“I was living in the waterfall. I walked alongside the waterfall to school, we didn’t have any classes though, we were just moving stones, always, moving stones…and an earthen wall put together with our own hands, there were many cows, there was cow dung in the earthen wall.” Ina, reminisced of her youth. “The ground was full of stones. We were farming using malapaliw (Amis system for exchanging labour) - today we help you farm your fields, tomorrow you come and farm ours.” Another elder traced back through his early school memories. On his way to school, he would make a trap in the river using fishing baskets weaved out of yellow rattan palms and bamboo, so that he would have food to bring back home after school.

These experiences shared by the elders inspired further immersion in this natural setting, leading me to share my building designs through online channels, calling out for a like-minded fellowship of fearless nature-loving warriors to join with us, to retrace back through primitive construction methods, regenerate this historical site, and in doing so, gradually manifest our own dreamscape...

This work was realised in Hualien, East Taiwan, where tribal mountains are surrounded by rice terraces that are irrigated by ancient canal systems, forming the scenic backdrop to which Amis, Hakka and Minnan building styles and materials have blended together over time. Following and respecting local tribal wisdom, we entered the forested mountains with the guidance of the community elders, collecting building materials such as bamboo, thatch, rattan, stones from the riverbed, recycled underground clay dug out for the foundations of a neighbouring house and rice husks from the village rice mill. Performing architecture as theatre, we held ongoing natural architecture workshops throughout the pandemic, sharing the various natural building methods we had learned for building. We formed an improvised temporary collective to welcome an idyllic daydream of shared working life, carrying out a series of daily experiments, immersed in creation with natural materials and everyday play. Nomadic companions from all over settled there in the moment, where they experienced the knowledge passed on by tribal youths and elders, the foraging of wild plants, the harvesting of organic rice, fruits and vegetables. The volunteer chefs put their body and soul into the collection and preparation of food and drink, the nutrition transforming into a powerful energy as we absorbed the spirit of the mountains. Companions, artists, photographers and directors recorded everything as it happened. We lost ourselves in the theatre, inebriated, learning and moulding together. To all, my deepest gratitude.

I n a : 「 我住在瀑布裡面，上學走溪邊的路，我們那時候沒有上課啊！到學校就一直搬石頭、一直在搬石頭 . . . 和一團一團土做的牆，很多牛、牛糞也在牆裡面。」「 地上都是石頭，大家一起種田malapaliw（ 阿美族語換工之意 ）的時候今天種你的家，明天來我的家一起作 . . . 」耆老回望著日治時代的小學記憶，老頭目在上學的時候會在溪裡放置竹片黃藤編製的魚簍作陷阱，下課了正好帶食物回家。認識自然的心願，透過建築手稿在雲端發送訊號，邀集意象自然的義士夥伴一起溯源建造，夢景逐步顯化 . . .

基地座落台灣花蓮，部落群山環抱古老水圳灌溉層疊稻田，以阿美族與客家、閩南多族融合時代更迭的場景，我們依循部落山林智慧，透過多方耆老支持與指引進入山林，採集群竹、茅草、黃藤與溪床上的石頭、回收基地現場的工程地底黏土與村中碾米廠的稻殼，以建築劇場為本，在疫情期間持續進行自然建築工作坊，分享自然工法探造家屋，建立臨時組織共同形塑日夢般的勞作生活場景，進行一系列日常實驗。在自然材料與日常遊戲裡沈浸創造，透過各地義士遊牧夥伴的參與，經驗部落青年與耆老們所傳遞分享的自然知識、野菜採集與有機稻米和蔬果，義士廚師們奉獻身心，讓我們在食飲中領受土地山靈的奧妙，將滋養轉化成力量。由共同生活的夥伴、藝術家、攝影師與導演紀錄當下。彼此交融學習，陶醉其中，感念獻上。