Dalu Community Introduction
Dalun Community is located on the west side of the Shui-shang Interchange of the Zhongshan Expressway, specifically 500 meters from the interchange along the Jiapu Road (County Road 168) towards the Chiayi County Government. It represents a transitional rural community between metropolitan areas and traditional farming settlements. Residents' connection to the land is not driven by economic material needs, but rather by emotional ties to their homeland. This deep sense of belonging has led community leaders to actively engage in community work, creating a high cultural standard, emphasizing environmental sustainability, and promoting health and vitality, all while striving to achieve a beautiful community environment and an ecological organic home for sustainable community management. Community environmental landscape features include a "water reservoir," an essential irrigation facility from times when water conservancy was undeveloped. There are currently two large public ponds remaining in the community. In 2003 and 2004, community volunteers designed and constructed public land next to the ponds, which became a beautiful community nursery garden and Dalun No. 3 Eco-Park. The "community nursery garden," initiated by the community team, established a "Garden Mutual Aid Association," embodying the ancient spirit of mutual assistance through six weekends to complete a community nursery garden covering over 100 ping (a Taiwanese unit of area). The community team later expanded beyond the women's group, as many husbands, fathers, and sons joined the community-building efforts, providing a solid human resource foundation for community work. Thanks to this strong community consensus, various activities promoted by the community have been highly successful. "Dalun No. 3 Eco-Park" focuses on ecological engineering, creating spaces with rest pavilions and eco-friendly surfaces, while also including a compost bin to demonstrate household organic composting methods. It aims to serve an educational and entertaining function for the overall space. Additionally, "Dalun Sugarcane Platform Park" is another significant landscape feature of the Dalun community. The "sugarcane platform" served as a transfer station for sugarcane and holds an important place in Taiwan's sugar industry history. In earlier times, the Taiwan Sugar Corporation's "Wufenzi" train transported raw sugarcane to the Nanjing Sugar Factory, passing through Dalun Village, which led to the establishment of the Dalun sugarcane platform. After the train service stopped, the platform fell into disrepair, becoming cluttered and neglected until the community residents united to revitalize it. In 2004, the "Dalun Sugarcane Platform Community Exchange Center Establishment Plan" received a grant of NT$850,000 from the Council for Cultural Affairs' New Hometown Community Building Project. By using ecological engineering, community participation, and labor for material purchases, the over 20-year-old buried tracks were cleared, and a standard Wufen train platform was rebuilt. The ecological space was greened and visually beautified, while a rare pedal water pump was restored. To showcase the history of the sugar platform, the Taiwan Sugar Corporation was approached to sell back the "raw sugarcane car" and the "molasses car," which were then placed in the sugar platform park. This verdant and rich ecological space, with connotations of spatial regeneration and cultural revival, adds a multifunctional community park to the Chiayi County plain, covering 1,200 ping. The Dalun Community is a large natural park dedicated exclusively to its residents. Upholding the community development vision of "Green by the pond with butterflies dancing, Dalun Garden is the watery homeland," the community team adheres to three main principles for the garden: mutual assistance, ecological engineering, and waste reuse, handcrafting every beautiful corner within the community. When you visit, please take the time to appreciate the picturesque Dalun Garden, where greenery is abundant, and butterflies flutter!
