In Shanlin District, Kaohsiung, where sunlight filters through mountain breezes, Sunlight Xiaolin stands as more than a resettlement site—it is a community rebuilt around cultural survival. The Taivoan people (also known as Tevorangh, a branch of Taiwan's indigenous peoples whose ancestral homeland lies in the Yujing Basin of Tainan) began rebuilding here after Typhoon Morakot devastated the village of Xiaolin Village in Jiaxian District, Kaohsiung in 2009. The disaster left them not only homeless but severed from a living cultural tradition. Today, the community's newly established Taivoan Cultural Affairs Office uses the land itself as teacher, rebuilding Taivoan cultural life at Sunlight Xiaolin from the soil up—through food, farming, song, and dance.

Step into Sunlight Xiaolin and the first thing you sense is a vitality rooted in the earth. Turmeric, chicken thistle (Cirsium albescens), plums, and redflower ragleaf grow in casual abundance throughout the grounds—ingredients, yes, but also living vessels of cultural memory. These crops once grew wild in the tribe's mountain homeland; now they stand as symbols of identity, resilience, and hope. "We are planting the flavors of home back into the soil—and into our hearts," says Wang Min-liang, executive director of the Sunlight Xiaolin Community Development Association and leader of the Taivoan Dance Theatre. That philosophy extends naturally to the community's food and local products: a refreshing sparkling plum drink, a boldly inventive turmeric chou doufu (stinky tofu)—each one a testament to how the Taivoan people are bringing their heritage into contemporary life.

Taivoan Wine and Wood-Fired Sticky Rice Cake: Flavors of Tradition and Blessing

Drawing on ancestral brewing knowledge, the Taivoan people craft Taivoan wine using traditional plant-based starters and glutinous rice—a drink that symbolizes the cycle of life, offered to the spirits during rituals and shared among the community in celebration. The wood-fired sticky rice cake is no less ceremonial: lychee wood is burned for heat, the cakes are slow-steamed with patience, and throughout the process, elders recite auspicious blessings for the family's prosperity. These food rituals carry far more than flavor—they embody the tribe's reverence and gratitude toward the land and their ancestors.

Today, the Taivoan nourish their bodies through farming and their spirit through dance. Wang Min-liang emphasizes that the Taivoan Dance Theatre—comprising three generations, from elders to youth—has performed internationally in Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea, and serves as a vital symbol of collective identity. The Cultural Affairs Office also runs language revitalization courses and hands-on traditional craft workshops, keeping cultural knowledge alive in the rhythms of everyday life. In this way, the Taivoan people are practicing cultural sustainability in the most grounded sense—ensuring that their story continues to shine at Sunlight Xiaolin.

☛ 　Taivoan Cultural Affairs Office has been selected as one of the Ministry of Culture's inaugural 100 Culture Bases.