Respect for life and the land: The delectable taste of homegrown Taiwanese chocolate

According to county government statistics, Pingtung has over 300 hectares of cocoa plantations. With high temperatures and afternoon thunderstorms, the climate of Pingtung is perfect for cocoa cultivation.

Lai Xixian (賴錫賢) was the first cocoa farmer in Pingtung, but his path to success has been anything but smooth. Heavy losses from natural disasters put Lai under tremendous stress that eventually led to long-term insomnia. But his struggles and the decline of his father's industry stirred something inside, motivating Lai to throw himself into transforming the family’s agricultural model and setting in motion his cocoa dream.

It took seven tough years protecting the ecology of his cocoa plantations before Lai caught sight of a golden orb-weaver spider, a key indicator of ecological balance. Lai Xixian hopes that through cocoa, he can introduce Pingtung to Taiwan, and Taiwan to the world.

以下為中文對照

屏東縣政府統計，屏東已有超過300公頃的可可農地，而屏東屬於高溫且有午後雷陣雨，是相當適合可可種植的氣候。

賴錫賢是全台種下第一批可可樹的可可農，但過程中卻不平順。遇上天災虧損，造成巨大壓力導致長期失眠，加上父親的產業日漸衰退，觸動了賴錫賢全心投入農業進行轉型，也正式開啟了可可夢。

為了保護可可園生態，賴錫賢咬牙忍痛了七年，人面蜘蛛食蟲的景象便是生態平衡的指標之一。賴錫賢期盼透過可可讓台灣看見屏東，更讓世界看見台灣。

照片