Jianshanjiao Ecological Orchard

The project is rooted in the sustainable vision of the Jianshanjiao community in Shuilin Township, Yunlin County. In response to challenges such as population outflow and organizational restructuring, local community organizations reactivated community-building momentum. The collective strength formed earlier through residents’ opposition to the establishment of poultry farms and their efforts to protect the living environment became an important foundation for subsequent transformation.

At a time when the community was participating in planning competitions focused on ecology, carbon reduction, and environmental education, privately owned land located along a main traffic route and adjacent to irrigation channels was made available with the landowner’s support. Centered on the concept of an “ecological orchard,” the project emerged as a shared vision responding to local sustainability and regeneration.

In terms of spatial and functional planning, the site breaks away from the traditional single-production model of agricultural land and is positioned as a multifunctional, open and integrated space. Community development introduced “ecological farming” practices, combining fruit cultivation, herbal plant education, and ecological observation. Guava trees and more than thirty varieties of medicinal herbs were planted, enabling visitors to experience fruit picking, plant identification, and agricultural workshops, and allowing local farming practices to become accessible everyday knowledge.

The site also serves as a base for community elders’ handicrafts, performances, and gatherings. Daily tea drinking, casual conversations, festival activities such as rice dumpling making, and local markets all take place here, naturally transforming the orchard into a communal living room for the community. Completed within six months through collective resident participation, the space itself embodies the values of collaboration and sharing.