A series of DIY workshops is bringing the food culture of Taiwan's Hakka people to children in a hands-on way in rural Hsinchu County.
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00:00Here in rural Hsinchu County, most of the people you meet are Hakka, a people of Chinese
00:07origin with their own language, way of life, and way of cooking.
00:12Preserving food through drying and pickling is a big part of food culture here.
00:22And the winter is one time when there's lots of pickling to do for the year ahead,
00:26with rich fields of radishes and seasonal greens ready for harvest.
00:31Kids here would once have grown up with pickling all around them, but these days it's common
00:36to buy pre-made pickles from the supermarket.
00:44To get back to this Hakka tradition, one local pickle maker is offering classes aimed at
00:49families looking for a day of DIY fun.
01:18But this pickling tradition doesn't have to be preserved the same way for all time.
01:23And here, new flavors of pickles are even being invented, using local produce the kids
01:27can pick themselves.
01:51For Hakka children who take the class, this can be more than a culinary adventure.
01:55It can also be a chance to practice the Hakka language, which, despite vigorous revival
02:00efforts, is still being eroded by years of out-migration from Hakka villages and official
02:05promotion of Mandarin.
02:14And the parents, some of them Hakka speakers too, find it good education for the kids about
02:19where food comes from, the land.
02:36These workshops are a chance to learn something new as a family, and for local Hakka people,
02:41it's also a chance to get back to old family roots, preserving a way of life along with
02:46the vegetables.
02:48Justin Wu and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.