School: Hsin Chia Elementary School
    Houbi Township, Tainan County , Taiwan (R.O.C.)

12 students, ages 11-12 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 13, 2009. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2008,2007

Classes and Teachers: Chou Chun-Lin

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.sj2es.tnc.edu.tw

1. Description of Our Community

Houbi Township is commonly known as owl-bi-liaow. Situated in the northern end of Tainan County, the northern and western sides are bordered by Pachang Creek and Chiayi County. It is connected to Baihe Township in the east, Yenshui Township in the southwest, Dongshan Town in the southeas, and Hsinying City in the south. In terms of natural terrain form, it is elevated in the northeastern part and is tilted toward the west. However, the relative height is not significant, and the land form is rather flat. The territory is mostly Chianan Plain in attribute.

Geographically, Houbi Township is located at the border between Tainan and Chiayi Metropolitan. Houbi Township is bound to play the role of a rural village as a result of this location distribution. Therefore, the entire humanities and landscapes of Houbi Township are apparently plain agricultural town oriented. Fields are seen everywhere especially rice fields. In addition, commercial activities in major villages within the precinct are rather slow. It is especially so as compared to neighboring towns and townships.

2. Summary of Our Project

Mu-Da Pasturage is located in the author’s village ?Sinjia Village, Houbi Township?and adopted traditional operation style and changed operation mode and established Mu-Da Egg Co., Ltd. on April 25th, 2003, as to make direct marketing from the factory and produce ancient-formula egg products, such as Nutritional Egg Oil, Fresh Traditional Eggs, Fresh Platinum Grade-A Eggs, Traditional Preserved Eggs, Yuan-Ying Preserved Eggs & Pang-Gu Eggs. The feeding stuff for egg chickens are free of antibiotics, growth hormone, animal protein which can endanger human health and contains such natural nutrients as quality hydrolyzed soy bean protein, yeast selenium, tomato powder, red wine yeast. All the eggs produced by the factory pass the Traceability System with human concern guarantee and are sold in most famous organic stores.

Having won Excellence Good Appraisal Gold Award, National Excellent Enterprises Gold Award, The 5th National Prominent Enterprises Quality-Assurance Gold Award, etc., Mu-Da Pasturage is the government-recommended egg factory. Although organic production increase cost significantly, Mu-Da’s management still insist on business operation with conscience and devotion instead of emphasizing profits and also on the principle that quality products are worthy being advocated. While fake merchandises appear in the market frequently, Mu-Da’s devotion deserves emulation and respect.

This dissertation analyzes Mu-Da Pasturage, understands the management’s business operation principles, and also introduces pasturage factory facilities for egg chickens and egg-laying and also all Mu-Da’s products. In addition to visiting the Mu-Da, we also design egg cuisine courses and cook egg dishes as to make people loving eggs, egg cuisines, and organic egg cuisines.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

Our school is equipped with 1 computer classroom. Almost every classroom has a computer. All the school computers are connected to one another though special line or internet. The online connections are quite smooth. The campus internet is a regional internet work where resources from each computer are shared.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1)Un-proficient the research theme: Although Mu-Da Pasturage is located in our village, and we often eat eggs, egg structure was ever taught in nature courses in school, all of us are still puzzled at how to analyze egg production and marketing and what Traceability system is? What is human concern? We need to start from the very beginning for this research project as to understand egg-production process and also witness the business operation of conscience of Mu-Da which is located in remote rural area.

(2) Arranging all research members’ meeting schedule: Under the school’s flexible schedule system, extra-curriculum activities can be arranged during on non-course schedule. All members can meet together to discuss research theme structure, interview question digest and visit appointment during daily rest time at noon, afternoon in every Wednesday, and time after school course end every day.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

We have conducted the research on rural regions for several years, including Sinjia Village Project, Temple Parade (Sung-Chiang-Chen) hosted by the school, Wusulin Sugar Factory, The Great Temple in Houbi Township—Tai-An Temple and Ching-Chung Temple, Orchid Biotechnology Zone, Lian-Fa Rice Factory, Chianan Irrigation and Canal system. Every research project concentrates on Houbi township. We feel very excited and encouraged when Houbi Township Offce mailed us in the last year requesting that they wish to cite our data posted in the school’s website. We will target on research the local communities by introducing Mu-Da Pasturage which is a conscience enterprise and understanding Mu-Da’s production and marketing systems. By making this research, we also intend to promote local industry and help the society understand this enterprise of conscience and devotion for business operation.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

