TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Toucheng Leisure Farm recently announced a newly developed packaged tour designed to showcase its environment, social, and governance (ESG) business model while promoting sustainable tourism both domestically and internationally.
The farm, located in the north of Yilan County, boasts an area of 120 hectares encompassing visitor activity areas, vegetable patches, orchards, animal pens, a forest, as well as a winery. Established in 1979, it has received many farming, tourism, and sustainability certifications, including one from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) in 2019.
The development of Toucheng Leisure Farm balances several factors ranging from organic farming, circular economy, wildlife conservation, economic development, cultural promotion, to environmental education. By combining agriculture and tourism to offer value-added packaged tour products, the farm generates income to support its operation and provide work opportunities while teaching its visitors about nature and sustainable living.
The farm also works with both local and overseas schools, communities, and organizations to hold summer camps, workshops, and other educational programs and events. In addition to environmental education, it also hopes to cultivate talent that can contribute to the local community, which faces challenges posed by an aging population.
An immersive natural experience
Sitting at the foot of a mountain with a stream running through it, Toucheng Leisure Farm both benefits from and takes advantage of its geography. An accessible riverside path allows visitors to take in the scenery and observe the abundant wildlife on the farm, while other paths extending up the hill take visitors to vegetable patches, rice paddies, animal pens, and other areas for activities.
The farm sets up cameras to observe wildlife activity in the area. (Taiwan News, Stephanie Chiang photo)
A "Bug Hotel" on the farm is set up to attract and encourage the reproduction of insects beneficial to vegetable growth. (Taiwan News, Stephanie Chiang photo)
The natural water resources and organically grown food on the farm attract insects and wild animals to frequent and live in the environment. Butterflies dance above vegetables; hungry wild boars dig holes in the garden; monkeys feast on fruits in the orchard; fireflies light up the forest at night; muntjacs chew on sweet corn growing in the field.
Toucheng Leisure Farm’s two-day ESG Discovery Tour, which the farm co-developed with the Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area Headquarters and the Taiwan Ecotourism Association, maximizes the benefits of its environment. A riverside “zen” workshop, for example, not only takes visitors through a process of spiritual healing with guided relaxation but also allows them to further immerse themselves in nature by creating floral mandalas and stacking stones.
Visitors build floral mandalas and stone stacks by the Gengfang River. (Taiwan News, Stephanie Chiang photo)
In the evening, visitors go on a nighttime wildlife observation trip, finding and learning about nocturnal critters. During the late-spring and summer months, the blinking lights of fireflies decorate their path as they move about the farm.
Drawing inspiration from the wildlife, Toucheng Leisure farm included its award-winning “Forest Table” program in the tour. Created by the farm’s Eco Chef David Wu (吳小龍), a Swiss-Taiwanese, the program integrates the concept of animals’ feeding habits with gastronomy. The four parts of the program include: “bird table,” “wild boar table,” “bee table,” and “human table.”
The “bird table” highlights birds’ love for berries and nuts, which are used to make bite-sized snacks. The snacks are served on “tables” hanging from trees, so visitors become birds playfully enjoying their food while flitting among trees.
The "bird table" is inspired by birds' feeding habits. (Taiwan News, Stephanie Chiang photo)
The “wild boar table” is placed on the ground and covered in a deep layer of soil-like powder made of cocoa or brown sugar. Buried beneath the powder are ball-shaped snacks made of root vegetables that wild boars love, and visitors must dig them up like wild boars digging up food from the ground.
The “bee table” consists of cold glutinous rice cakes that are complemented by honey or floral syrup. The dessert is served in flower-shaped containers. Visitors picking up the cakes are thus like bees collecting nectar.
Meanwhile, for the “human table,” visitors pick fresh vegetables from patches to make their own “magic soup of love.” This conclusion of the program reminds humans to cherish natural resources and to take care of wild animals living in the forest.
The "wild boar table" requires visitors to dig out their own snack. (Toucheng Leisure Farm photo)
The "bee table" presents desserts in flower-shaped containers. (Taiwan News, Stephanie Chiang photo)
Wu’s creativity and dedication to eco-cuisine does not stop with the Forest Table. At the farm, he is the head chef of the Green Kitchen, which serves fine, low-carbon meals made with organic produce.
The Green Kitchen is also where the farm’s half-day cooking workshop is held. Led by Wu, visitors of all ages gather their own ingredients from the vegetable patch and chicken coop before heading to the kitchen, where they learn to cook dishes from a specially designed menu and enjoy the meal together.
The Green Kitchen at Toucheng Leisure Farm, run by Swiss-Taiwanese Chef David Wu, provides a fine dining experience using freshly gathered, organic ingredients. (Taiwan News, Stephanie Chiang photo))
The second day of the tour begins with a hike up the Gengfang Historic Trail, which takes visitors to a lookout with a vista of the mountains, sea, and Guishan Island in the distance. There, visitors are given tree saplings that are selected specifically to fit the habitat, such as green maple and formosa acacia, and join the efforts to rehabilitate the forest by planting them.
Since 2021, Toucheng Leisure Farm has dedicated 50 hectares of its land for forest rehabilitation. Every year, after forest thinning, a process whereby tree and plant growth in the forest is boosted by removing overgrown plants or those that obstruct the development of biodiversity, the farm plants 2,000 saplings.
The program, operated under the supervision of the Forestry Bureau, also contributes to economic development, as the tree species planted are also intended to be later cut down as lumber. By creating, maintaining, and renewing artificial forests, local ecologies can be protected while the need for importing lumber can be reduced, making it possible for relevant industries to adopt more sustainable supply chains.
A visitor plants a tree sapling along the Gengfang Historic Trail. (Toucheng Leisure Farm photo)
At the Gengfang Fishing Harbor, visitors get to see another industry with sustainable methods at work. In designing the ESG Discovery Tour, Toucheng Leisure Farm worked with the Fishing Village Kitchen’s owner, Lin Shu-chen (林淑貞), with the goal of sharing business opportunities tourists bring to the farm with the local community.
During the tour of the harbor, Lin’s introduction not only goes in depth about its facilities and the different types of vessels docked there, as someone whose household owns several fishing boats. Lin also gives detailed overviews of different sustainable fishing methods.
Fixed-net fishing, a passive fishing method, lures migratory fish into nets while giving them chances to escape. Meanwhile, pole and line fishing catches fish one at a time. Both methods are practiced by fishermen based at the Gengfang Fishing Harbor. The low density of the fish caught and delivered by fishing boats ensures the freshness of the fish as it prevents them from being crushed against each other.
Locals compete to buy the freshest fishes at the Gengfang Fishing Harbor. (Taiwan News, Stephanie Chiang photo)
Visitors who are lucky enough to be at the harbor when fishing boats return from the sea have the opportunity to observe the unique scene of people competing to buy fish. Having just been caught, the fish are undeniably fresh.
Minutes before boats arrive at the harbor, locals and fish vendors stand at the dock with baskets in their hand, waiting to see what types of fish the fishermen have caught. Once the boat docks, fishermen dump cases of fish onto the ground, and buyers rush up front to grab the fish that catch their eye before bringing their baskets to the cashier.
In a few minutes, the crowd disperses, and Lin takes the group to the Fishing Village Kitchen for a seafood cooking lesson using the fresh fish caught by her husband. Visitors end their trip by sitting down and enjoying the fruits of their labor, which are complemented by additional fish dishes provided by Lin.
Toucheng Leisure Farm’s two-day ESG Discovery Tour is now available for booking through the farm, EnvEd Centre for Innovative Learning, Ecotour Taiwan Travel Service, and Prkbus Taiwan.