Visit Record and Reflections on the SaySiyat Penglai Community, Nanzhuang, Miaoli
Location: Penglai Community, Nanzhuang Township, Miaoli County
Date: May 3–4, 2025
Recorder: Wang Shu-hsien (Akin Avan)
Photographer: Wagi Losing (Wagi Losing)
The Miaoli–Nanzhuang area we visited is part of the traditional territory of the SaySiyat people. Historically, community members lived self-sufficient lives in close interaction with the natural environment. However, beginning in the period of Japanese rule, the colonial government forcefully intervened to exploit forest resources. After the SaySiyat people were defeated in armed resistance, they gradually lost control over their traditional lands. The Japanese authorities established forest stations in the area, carried out large-scale extraction of native camphor trees, and promoted plantation forestry. Forestry thus became the main local industry, and many SaySiyat people shifted to work in forest stations and logging operations. This pattern continued into the postwar period under the Nationalist government. It was not until 1991, when the Forestry Bureau imposed a comprehensive ban on logging natural forests, that forestry in Nanzhuang rapidly declined. This led to industrial disruption, employment difficulties, and population outmigration in the community. Some community members, facing livelihood pressures, turned to illegal logging, reflecting a long-standing disconnect between policy frameworks and everyday realities.
In 2018, the President, on behalf of the state, formally apologized to Indigenous peoples, symbolizing a new phase of reflection and reform in Indigenous policy. The Forestry Bureau (now the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, hereafter FNCA) also began to reassess past models of forest governance. The Hsinchu Forest District Office (now the Hsinchu Branch) conducted a traditional reconciliation ceremony with SaySiyat communities in the Nanzhuang area and signed a partnership agreement, marking a shift from confrontation to cooperation.
Nevertheless, translating partnership into practice is far from instantaneous. Elder Ken Chih-you (Gen Zhiyou), who also serves as chairperson of the cooperative, shared how he has navigated institutional change to develop a pathway that both safeguards collective community interests and enables effective dialogue and collaboration with the government. He emphasized that, compared with corporations, cooperatives place greater emphasis on sharing and democratic governance. This ethos resonates with Indigenous traditions of mutual aid and resource sharing, helping to strengthen trust and participation within the community. Moreover, within the contemporary legal framework, cooperatives have the legal capacity to undertake government projects, sign contracts, and issue invoices, making them more suitable than associations for economic activities. By promoting the idea that “everyone is a boss,” Elder Ken encourages collective decision-making and shared responsibilities. This approach not only enhances community members’ agency but also improves work efficiency and quality, laying a solid foundation for future development in forestry cooperation and cultural practice.
At the outset, the cooperative began by taking on small-scale projects worth NTD 9,000 to 10,000. Through continuous coordination and adjustment with the Hsinchu Branch, mutual trust was gradually built. Over time, the cooperative’s operations became more mature, developing a clear set of internal regulations covering member participation in decision-making and profit-sharing mechanisms. Workloads are allocated through negotiation among members, while profits are partly used for tax payments, administrative expenses, and a community revolving fund, and also to assist members in opening savings accounts. This system was established through repeated discussion and hands-on practice among community members, eventually forming a shared consensus on principles of fair distribution and appropriate compensation for labor. Altogether, these developments demonstrate the rebuilding of autonomous community governance capacity and trust mechanisms.
When considering directions for community-based economic development, “the forest” has consistently remained the core issue. For the SaySiyat people, the forest is not merely a productive resource but also a repository of cultural memory and ethnic identity. Cooperation with the Forestry Agency has not only created employment opportunities but also represented an experiment in pursuing sustainable development. Whether in logging, forest land management, forest-honey beekeeping, or log-grown mushroom cultivation, the cooperative has strengthened quality control and material management through institutional and organizational capacity, while introducing modern agricultural and forestry knowledge. For example, when undertaking logging contracts from the Forestry Bureau, the cooperative adopted FSC® international forest certification standards and professional training to ensure that forest products originate from forest management practices that balance environmental, social, and cultural sustainability. At the same time, traditional SaySiyat ecological knowledge is flexibly applied: retaining mother trees in forest management, or observing water flow directions when placing diversion logs during trail construction, both serve to reconnect cultural practices with livelihoods.
In addition, by developing forest-honey beekeeping, community members have not only generated economic income but also come to recognize beekeeping as an ecological indicator for monitoring forest health. This has gradually shaped an operational strategy of “ecology first, profit second” and “small-scale, diversified production.” The circular use of timber residues is another important collaborative project between the community and the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. In the past, branches and offcuts left after logging were often discarded or burned. Today, through a circular-economy approach, these resources are being reused. After simple processing, residual wood can be made into biomass fuel pellets for local mushroom drying, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions while enhancing energy self-sufficiency. Other residues are transformed into natural fragrances and woodcraft products, showcasing the community’s local aesthetics and creativity.
The cooperation and efforts between the community and the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency have not only improved community livelihoods but have also gained high levels of recognition both domestically and internationally. The community has become a member of the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative, further strengthening community confidence. During this visit, we deeply felt that the key to the community’s transformation lies not only in the introduction of technology or resources, but in a shift in mindset among community members themselves. Elder Gen also revealed that the community is preparing to discuss the establishment of a nature conservation area with the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. This initiative aims to regulate the behavior of outside tourists, address issues such as traffic congestion and waste, and serve as a foundation for community participation in forest governance. Taken together, these transformations not only demonstrate the restoration of community agency and governance capacity, but also represent concrete practices through which community members are reclaiming control over their own ways of life.
