Leaving Conservation Work to Farm Melons in the Desert: Agriculture Can Also Protect the Environment
This episode was recorded in the Alxa desert in Inner Mongolia by Qihua, Foodthink’s researcher for climate change and ecological smallholder farming, together with two guests. Recorded at the end of August 2022, the three of them sat beneath a large tree in a Tengger Desert oasis. In the background, you may catch the sound of wind whipping across the sand, birdsong, and the occasional soft buzz of mosquitoes and flies drifting by.
This episode features two guests: Ma Yanwei, who holds a master’s degree in ecology from Beijing Normal University and founded Alxa Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm, aiming to restore the desert landscape through honeydew melon cultivation; and Tiantian, who left Shanghai after eight years of life and work there to join Foodthink’s ecological agriculture internship programme, where she spent her placement at the Zhiliangtian farm.
After eight years in business, how is this desert ecological farm faring? And just how transformative can a farm-based gap year be for a young person’s life?
THIS EPISODE’S GUESTS
马彦伟
An organic farmer working on the desert fringe. Beyond tending the land, he enjoys reading and long-distance travel. He strives to keep his feet firmly planted on the earth while still looking up at the stars.
雷甜甜
Slow food advocate embracing a life on the move. Occasionally a workaholic, she dreams of becoming a true wanderer. Weeding the fields and cooking are her most reliable ways to unwind. She writes under the pen name ‘田舍老翁’ (Old Farmer of the Fields) and dreams of sharing a neighbourhood with Su Dongpo.
THIS EPISODE’S HOST
启华
Stepping out of life’s comfortable routine to explore the wider world; venturing into the desert to speak with ecological farmers who ‘grow melons not merely for the harvest’ has been a delight.
Time/line
03:28 Why did our guest, Ma Yanwei, initially decide to work in the Alxa desert, and how did he go on to establish the Alxa Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm to grow muskmelons?
07:07 The sand onion, a wild desert favourite among locals in Alxa, has recently started appearing in lamb platters at hotpot restaurants. Yet, the unusually dry weather in 2022 delayed its growth by two whole months.
09:42 Muskmelons are the farm’s main crop. Why did yields drop so significantly in 2022?
17:04 After seven or eight years in a Shanghai office, Foodthink’s Lianhe Programme intern, Lei Tiantian, swapped city life for the desert farm. From feeling like an exile in the early days to proudly whipping up pumpkin cakes with her own harvest, how did Tiantian find the experience?
22:00 A soul-searching question for Tiantian: having completed her farm internship, will she truly embrace the ‘new farmer’ way of life?
23:40 Question for Ma Yanwei: What kind of lifestyle do China’s new generation of farmers live, based on his observations over the past few years? What do they usually talk about when they get together?
31:14 Back to the origins of the Alxa Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm. After running it since 2015, is it still operating at a loss?
34:16 Collaborating with Foodthink to recruit interns: Why has farm life suddenly become more appealing?
38:22 In the course of practising ecological agriculture, what efforts has Zhiliangtian Farm made to improve the desert’s ecosystem?
42:34 ‘Eating one muskmelon from Alxa Zhiliangtian Ecological Farm helps rehabilitate one square metre of desertified land.’ Is that an exaggeration? Can fertile fields in the desert also support rich biodiversity?
46:55 Zhiliangtian Farm’s three seven-year plans, and how to help ecological farmers sustain their journey further. If you’d like to join an established farm, learn from experienced growers, cut down on trial-and-error costs, and pick up agricultural skills faster, you’re welcome to apply for Foodthink’s ‘Ecological Agriculture Internship’ programme. Applications close today!
We hope ecological farms can document their valuable experience in farm management, production techniques, and sales promotion, providing a reference for young people hoping to return to their hometowns to work in ecological agriculture. At the same time, interns from diverse backgrounds can bring their own skills to the table, inject new vitality into the farms, and reduce their own learning and trial-and-error costs for future rural entrepreneurship. If you’re also looking to return to the countryside and work in ecological agriculture, don’t wait – fill in the application form now!
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Podcast Production Team
Planning: Qihua
Production: Xiao Putao
Cover Art: Wan Lin
Music: Banong
Editing: Xiaojing
Contact: xiaojing@foodthink.cn