Pingtung’s Taiwu Village’s Predicament Not Merely the Logistics of Coffee Sales

The vast majority of villagers in Taiwu Village, Pingtung County are indigenous people from the Paiwan tribe.  Agricultural produce has been insufficient to sustain the working population and as a result many have been left no option but to leave the mountain in search for temporary construction jobs or city work, causing a serious people drain from the area.  Fortunately in the last few years the villagers have started to make use of coffee plants left from the Japanese era, the resultant produce fast becoming the villages’ most important economic resource and attracting back many young villagers to work in the maintenance and harvesting of the coffee bean crop.  After last year’s Typhoon Morakot disaster, Taiwu village decided that due to the geological instability they should move to the nearby Wanjin Barracks, however this decision left many of the young villagers who had planned to move back to the village with hesitation.  “ In the light of this move would there be sufficient work opportunities?”

Pingtung’s Taiwu Village’s Predicament Not Merely the Logistics of Coffee Sales (by susu, Pingtung CJ)
URL:  http://www.peopo.org/portal.php?op=viewPost&articleId=55898  

Reference info. 遷村不遷村？泰武與政府仍在協商中

(以下為中文對照)

大武山泰武村的困境不只是咖啡行銷管道 (by屏東公民記者 素素(susu)

屏東縣大武山泰武村民，大部分是排灣族原住民，當地農產品不足，部落的勞動人口必須離開山林，隨著工程單位四處打工，或是到城市工作，人口外流相當嚴重。 不過近年來，泰武村興起咖啡產業，日治時期留下的咖啡樹開始成為部落主要的經濟來源，也漸漸吸引許多離鄉的部落年輕人回鄉工作，包括整地、砍草、砍收等。 直到去年發生八八水災，泰武村被判定因為地質不穩定必需遷村，已經決定遷到附近的「萬金營區」，但這也讓原本打算回鄉的年輕人猶豫，當地是否有足夠的工作 機會？

參考文章「遷村不遷村？泰武與政府仍在協商中」)

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