Single parents grow veg at Joy Farm

Hidden amongst the picturesque country lanes of Hualien’s Ji'an Township, hardworking farmers can be seen weeding and harvesting by hand, the produce of which is sent to Taipei for sale. The brainchild of Chu Yan-hua (徐妍花), Zhao Zi-lun (趙子崙) and a number of other single parents, Joy Farm (花田喜事) grows love-filled organic produce that has found a niche in Taiwan’s flourishing organic market. 

Zhao Zi-lun said that he and Chu Yan-hua spent a great deal of time pondering over how to make full use of Hualien’s natural resources and the area’s abundance of fallow land. After finally settling on organic farming, they successfully managed to secure funding from the Ministry of Labour’s Multi-Employment Promotion Program, allowing single parents to make a living through eco-friendly agriculture. Although they are not husband and wife, the deep understanding between Zhao Zi-lun and Chu Yan-hua has helped Joy Farm go from strength to strength.

Single parents grow veg at Joy Farm

URL：https://www.peopo.org/news/304317

(以下是中文對照)

花田喜事 單親爸媽把蔬果「嫁」出去

照片

在好山好水的花蓮吉安鄉，走進鄉間小路，可以看到農人在農田中辛勤的除草、手工採收農作物，再千里迢迢從花蓮載到台北販賣。這裡是「花田喜事」，也是花媽徐妍花、花田阿伯趙子崙及單親爸爸媽媽共同建築的有機耕種天堂，用對這些蔬菜滿滿的愛，在台灣日益蓬勃的有機市場闖出一片天。

趙子崙表示當時創業之初發現花蓮的休耕地多，和徐妍花思考了很久，如何讓花蓮的好山好水好土地獲得充分運用。最後，他們採用有機農業耕作的方式，成功爭取到當時勞委會的多元就業方案，與單親爸爸及媽媽們一起，以友善對待、耕作土地的方式，養活自己。兩人雖然不是夫妻，卻有比夫妻更有默契，合作帶領花田喜事一步一步地向前走。