The Tafalong tribe's Red Glutinous Rice Paddy Picnic (紅糯米田野餐桌) is a one-day, slow travel experience that includes:
1) Edible wild greens market tour (野菜市集尋寶)
2) Amis culinary arts classroom (阿美廚藝教室)
3) DIY: Red Glutinous Rice Wine Peppered Pickle Hot Paste (手作酒釀辣椒)
4) Guided cultural tour (文化導覽)
5) Traditional tribal songs (歌謠表演)
The Tafalong clan is the oldest and largest surviving sub-tribe of Taiwan’s Amis people. The Tafalong community is located in the Guangfu Township of Hualien County where the community strives to preserve the Amis way of living. Red glutinous rice grows within the community on a large plain, on the south side of the confluence of the Mataian and Guangfu rivers. This crop can only be found here, and the Tafalong Red Glutinous Rice Paddy Picnic teaches visitors about the importance of this crop as well as the history, culture, and hardships of the Tafalong people during this slow travel experience:
1) Edible wild greens market tour (野菜市集尋寶)
The indigenous people of Taiwan say that “the mountains are our refrigerator.” People of the Tafalong clan are able to identify over 100 edible greens, and bring visitors to the area’s local market to select $100 NTD worth of edible greens and vegetables for the DIY cooking experience. Here, visitors can meet and engage with the friendly locals and see how traditional knowledge regarding plant use has been passed down for generations.
2) Amis culinary arts classroom (阿美廚藝教室)
Red glutinous rice is considered precious to the Tafalong community as there is only one harvest per year of the crop. The DIY cooking activity takes place in the Amis Culinary Arts Classroom where visitors learn about the traditional stories of this grain, how it was traditionally cooked (steamed or cooked to produce mochi), and how to use it to make a pancake-like skin to wrap all of the edible greens that were purchased at the market tour.
3) DIY: Red Glutinous Rice Wine Peppered Pickle Hot Paste (手作酒釀辣椒)
The Amis tribe is known for their pickling and fermenting techniques that not only preserve food, but also make food tasty. During this DIY experience, visitors will use fermented red glutinous rice and spicy peppers to create a spicy, rice wine and pepper paste to bring home.
4) Guided cultural tour (文化導覽)
While the tribe members prepare a gourmet farm-to-table feast for dinner, visitors can learn about the rich and resilient history of the Tafalong tribe members. Notably, the story behind the Kakita’an Ancestor’s House stands as a reminder of the indigenous people’s strife and suffering during both the Japanese rule of Taiwan and during the Kuomintang’s martial law era. Visitors may also view the century-old Taibalang Elementary School, home to some of Taiwan’s best baseball players, and watch religious rituals such as offerings made to the Gods before entering the Kakita’an House.
The rebuilt Kakita’an Ancestor House is now designated as a Cultural Landscape under Taiwanese Culture Preservation Law. Read more here.
5) Traditional tribal songs (with authentic indigenous cuisine) (歌謠表演)
While dining on delicious and authentic indigenous specialties, the “Innas” or “Aunties” of the tribes will perform traditional Amis songs and dances. Guests will learn how to make “toron,” the indigenous word for “mochi,” from red glutinous red rice, and will end the tour in high spirits while learning how to sing and dance - hand-in-hand - to Amis tribal songs.
Book this experience today!
Contact the Tafalong clan via Facebook.
Click here for a list of all indigenous farm-to-table experiences.
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