Leaving a conservation body to grow melons in the desert: Agriculture can also protect the environment

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This episode was recorded in the deserts of Alashan, Inner Mongolia, by Qihua, Foodthink’s researcher on climate change and small-scale ecological farming, and two guests. At the end of August 2022, the three of them sat beneath a great tree in an oasis within the Tengger Desert. In the background, you may hear the whistling wind and swirling sand, the calls of birds, and the occasional faint buzzing of mosquitoes and flies.

Our two guests for this episode are Ma Yanwei, an ecology Master’s graduate from Beijing Normal University who founded the “Alashan Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm” with the hope of improving the desert environment through the cultivation of muskmelons; and Tiantian, who left behind eight years of living and working in Shanghai to join Foodthink’s ecological agriculture internship programme at the Zhiliangtian Farm.

After eight years of establishment, how is the ecological farm in the desert faring? And to what extent can taking a gap year on a farm transform the life of a young person?

Guest/s

Ma Yanwei

An organic farmer living on the edge of the desert who, beyond farming, loves reading and travelling. He strives to keep his feet firmly on the ground while keeping his eyes on the stars.

 

 

 

 

Lei Tiantian

An advocate of Slow Food and an itinerant lifestyle. An occasional workaholic who dreams of becoming a nomad. Weeding the fields and cooking are her tried-and-tested ways of relieving stress. Using the pen name “Old Man of the Countryside”, she dreams of being neighbours with the poet Su Dongpo.

 

 

 

Host

Qihua

Stepping out of the lukewarm waters of everyday life to see the world; coming to the desert to chat with ecological farmers who “grow melons not for the sake of the harvest” is truly wonderful.

 

 

 

 

Founded by Ma Yanwei, who holds a Master’s degree in Ecology, the Alashan Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm covers a total area of approximately 1,000 mu, with 160 mu of cultivated land. The farm grows millet, melons, and vegetables, with honeydew melon as its signature product. Photography: Xique Popo
With a background in ecology, Ma Yanwei joined the Alashan SEE Ecology Association in 2005. After leaving the association in 2015, he settled in Alashan and founded the Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm.
Guest Tiantian (left), this episode’s host Qihua (centre), and Foodthink editor Ze’en are “going all out” with a huge plate of pumpkin cakes made from the farm’s own harvest at Zhiliangtian Farm. Fancy experiencing this kind of life? Why not check out our “Ecological Agriculture Intern” programme?
Following the unusually persistent rains of the summer of 2022, the final batch of melons at the Alashan Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm went unharvested. Only a single “tail melon” remains, soon to return to the earth.
The “sand onion”, a wild delicacy favoured by the people of Alashan, sways its small, rose-red blossoms in the desert breeze.

Timeline

01:43 Beneath a great tree on the shores of Lake Chagan in the Tengger Desert, southeastern Alxa, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, we record this episode accompanied by the sound of the wind and the humming of insects.

03:28 Why did our guest, Ma Yanwei, decide to work in the Alxa Desert in the first place? And how did he found the “Alxa Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm” and begin growing honey melons?

07:07 Sand leeks, a wild desert food beloved by the people of Alxa, have appeared in the mutton rolls of hotpot restaurants in recent years. However, the unusual drought of 2022 delayed their growth by as much as two months.

09:42 Honey melons are the primary product of the Zhiliangtian Farm; why did yields drop so significantly in 2022?

17:04 Lei Tiantian, an intern from Foodthink’s Lianhe Initiative, spent seven or eight years working in the Shanghai office before coming to live at the desert farm. From initially feeling like an exile from ancient times to proudly and lavishly whipping up a bowl of pumpkin cakes from her own harvest—how has Tiantian’s experience really been?

22:00 A soul-searching question for Tiantian: after completing her internship at the farm, will she truly choose the lifestyle of a “New Farmer” in the future?

23:40 A question for Ma Yanwei: based on his observations over the last few years, what is the reality of life for this generation of Chinese “New Farmers”? What do they usually talk about when they get together?

31:14 More on the origins of the “Alxa Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm”. Operating since 2015, is the farm still running at a loss?

34:16 Collaborating with Foodthink to recruit interns: why has farm life suddenly become more attractive?

38:22 In the process of practicing ecological agriculture, what improvements or efforts has the Zhiliangtian Farm made toward the desert’s ecological environment?

42:34 “Eating one honey melon from the Alxa Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm helps restore one square metre of desertified land.” Is this an exaggeration? Can fertile land in the desert truly possess rich biodiversity?

46:55 The three seven-year plans of the Zhiliangtian Farm—how can ecological farmers sustain their journey for the long term? If you wish to join an experienced farm, learn from experts, reduce the cost of trial and error, and more quickly master the art of agriculture, you are welcome to apply for Foodthink’s “Ecological Agriculture Internship” programme. Applications close today!

About the Ecological Farm Internship Programme

Recruitment for the second phase of Foodthink’s Ecological Agriculture Internship programme is now open, with applications closing today! In 2022, 18 young people from diverse backgrounds participated in the first phase, heading to 12 ecological farms across the country to complete internships lasting from three months to a year.

We hope that ecological farms can systematise their valuable experience in farm management, production techniques, and sales and promotion to serve as a reference for young people wishing to return to their rural roots to pursue ecological agriculture. Meanwhile, interns with diverse backgrounds can contribute their own strengths to invigorate the farms, while reducing the learning curve and the risk of failure for their own future entrepreneurial ventures in the countryside. If you also wish to become a returning youth and engage in ecological agriculture, hurry and fill out the application form!

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Podcast Production Team

Planning: Qihua

Production: Little Grape

 Podcast Cover: Wan Lin

Music: Banong

Editing: Xiaojing

Contact Email: xiaojing@foodthink.cn

 

Published by Foodthink