Foodthink projects, activities, and programmes.
I. Returning to the Countryside: A Connection with Pengcheng Natural Farm I was raised in a Hakka village in eastern Guangdong, and as a child, I frequently yearned for the outside world. In 2015, my wish came true when I moved to Guangzhou, a major metropolis, to continue my education.…
Recently, the chaotic practices surrounding the tanker transport of edible oil have once again sparked public concern over food safety. From production to processing, and from transport to sale, every stage impacts food safety. The workers, managers, regulators, researchers, and financial interests behind each link in the chain collectively determine…
I. Setting out with questions in mind Late in March, I embarked on a three-month internship at Guixinyuan Farm. Partly, this was to test whether I was suited to life as an agricultural worker; partly, I was searching for an ideal model of farming: What kind of relationship ought agriculture…
In early 2024, Foodthink opened recruitment for the third “Eco-Agriculture Internship Programme”. Thank you for your interest and enthusiastic applications. This year, we received a total of 62 applications for the farm internship. Following detailed discussions between Foodthink, 12 farm mentors, and partner organisations, we have decided to invite 25…
A year ago, I decided to leave a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture and head straight to the frontlines of cultivation. I wanted to observe and reflect on the practical workings of ecological farming, experience rural life as a semi-farmer, and explore the possibilities of putting ecological agriculture…
Early in 2024, Foodthink opened applications for the third edition of our Ecological Agriculture Internship Programme. Our aim is to connect young people eager to pursue careers in ecological agriculture with established eco-farms. This will equip the newcomers with practical farming knowledge and skills, while allowing experienced growers to document…
Foodthink Says Organic farming is no pastoral idyll, and young people joining Foodthink’s Lianhe Project ecological farming internship programme have long been mentally prepared for this. Yet, once out in the fields, through day-to-day labour and observation, they develop an entirely fresh perspective on farmers, ecological agriculture and farm management,…
Since its establishment in August 2017, Foodthink has chronicled the stories of dozens of small-scale ecological farmers across the country. Standing apart from conventional agriculture, they have navigated numerous setbacks and learned through costly experience. Yet, after years of dedication, they have amassed a wealth of practical expertise in production…
Foodthink Says In the final episode of the recently acclaimed drama Blossoms Shanghai, protagonist Bao Zong quotes a famous line from Gone with the Wind — “Only land remains eternal” — before retiring to the fields of Chuansha on Shanghai’s outskirts. Had his plot not been sold to Disney or…
In Part One of “Internship Notes from a Desert Oasis”, I attempted to revert to my instincts as a business journalist, examining the operational struggles faced by ecological farms. Yet, during my two-month internship at Zhiliangtian Farm in Alxa, being a barista was, in reality, my day-to-day routine at the…