Attending this research project can allow the teachers not only to improve professional knowledge but also to direct students by developing the teachers’ professionalism. The Students also learn how to complete a project by continuous discussion and coordination and to understand the important of group cooperation and to change from passive knowledge learning to active knowledge construction and explore and cultivate interests and talents fully.

Theme research is a theme or integration learning which can be combined with various learning fields. For example, we have ever learned in simple formula function and graphic edition in EXCEL (Examination questions for Computer Course in Tainan County). The statistics concerning egg ratio used in school lunch in theme research and annual egg production volume provided by Council of Agriculture can be displayed by graphic charts of which the graphic chart meaning can be discussed. Such curriculums can also be integrated with ?Statistics Charts? in Mathematics Course. In summary, the knowledge of all courses are integrated into the theme research procedures.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

Computer, computer software Wordxp,PhotoImpact8.0,FrontPagexp,Explorer,Excel,FTP):Data upload, data compilation, webpage production

Internet:Various data search including past works of Cyberfair, related book search, inquiry and topic related webpage

Digital camera:Photograph taking as image record

Team member E-MAIL, telephone, mobile phone :Regular communication and contact

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

This theme research introduces not only Mu-Da Pasture Enterprise’s business development and products but also Taiwan government’s efforts for organic agriculture, such as Traceability System and Human Concerns. Advocating organic food and nutrition diets and the government’s efforts for the social public and protecting consumers’ rights can all be achieved by establishing a website.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

By conducting theme research and establishing a website, we intend to help people understand more about food sanitary and educate students’ parents dealing in pasturage how to realize that establishing a quality production traceability system is futuristic industry tend which is also an obligation but also a business opportunity (marketing strategy) and can help improve industry competitiveness by explaining to them that traceability system. In the other hand, by conducting such an activity, we can help our school establish features and demonstrate students’ talents as to allow the local residents know that even the rural school can have learning activities as good as that in urban.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

We appreciate for some school faculty staff’s and people’s help for completing this research. Firstly, we thank for school lunch worker Aunt Li who has worked in the school kitchen for more than 10 years and helped us film egg cuisine procedures; and also the school staff Aunt Chien who has a Class-B Wheat-Cuisine License. We often eat the snacks provided by her. We requested Aunt Chien taught us how to cook 2 simple egg cuisine, egg tart and Japanese Steamed Egg Custard which are very delicious and interesting. You can also try by yourself.

For enriching our research contents, we traveled to Sinying City to visit Teacher Hsieh who deals in organic food and diets. He graduated from Kaohsuing Medical University and Graduate School of Life Sciences, National Tsing Hua University and is professional with physical metabolism and health food and food functions. Interviewing him has helped us understand more about organic and nutritious diets. Finally we are grateful for Mu-Da Pasture’s couple owners whom we are impressed with their business operation principles and kind attitudes. Visiting the Mu-Da Pasture Enterprise allows us to realize focusing on quality can bring in a commodity and marketing opportunity promising a huge market potentiality.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

Before we conducted this theme research, toxic milk powder scandal erupted in China. Countless food polluted with overdosed melamine due to using dairy products, vegetable protein or materials imported from China were forbidden to be sold in the market. Such a case indicates how important the manufacturer’s conscience and product quality inspection are.

Similar scandals have also happened in Taiwan. For example, herbicide-free vegetables are usually inspected to have herbicide residues. For prevent such problems, Council for Agriculture has initiated Agricultural Product Traceability System since year 2004. This system makes agricultural products production, process and sales procedures all traceable as to protect consumers’ health. The egg products in Mu-Da Pasture have already joined in the production traceability system in which every egg’s production process can be checked on the website. We shall emulate and encourage applying strict self-discipline on product to protect consumers’ health while conscience is usually ignored in favor of pursuing profits in this society.