Taiwan is actually a very green island- there is a reason why it is also known as “Illuha Formosa“-“Beautiful Island” although it may have been more true for the time when the Portuguese first discovered Taiwan… Now the east part of the nation is probably the area that fits the image of this term, for in the more populated west of the island where most people live in a rather crowded way in cities together, the feeling of a green paradise is somehow missing. This is also mainly caused by the high pollution through excessive traffic and industrial production while there is at the same time a great regression of green and non polluted country areas. This development has begun and increased since the Industrial Revolution had also taken place in Taiwan and the agriculture and its goods lost more and more their importance face to high technological production. In this way it was possible that Taiwan, a climatic benefited and fertile country, now is thanks to the reduction of the use of the land for farming not anymore able to produce the main part of its population’s nutrition independently. Instead the majority of its aliments need to be imported- a problem that Germany also knows but that doesn’t affect it in the same dimension because of its wealth doesn’t affect it in the same dimension. Now the former farming land is mainly used for the secondary sector’s purposes and in consequence often polluted through the byproducts of the petrochemical and heavy industries. All this seems to confirm the impression I also got when I first entered the city of Tainan- actually I couldn’t detect much green and the air seemed really a bit heavy with exhaust gases… But that is just one side of the story- the dark one- anyway, there is also a bright shimmer of green hope glowing on the horizon. Since I work as a volunteer here in the community university I also had the chance to attend some of their environmental classes- just the existence of those classes prove that there is at least an awakening of interest in environmental protection. This kind of method to increase the consciousness for the preservation of nature may seem a bit odd to us, but I think most German could also use a few lessons in environmental caretaking. One of the courses I visited treats the origin and the background of the food here in Taiwan as well as their way to the final consumer- the Taiwanese people. The goal of the course is not only to sensitize people towards the issue of the origin and therefore the quality of their food, but also to teach knowledge about local plants and vegetables that was once a common good. In this way the participants shall be encouraged to do their own gardening and do at the same time something good for their physical well-being through the outdoor exercise as well as through the untreated and more salubrious vegetables they can harvest. Furthermore this course is an opportunity to make the people more conscious of the high amount of toxic herbi- and pesticides that commercial agricultural products are treated with and prompt them to support local and especially organic farmers in Taiwan. Finally the students of the course should learn to appreciate their food more and avoid wasting it, so that the value of food in general and especially agricultural products grown in harmony with the environment is increased in the society. For that purpose the program of the course plans for example to visit a traditional market and after that also a supermarket so that the students are able to compare and notice the difference of the places and the quality of the products sold there. In addition to that the outdoor experience can’t of course be missing in that course, and so there are also visits to parks or other places included. The teacher himself was once a farmer and belongs to a traditional farmer’s family, so he knows his subject through first hand experience and can share his background, regarding how his consciousness and care for the nature and the organic treatment of plants and land awakened, and how important this is for the well-being of the humans. Besides that course there is also another ecological class I want to mention：This one treats the subject of energy, its origin and mainly its the sensible and saving usage in the household. One part of the lessons certainly is to give practical tips for the environmentally friendly and the general handling of electricity and electronic devices in your home. This also includes the safety, and the explaining of the way the current takes and how electricity works in general. This could also be interesting for a lot of people in Germany, if you think of the numerous household accidents that happen every year, and surely there is often electricity involved…. But besides this daily life related information, the teacher, who is a professional seller of solar cells, also teaches about the renewable energy sources and their development in Taiwan- for example the tidal power which the government wants to profit from and therefore is trying to find a way of using it. Of course he also can teach a lot about solar energy and its practical usage in the house- on the top of your roof for example you can install the boiler for your hot water. One has perhaps to consider that solar energy is especially fit for countries like Taiwan, where the sun is more intense and shines more hours a day than in other countries. We know that the efficiency of solar energy in Germany is often-and perhaps sometimes rightly- doubted, but there are plenty of other sources for sustainable energy! For example wind power, which was also mentioned by the teacher of this energy-saving class. In Germany this is in the north part of the country rather well developed and common, but also always a reason for controversial discussions, concerning the noise and its influence on the environment and its inhabitants as well as the aesthetic appearance of the windmills… What is also worth mentioning is that the meeting point of these classes are upstairs of shops of a special kind：Those are run by a cooperative called “The Housewives’ Cooperative”which was founded ten years ago. The name may struck you as odd at first, but its origin is easy to explain, for it was a Taiwanese housewife, who came back from a longer stay in the United States , where her husband worked, who founded this cooperation out of care for her child that came back with her to Taiwan. At that time the environmental pollution caused by industrial production was at its teak and a countermovement to improve this serious situation began to form.

The cooperative’s shops sell products from local farmers of Taiwan who mostly try to grow their plants in an ecologically friendly and organic way, and who are also fairly paid by the association. So these shops stand in a tradition with the typical German whole/organic-food shops or “Reformhäuser“, as well as the fair trade shops known as “World –Shops”. One of the differences to the ones in Germany is, that you are more obligated to shop there rather frequently if you want to be a customer. That is because you have to be a member of the Housewives’ Cooperative to be allowed to buy something in their stores and therefore have to pay a small annual fee, but that you can get partly or wholly paid back, depending on the amount you buy in this year. Another characteristic that distinguishes the movements in the two countries is, that in Germany it already has a longer history and is better and in a wider spread way established in the society, but that can change for Taiwan! For you have to say that at the moment the members of the Housewives’ Cooperative are still rather all-well, housewives! If the idea of organic food and sustainable and environmentally caring farming is more present in the peoples’ minds the Green Movement can grow stronger in this beautiful and actually already very green（at least in some parts）island^^! Perhaps if those principles are easier to access for the general public and more frequently meet in daily life, this can happen very fast! In Germany the movement also started with a few, as crazy regarded, people, and is now quite wide known and common, even popular. Everybody can change something, even if it is just a small thing in your daily life, like bringing your own cup to the tea shop or resign from accepting a plastic bag every time you buy something, but use a cotton bag for shopping, and in the whole these small actions can help to change even the world! That is also a principle represented and proclaimed here in the Community University, so have a try!