Taiwan Reed Institute - Rural Craft Living Museum Introduction
The Shanjiao Community is located in the Daan River alluvial fan plain, boasting rich water resources and fertile soil. It was once a prominent agricultural and commercial center in Taiwan. For over a century, industries such as rice, lemongrass, brick, and rush craft flourished. However, with the transformation of Taiwan's industries and changes in the broader environment, the rush weaving industry has gradually declined due to the loss of labor, becoming a sunset industry that needs protection. In 2009, the community broke through traditional community organization thinking by establishing the "Taiwan Rush Grass Association" composed of local residents, positioning itself as a seed for promoting the revival of traditional industries. They implemented many projects to promote the rush weaving craft industry, actively cultivating talents in the craft and pushing for innovative product design, garnering numerous domestic and international awards and continuous design collaboration invitations, creating a revival opportunity for the entire rush weaving industry. During this time, the community also discovered the problem of insufficient infrastructure, with no cultural space connected to the local community for the exhibition, exchange, and learning about rush craft. In light of this, the late Chairman of the Shanjiao Community Development Association, Mr. Yeh Wenhui, actively sought various possibilities during his tenure, hoping to build a suitable exhibition space for the community’s rush industry. However, the construction of an exhibition hall was not only time-consuming but also faced immense costs that the community industry could not bear, thus this idea could not be realized. A rare opportunity arose in December 2015 during the Taichung New She Town Flower Sea event, where the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau Taichung Office (now part of the Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation Administration Taichung Branch) needed a venue for exhibitions. They constructed a traditional-style three-section courtyard using conventional building methods for a temporary exhibition hall. The unique appearance of the pseudo-three-section courtyard and the traditional bamboo and clay partition structure imbued the entire exhibition with a strong traditional atmosphere, capturing much attention and resonance. Seeing this opportunity, the former chairman contacted the Taichung office (now Taichung Branch) before the New She Flower Sea event ended, adhering to the concept of "making full use of resources." After the event, he applied for a special case to dismantle the materials of the "Rural Good Life Hall" and relocate them to the Shanjiao Community for reassembly, planning structural reinforcement and surrounding environmental beautification. After nearly a year of planning and execution, the "Rural Good Life Hall" finally resurfaced in the Shanjiao Community, several dozen kilometers away, and was renamed the "Shanjiao Community - Rural Craft Living Hall." Since then, Shanjiao Community finally has a venue for the rush weaving industry, currently planned as an artistic space for exhibitions, teaching, and explanations related to rush weaving crafts, and it has become a promotional base for the rush weaving craft industry. In 2024, the original storage space for rush grass will be redesigned into a multi-functional space called "Ximu Study," which will carry traditional crafts and modern reading culture, fostering cultural education and community integration. Future plans also include hosting various thematic exchange activities regularly, such as cultural lectures, book clubs, workshops, experiential courses, and simple dining services, to further enhance the functionality of the "Shanjiao Community - Rural Craft Living Hall."
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