Storyteller of All Trades

Saying farewell to their hometown and family......In every street and corner, they leave traces of their busy footprints everywhere.

My parents sent me wandering I wept as I walked Where to? To Taipei My loved one is not there It hurts so bad inside, can't find my loved one. ──Wandering to Taipei The lyrics describe how indigenous peoples felt when they left home to work in the city.

Source: Council of Indigenous People “108年第1季原住民就業狀況調查報告書”

“Daddy! Daddy is home!” Upon hearing the sound of the truck backing into the garage, the 5-year-old boy rushes to the door shouting in excitement. The headquarters of Genuine Indigenous Moving Company is located in Tucheng District, New Taipei City. On this day, owner Pang Jyun-Hong has already moved four houses and was completely drained, but when he hears his son, he immediately walks in and picks his boy up, no longer feeling tired at all.

8:30 in the morning, Lin Shu-Jhen and Chen Li- Ping make their way into a 165.5m2 apartment in Daan district, Taipei City, lay down their toolboxes and began cleaning the house. They start by sweeping the floor, then scraping away the water stains on the glass in the toilet, as well as the oil stains on the cooker hood. Whether it's under the sofa, between the window tracks or inside the light fixtures, however detailed and impossible to clean, they will work meticulously and repeatedly, leaving no stain behind.

Outside the Catholic Church in Shilin District, Taipei City, vendors sit under their umbrellas one by one. Here they sell no products, but the service of face threading. The woman passing by knows her way well, taking her seat under the umbrella. Chen Kai-Lien, the face threading beautician, swiftly pats baby powder on the woman's face and picks up a piece of magenta cotton thread, bites one end in her mouth and holds the other end in her hand, fully focused on threading away the tiny hairs on the woman's face.

With remarkable aplomb, Yang You-Lin climbs over the parapets of high-rise buildings and descends vertically. The only means of support are two ropes connected to an anchor on the roof. He sometimes stops to clean a facade; other times he loosens the rope grab to go down slowly. Whenever he changes height of ascent or descent, he has to readjust the safety harness to the right position. When he lands, he is soaking wet. This is not a movie special effect, but Yang’s work routine. He is a building exterior services technician, the so-called “Spider-Man” in Taiwan.

Walking through the misty, quiet mountain forest, it's hard to imagine there is an herb kingdom hidden in the Atayal community deep in the mountains. From breeding and growing herbs to distilling and producing floral waters, every process is completed here in Lalu community. Due to the products’ outstanding quality, many aromatherapy brands in European countries and the US import ingredients from Lalu.

The newlyweds-to-be pose on their ancestral homeland with chins slightly raised and thoughtful and focused gaze.....be confident, proud and gorgeous.

Miyang is already 71 years old. From her palm, you can trace years of hard work passing weaving threads between her hands to this day when she still sits with a straight back on the floor as she works on her traditional weaving loom. The sound is strong and powerful and Miyang tramples on the pedals, fixes the heads, and operates the shuttle by hand as she weaves fabric with the Paiwan community’s pattern. I used to think it was old-fashioned to sit on the ground and weave, but after I got older and experienced, I finally realized what a precious culture I’ve had in front of me all along,”...

Initially, the Squad was founded for making contribution to the society as a voluntary worker group by coordinating with government events and facilitating traffic control work in Liouguei. Rescues were only responded to traffic interruption caused by mudslides. “Rescue requires to accumulate experience and without the financial support, it is not easy for a private organization to work for 21 years and become more professional,” recalled Chen Ming-Hua. Especially, the devastating 921 Earthquake hit Central Taiwan in the second year after the establishment of the Association.....