Inheritance and application of Sotoyama farming knowledge in Nan’an tribe

The Nan'an village is an indigenous tribe (the Bunun) located on the outskirts of the national park surrounded by forests and rivers. About 50 years ago, the Bunun were forced to migrate from the mountains to the foothills due to the impact of colonization and modernization. Not only the way of Bunun’s farming and lifestyle but also the ethical relationship with nature have changed to a model that meets external market needs. Such changes have made farmers use a lot of pesticides and fertilizers to increase production and income, and caused harm to the environment and wildlife. In addition, farmers' income has become overly dependent upon single crop, which is vulnerable to market movement or climate change.
However, the wisdom of Bunun Satoyama is still practiced by the elderly and kept in the home gardens. We have found more than 20 species of landrace legumes that are not available in the market. The home gardens protect the diversity of crops, the richness of the food culture, and the biodiversity of the area. The SDM project integrat ed different stakeholders and conducted different activities to maintain the SEPLS and pass the knowledge and wisdom down to the young generation.