The Leopard Cat Rice Farmers

RUAN Yong-Song

Yong-Song, who has been farming for four generations, stopped using pesticides that are harmful to humans for over 20 years now. His farm is on the same road as the Leopard Cat Rice fields of Ming-Chang and Chang-Ming, which are adjacent to the homes of neighbors who also grow rice. Through conversations, he gradually learned about the importance of leopard cat conservation.

Therefore, he joined in our efforts for the conservation of leopard cats, also giving up the use of herbicides. He successfully joined us for the second rice planting season in 2019. Yong-Song says: "In the fields, we don’t use chemicals, so you will find many wild rabbits and other small animals!"

WU Yi-Yi

Leopard Cat Rice is located in Shinjilong, Tongluo Township, and it is the second production area for the development of the Leopard Cat Rice ecological village.

Farmer Yi-Yi began planting Leopard Cat Rice two years ago, and has now added four paddies to increase the feeding habitat of leopard cats living in nearby mountainous areas.

Yi-Yi has a chivalrous temperament, with a shallow smile that cannot hide his belief that "nature will always pay us back."

At the beginning of his farming career, Yi-Yi worked with the Hui Xiang Organic Living Farm. After the farm relocated, he decided to stay behind because he liked the environment at Shinjilong and continued to cultivate this organic ground. The nearby mountainous areas are the shallow hills where leopard cats appear.

This is a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. "Shinjilong" reminds of childhood memories of playing with friends in the fields and catching shrimp in the creek. It’s also his dream to preserve this experience for the next generation. Through the integration of the upstream river basins, one paddy after another becomes a feeding habitat for the leopard cat.

傅連富

藍鵲茶農傅仔，他的家鄰近坪林百年古橋——

坪林尾橋，是一位在坪林扎根一生的茶農，

從藍鵲茶剛起步時，

就已是推動這項理念的重要推手。

文王

坪林的上德文王，是我們藍鵲茶農之一，

人如其名，不僅是地方上的頭人，

也是坪林農會的監事。

謝金土

坪林茶農謝金土以沉穩細膩的手法製茶，

展現職人精神。

他逐步將樟樹頭茶園與山豬茶園納入

「流域收復」藍鵲茶體系，

讓生態回歸，品牌扎根在地。

金富

茶農金富堅持茶園管理細節，

施肥後必定中耕，確保有機肥深入土壤，

並促進茶樹新根生長，以培育高品質茶菁。

他的精湛技藝讓藍鵲茶首次參賽即獲金牌。

製茶過程中，最關鍵的「走水」與「發酵」工序需反覆「浪菁」，

確保茶葉發酵順暢，形成獨特清揚香氣。

金富透過嗅聞茶菁判斷時機，掌握茶葉香氣變化。

他在炒菁時嚴格控溫，確保兒茶素氧化適度，

以細膩手法守護每一片茶葉，

與藍鵲茶攜手帶來極致風味的好茶。