers not only impose their affective evaluations
and propositions in the process of farming; they also transform the
hierarchy and procedure of land-based knowledge.
Biocapital, in this regard, is the projected property farmers have managed in
their perception of landscape and appropriation of new skills.
At the same time, embodied experiences as well as knowledge on local
species, both of crops and microbes in the agricultural environment,
constitute a material base for affective appreciation over the landscape as a
whole. This is a process of projecting alienation from one’s own physical
activities onto the realm of environmental and agricultural knowledge.
