Sustainability begins with stepping onto the land itself.
And sometimes, a single tea leaf can help us rediscover the land beneath our feet.
On October 3, Chien Kuo Construction brought its colleagues to Emerald Tea Garden in Shiding, New Taipei City, for a unique sustainability experience.
Leaving behind our familiar offices and construction sites for a day, we stepped into an organic tea garden to pick and roll tea leaves by hand. Through food and farming education and a guided tour of the tea garden’s natural environment, we explored the journey of tea from the garden to the teacup and gained a closer connection to the land around us.
Behind every tea leaf lies more than its delicate aroma; it tells a story of a tea garden living in harmony with nature.
The experience began with picking tea leaves by hand, allowing everyone to enjoy the simple pleasure of harvesting. We then tried rolling the leaves ourselves, feeling how they gradually changed beneath our hands. Accustomed to precision and efficiency in our daily work, we took a step back and slowed down, discovering how the food we enjoy begins with the land.
As we ventured further into the tea garden, we learned about organic farming practices and explored the garden’s natural environment through a guided tour. What seemed like an ordinary tea garden at first revealed itself to be a vibrant world full of life.
A tea garden is more than tea plants; it is home to the many forms of life that share this land.
Through this activity, we demonstrated our support for natural carbon sinks and biodiversity. By supporting organic tea cultivation, we learned more about farming practices that are gentler on the land. The hands-on experience also helped our colleagues see the close connection between the natural environment and our everyday lives.
For Chien Kuo, “Protecting the planet • Creating a sustainable future” is more than a slogan. It can begin with simply getting to know a piece of land.
What we took home that day was more than the tea leaves we picked and processed by hand; we left with a deeper understanding of the land and a greater appreciation for nature.
A single tea leaf may be small, yet it reveals the remarkable power of the land to nurture life.
Our journey began in the tea garden, where we rediscovered nature and reflected on how we live alongside the land.
One Leaf, One Step Toward Sustainability. It Begins with Understanding the Land and Protecting the planet Through Every Action.
