Dalan Community Introduction
Dalong Community is located on the west side of the Shueishang Interchange of the National Highway No. 1, adjacent to the Jiapu Road (County Road 168), about 500 meters towards the Chiayi County Government. It is a medium-sized rural community situated between an urban environment and a traditional rural settlement. The residents' dependence on land is not for economic purposes but rather stems from emotional ties to their homeland. Driven by this love for their hometown, community elites actively engage in community work, fostering a high cultural standard, emphasizing ecological conservation, and promoting health and vitality. Their goal is to create a beautiful community environment and an ecological organic home, striving for sustainable community development. Environmental landscape features of the community include the "water storage pond," which was an essential irrigation facility during the underdeveloped water conservation period in rural areas. Currently, there are still two large public ponds in the community. Public lands next to these ponds were designed and constructed by community volunteers in 2003 and 2004, transforming them into a beautiful community nursery garden and the Dalong No. 3 Eco-Park. The "community nursery garden," initiated by the community team, established a "Garden Mutual Aid Association" inspired by the ancient spirit of mutual assistance. They completed a community nursery garden spanning over 100 pings in just six weekends. The community team later expanded from the original women's team, with many husbands, fathers, and sons joining, laying a solid human resource foundation for community development. This strong community consensus has led to the successful promotion of various activities within the community. The "Dalong No. 3 Eco-Park" primarily employs ecological methods, providing recreational spaces along with an ecological pavement. It also features composting bins to demonstrate the household organic composting process, aiming for the space to serve an educational role while being enjoyable. Additionally, the "Dalong Sugarcane Station Park" is another important landscape feature of the Dalong Community. The “cane station” served as a transfer station for sugarcane, which holds significant historical importance in Taiwan’s sugar industry culture. In the past, Taiwan Sugar Corporation’s “Wufen” small train transported raw sugarcane to the Nanjing Sugar Factory, passing through Dalong Village, which led to the establishment of the Dalong Sugarcane Station. After the cessation of train operations, the station deteriorated due to lack of management, accumulating debris and becoming an eye sore in the community. However, with the efforts of community residents, in 2004, the "Dalong Sugarcane Station Community Exchange Center Establishment Project" received a subsidy of 850,000 NTD from the Cultural Affairs Council's new hometown community development program. It employed ecological methods, community participation, and labor procurement to clear over twenty years of buried tracks, reconstructing a standard Wufen train platform, completing ecological greening, visual beautification, and restoring a rare foot-operated water pump. To showcase the history of the “cane station,” they reacquired a "raw sugarcane car" and a "molasses car" from Taiwan Sugar Corporation to place in the Park, creating a lush green, ecologically rich culture space that embodies both spatial regeneration and cultural revival, adding a multi-functional community recreational park spanning 1,200 pings in the plains of Chiayi County. Dalong Community is a large natural park exclusively for the residents. Guided by the community development vision of "Green fills the pond front, butterflies flutter, Dalong Garden is the water hometown," the community adheres to the three principles of making Dalong a garden: mutual assistance and cooperation, ecological methods, and waste reuse, handcrafting every beautiful corner of the community. When you visit in person, please take a moment to appreciate the vibrant landscape filled with butterflies at the Dalong Garden!
