Much remains to be done in terms of rebuilding communities devastated by the 921 earthquake.
But according to the Cabinet's 921 Earthquake Post-DisasterRecovery Commission (ERC), every successful community's efforts can be attributed to the initiative, motivation and cooperative spirit of the residents and the expertise and financial assistance of both non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government departments.
PHOTO: CHANG YU-JUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Aside from government funding, the continuing support of the NGOs and the motivation of the members of each community are the major factors behind the success of community redevelopment projects," said Huang Wen-kuang, head of the ERC's division of housing and community reconstruction.
PHOTO: CHANG YU-JUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang cited Taomi village (
The exotically named C?te, an outdoor cafe located beside the Taomi creek which runs through Puli Township's Taomi village, was opened on Thursday, two days before the third anniversary of the 921 quake that destroyed 168 and severely damaged 60 others.
PHOTO: CHANG YU-JUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
With two wooden pavilions surrounded by a flower bed, the cafe was built by its owners, the Wu family, who also runs one of the village's nine new bed-and-breakfast hostelries, built to house some of the many tourists now flocking to the village.
The head of the family, 50-year-old Wu Chun-ching (
Three years after the massive temblor, Taomi has been transformed into a resort for eco-tourists by the New Homeland Foundation (NHF), the Council of Agriculture's Taiwan Endemic Species Research Institute (TESRI) and the ERC.
Because of the area's wetlands, abundant species of frogs, dragonflies and birds, the independent New Homeland Foundation has helped the community find a way to restore and sustain their farming village by turning it into a resort for ecological tourism.
"The foundation introduced ecologists from the TESRI and scholars from the universities to train us in tourism-related courses -- such as ecology, hotel management and gastronomy -- for more than a year," said Wu, who is now a licensed ecological bird guide after he completed ecological training courses last September.
"The courses have broadened my perspective," he said.
"Taomi villagers must be strong. No matter how bad the quake had struck us, only when we devote ourselves to the development of our hometown can Taomi village prosper," Wu said.
In August, Taomi received 1,530 visitors and 21 tour groups, nearly five times the number in June.
Laio Yung-kun (
Like Taomi, Peigang Village (
On Sept. 14, the village won the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Industrial Revitalization Award for communities affected by the earthquake from because of its efforts in reviving cultural heritage.
On the same morning, President Chen Shui-bian (
Peigang owes its outstanding performance in community reconstruction not only to the non-governmental and governmental assistance it received, its Hakka culture and natural resources, but also to the solidarity of its residents.
Although over half of the homes in Peigang were damaged in the earthquake, the village regarded the widespread destruction as an opportunity for a new beginning.
"The urge to live a better life is the incentive for us to try all possibilities," said Lui Chang-kun (劉昌坤), a township councilor.
In order to revive the community, over 10 villagers, including Liu, formed a special taskforce to push for post-quake community development.
The taskforce sought to take advantage of the community's Hakka cultural heritage (80 percent of the population is Hakka) and the historic monuments and natural resources in the region.
In addition, to promote interaction among villagers and to create employment opportunities within the community, the villagers also started -- on a voluntary basis -- care centers for the elderly and women's clubs.
"Despite all the assistance from the outside, the most precious resource of Peigang village is the villager's strong identification with our hometown," said Lui Jing-jung (劉錦榮), the President of the Meilin Development Association.
"Although there might be people reluctant to take part in community development at the beginning, as long as we are willing to persevere, bystanders will eventually join," he said.
"Only when we are willing to help ourselves will reach out their hands," Lui said
Since most of the residents in the Nantou region earn their living from agriculture or tourism, the earthquake not only shattered their homes, but also drove home the urgency of their need to develop their faltering industries, according to Liao Chia-chan (
"Therefore, when carrying out community development after the earthquake, we needed to focus on the revitalization of local industries to help the community prosper," he said.
He said the foundation helped the communities write up reconstruction proposals to apply for government funds, recruit professionals to offer community training courses in specialized fields and plan future development.
"The two most difficult tasks in community development are reaching a consensus among community members and figuring out the right direction for the community's future development, such as turning Taomi into an eco-village," Liao said.
Unlike Taomi or Peigang, reconstruction in Tungshi Township (東勢鎮), Taichung County, has been slow due to conflicting interest among the residents.
With 385 residents killed, Tungshi was the township with the highest number of casualties in the earthquake. But three years after the disaster, it has yet to apply for government funds for reconstruction.
In a recent news release from by the ERC, the commission's executive director, Kuo Yao-chi (
"The government has prepared the [NT$150million] fund for the recovery project of Tungshi's Pen Street [also called `Old Street' by the locals].
However, without the application from the local government or the reconstruction committee, it is impossible for us to allocate the money," she said.
According to Wu Tzu-yu (
Right after the earthquake, Wu and another two locals set up Pen-Street Recovery Workshop, urging the residents to stand up to recover the town by giving the "Old Street" -- the center of the Tungshi community, where markets and most of the shops were located -- a new face and an additional role through community reconstruction.
"By restoring some of the old shops along the street, we planned to turn Pen Street into a `culture street' that tells the community's story," Wu said.
However, the reconstruction plan offered by the workshop failed to get the support of Pen Street residents.
"No one wanted to sacrifice any bit of his or her land for the good of the whole community," said Wu, adding that the hasty design and the lack of proper communication between the workshop and the residents also contributed to the failure.
Three years after the quake, many sites where the houses collapsed on Pen Street have been turned into temporary parking lots or vegetable gardens for neighboring houses.
"Supposedly, working on community development should eventually bring the residents in a community closer together. Unfortunately, however, precisely the opposite has happened in Tungshi," Wu said.
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