The Association of Taiwanese Indigenous People’ Development (ATIPD) was founded in 2002 to empower the indigenous people of Taiwan through tribal education, promotion of indigenous agriculture and international participation.
In 2005, it set up the Tribal E-Shop, the first indigenous agricultural product platform online to help indigenous farmers engage in organic agriculture in combination with the Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). The story of the E-Shop dates to a deadly natural hazard more than 10 years before its establishment.
How it all started: The predecessor of the Tribal E-Shop
It all started with the Jiji earthquake on 21 September 1999, the second deadliest in the Island’s history, leaving over 2000 dead and more than 11,000 injured. In addition to the direct economic loss caused by the natural hazard, local farmers of the Shigang district in Taichung found themselves facing another challenge: the pears they produced were quoted with much lower prices than usual. To avoid further economic loss, some farmers explored a new way of distributing their products: direct selling.
The success of Shigang farmers soon inspired those in other villages and districts to follow along. At the beginning, these efforts to conduct direct selling remained at village or district level, until the key actors from these districts and villages all gathered to form an ‘Association of Community-activist in Taiwan’. It was there that the idea of a cross-district platform for direct selling came up.
Almost at the same time (in 2001), Taiwan was admitted to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Anxiety was looming over local farmers, who were alarmed by their potential competitors from all over the world. Thus, the predecessor of the Tribal E-Shop was born with a mission: unite local farmers from disaster-stricken areas and help them overcome the challenges of a WTO entry.
Shortly after that in 2002, ATIPD was founded to provide training for indigenous tribes. One day, the organisation was approached by former participants of three trainings in grape farming with good news: their grape won a gold award in the evaluation of a local farmers’ association. These farmers pitched the idea of selling their products online. In the age before online shop and social media, the team took a few pictures of the award-winning purple grapes from the Toyoka tribe, turned them into a jpg. image and attached to an email for a promotional campaign.
At that time, Huei-Wen (Mag) Chin, current Secretary General of ATIPD, remembered how costumers reacted to the online initiative:
“I talked to one of the customers about how she first found out about us. She said she had forwarded the same advertisement of the purple grapes for five good times via email and decided to give it a try.”
Although the campaign did not end up profitable (due to a rookie mistake in forgetting to include the shipping fee in the final prices), both the farmers and the ATIPD had a clear takeaway: online direct selling with suitable branding could be the way for indigenous farmers to reach higher autonomy.
“The dream of creating a brand for the TOYOkA tribe has started”, reads the slogan on the flyer for a direct selling campaign of TOYOkA grapes back in 2005.© ATIPD.
From side hustle to full commitment: Entry into the Organic Arena
The E-Shop remained an activity that ATIPD managed on the side, until the request from the World Vision (WV) came. At that time, the WV had been conducting organic farming training for 55 farmers across 7 tribes, having identified that farming could help indigenous tribes overcome cross-generational economic dependency. Unlike the support for the seasonal fruit farmers ATIPD had been working with, the farmer communities trained by WV were farming vegetables, something that would require daily turnover. This would imply a brand-new department in the organization dedicated to supporting the vegetable farmers.
The request was pending for as long as a year, until the delegation of ATIPD visited a fairtrade coffee company called Dean’s Beans.
“I was so inspired by the founder of the company. He who used to be a lawyer and professor, one of those who’s had it all in life. If he can set everything aside to strive for the indigenous farmers, why can’t I,” recalled Mag.
© ATIPD.
Into the unknown: Pioneering PGS in Taiwan
In 2011, ATIPD was entrusted with the second phase of the Indigenous Organic Alliance project, which aimed to convert 100 hectares of agricultural land to organic production in 6 months. It was at that time when the concept of PGS was first introduced to the community.
“Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are locally focused quality assurance systems. They certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange.”
Initially sceptical, Mag decided to deepen her understanding of the concept through visiting a civil organization in the Philippines called Masipag. Seeing how the farmers counselled and supported one another in the ‘review’ process had changed her mind about the alternative certification method. Following further studies of literature about PGS for her PhD project, Mag realized that the practices in the Tribal E-Shop community were already reflecting the spirit and several aspects of PGS. With the Organic Alliance Project coming to an end, the organic community of indigenous farmers needed a next step, which PGS could offer.
“PGS emphasizes a shared vision, a participatory approach, trust, transparency and horizontality. The collective and community spirit of it lies in the lifestyle of many indigenous tribes of Taiwan, which is why many experts in the organic field told me it could only be realised among the indigenous tribes here,” shared Mag.
The introduction of PGS started with three information seminars, but the lukewarm reactions from the participating farmers prompted Mag to change her strategy. Instead of explaining the theories behind PGS, it was established as a prerequisite for joining the Tribal E-Shop. Farmers were divided into 5 groups based on their geographical location and required to take part in the monthly meeting of their respective group.
As time went by, the participating farmers showed noticeable changes – from reluctant passive attendees to active contributors to the meeting agenda and discussion. Farmers would reach out to Mag if she forgot to set up the meeting. When new farmers expressed interest in joining, they would be invited to take part as observers until they understood the approach and form their opinion on whether it aligned with their expectations.
To encourage peer counselling and review, the monthly meeting was called on the fields of participating farmers alternately, so that the whole group can visit the fields after the discussion to provide suggestions and solutions. This practice was so warmly received by the farmers that they volunteered to host the next meeting by their fields, so that they can benefit from the subsequent field visit.
Envisioning the Future: Farmers at the Forefront
In the past, the organisation worked on boosting the visibility and reputation of the Tribal E-Shop.
“The idea was that, when our shop is doing well, our farmers will benefit from it,” explained Mag. As time goes by, especially post-pandemic, ATIPD becomes increasingly aware of the need to change their strategy – to put farmers at the forefront:
“Many people mistake the Tribal E-Shop for just another intermediary which takes the produce from farmers and sells them as organic food, but what sets us apart is that we don’t hide our farmers. We want to create a platform where consumers know who grow their food, where farmers are enabled to grow better, and we, the organisation, serve as their back-up team to support them in marketing and sales.”
Like many other civil society organisations, ATIPD is undergoing a post-COVID recovery process. They aspire to kick off the new phase of the Tribal E-Shop development in the next three years.
“We would love to promote community-supported agriculture whereby our customers know the farmers who grow their food and how they grow it. Through PGS, we’ d love to connect the lifestyle of the indigenous tribes and the value behind it to the consumers.”
In the experience of ATIPD, membership-based organizations like IFOAM – Organics International are key to bringing a community together and facilitating knowledge and best practices exchange.
