Taitung Eco-Working Holiday- Cruise the Eastern Coastline of Taiwan

More Details

Fudafudak – the beautiful beach, Atolan – the site made of stone laying, Pisilian –where people raise sheep; those beautiful names in Amis*1language also comes with great views and warm-hearted people. However, several construction projects have or is going to destroy the environment which is home to many wildlife and the indigenous people. The nature, indigenous culture with thousands years of history and their traditional ecological knowledge are threatened by inappropriate development projects.

*1:Amis people are an indigenous group of Taiwan, they speak Amis, an Austronesian language.

This summer, welcome to the eastern coast of Taiwan to experience the beauty of this island, and go deep to learn about different cultures with local guides. You will be engaged in some environment protection work at the sites we visit. More importantly, by practicing responsible tourism, we are setting a good example of sustainable development.

Taiwan Environmental Information Association has long been working at eastern coast and cooperating with local communities to protect the environment. This journey will bring you to visit indigenous tribes and learn about their knowledge, you get a chance to experience micikiw (food gathering in intertidal zone), making barkcloth, and plant dyes. Together with other volunteers from Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong, you’ll experience another way of living which might be more eco-friendly and sustainable.

Task for the volunteers

Marine debris kill animals through ingestion or entanglement, let’s cleanup the beach and give wild animals a clean home back. Also, by analyzing the marine debris we collect, it will give us as picture of what these stuffs are and how they ended up in the ocean. And our data will contribute to International Coastal Cleanup!

Invasive species take over the habitat of native species. In our organic farm at Pisilian, we need your help to remove invasive plants such as Climbing Hemp Vine (Mikania micrantha).

Enjoy a eco-friendly and responsible vacation

We provide biodegradable shampoo, body wash, cleaners, bamboo toothbrush, recycled toilet paper; volunteers please bring your own reusable tableware and containers. Foods provided are mostly local ingredients and sustainable seafood, we try our best to reduce environmental footprint.

Visit environmental incident sites

Miramir Resort is a seaside resort in Fudafudak, Tiatung. In 2005,
Miramir Resort started construction without undergoing a compulsory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), this not only damaged the environment, but also threaten the EIA system which is meant to be a mechanism to protect Taiwan’s environmental treasures. This famous case has been a highly controversial issue about “Development vs Conservation”, “indigenous rights and land justice” in Taiwan.  more about this case

Atolan is beautiful tribe and has attracted many immigrants because of it’s beauty. In 2003, a writer Chen jumped into the ocean and disappeared, he left a letter “God bless Atolan”. Because of him, a controversial construction project was suspended. After that, local people set up a “Chen’s pole” to show their determination to protect their home.

May 2011, a development project called “Bao-sheng Marine Eco-park” was suddenly announced. Although developer hold a public meeting, they didn’t intend to listen to any opinion from the local Pisilian tribe.

Since 2004, The Indigenous Peoples Basic Law regulate that “The government or private party shall consult indigenous peoples and obtain their consent or participation, and share with indigenous peoples benefits generated from land development, resource utilization, ecology conservation and academic researches in indigenous people’s regions.” However, in many cases, we see no respect to the law and indigenous rights at all.

There are now dozens of controversial development projects in eastern Taiwan, many of them locate in indigenous traditional territories. It’s actually about what kind of “development” do we want? A more sustainable one, or one that destroys the environment and benefits only big corporations? Come to the scene and make your own judgement.

Booking online and more details