Main house of three-sided traditional home design
Another view of the residential area layout
View down the mountain looking south toward Taipei
A short lesson in yuetao use
Using yuetao plant for rope
Home garden veggies
"Backyard" of main house
Local materials for all kinds of uses, including wood-burning stove
View up the slope above the main house
Down the mountain in forested area
Old stepped path down the mountain

Structure made with hand-hewn stone
Rice paddy between crops
Mr. Guo has worked for about 10 years at rejuvenating the lands for eco-farming
Lots of life - no pesticides
Wild pigs come over from the forest to eat - the bane of local farmers
Storage and processing shed
Traditional foot-powered rice husking machine is still in use.
Close up of the threshing wheel
Machines and tools
Handmade bamboo baskets
Beautifully maintained bamboo orchard
view of terraces

Lots of traditional farming practices in evidence, not all in use
Amazing stone walls everywhere
hand-hewn stone bench
rice straw hay stack
Footpath stone work
Local innovation for carrying loads up and down the steeply sloped property

It can even be stood up
New stone wall
Old mud brick structure being protected
Orchard
Building with new roof - traditional clay tile roofers are hard to come by
Camelia bonzai - Mr. Guo is a very skilled horticulturist
Mr. Guo's wife
Shangjung and Spanish friend helps peel the Chinese yam
Mr. Guo is also an efficient cook

Shang-jung invites me and another friend to visit an organic rice farmer, perhaps the only one within the Taipei City limits. What we find is a traditional Taiwanese multi-generational homestead, beautiful examples of sustainable earthworks and people proud of their ecological farming ways.