Life

Pingtung Rukai village bounces back from Typhoon Morakot

• Publication Date：11/30/2011
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  June Tsai

All villagers from the indigenous Rukai community of Ali in the southern Taiwan county of Pingtung returned home Nov. 28, their first homecoming tour since Typhoon Morakot devastated the region in August 2009.

Around 70 people from the village in Wutai Township who were flown to safety immediately after the typhoon are now settled in houses built with government help in Changzhi Township.

Members of other Ali households, however, stayed on and continued their lives. Over the past year, with support from the Forestry Bureau and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, they have taken part in a reconstruction plan, organizing a forest patrol squad, developing ecotourism and forming a folklore group to help preserve Rukai traditions.

Their across-the-board preservation work eventually strengthened connections with the tribal members resettled in Changzhi, leading to the homecoming tour.

“Our tribesmen used to follow their jobs into the city, but in fact we can better survive on our original land,” said Lavuras Abaliwsu, an Ali community chief. “Indeed, our homeland is where we can sustain our way of life.”

According to Lee Tao-sheng, acting director-general of the Forestry Bureau, the lives of those who relocated have gradually stabilized, but with the deaths of some elderly community members in the past two years cultural transmission has become an issue. “This homecoming is a way to rebuild links with their traditions,” he added.

In conjunction with the trip, the bureau held an event promoting the government’s post-disaster reconstruction work in the Wutai area. A crew was also officially launched with 30 community members responsible for protecting the forest from illegal logging.

Chen Mei-hui, an associate professor at NPUST who helped design the reconstruction plan, said the natural environment and the people’s dedication make Ali village, located at the terminal of Provincial Highway No. 24, a perfect cultural tourism destination.

“Ali’s aboriginal culture and great biodiversity represent the beauty of Taiwan,” she said. “The development of ecotourism that integrates both will provide an opportunity for the reviving community to stand on its own.” (THN)