“The tomatoes are ripening. Let’s celebrate with friends!” This is the key idea behind the first “YouGood Tomato Festival”.
From June 22nd to 23rd, 2023, the YouGood Ecological Community, located on the outskirts of Shanghai, hosted the “Tomato Festival,” with over 300 people attending. The plan was to celebrate the diverse rewards nature has given to the community, to introduce the new village community partners of YouGood, and to engage participants in interactive workshops. Everything “emerged” naturally in the unique rhythm of YouGood during the festival.
The festival calls on both new villagers and indigenous people, as well as participants, to bring their own chairs. The resting area in the fields shows a variety of interesting states: vegetable baskets from the farm, tree stumps from the surroundings, outdoor chairs, picnic mats, long benches from villagers’ homes, wooden pallets, straw mats, French garden chairs and etc.
Our skilled community partner, Tiantian, who is good at carpentry, spent 1.5 days using reclaimed steel bars from a villager’s demolished house and discarded building slabs salvaged from the garbage dump, to build the stage for the outdoor music concert and small farmer’s market display. Volunteer Yi Yi used a needle to sew old canvas onto the market display, creating a natural and rustic sunshade. Community partner Cheng Cheng utilized old burlap to create simple tomato navigation signs for the community.
The performers at the evening field concert are all neighbors and friends from the village, while the audience is filled with friends who came from nearby urban areas, and also villagers and local residents.
Everyone sits in the glow of the sunset, listening to the melodies of the hulusi, poetry recitations, shakuhachi, and rock music coming from the fields. The two hosts, from Northeast China and Singapore, interact with everyone on the ridge of the field. All of these erase the boundaries of people. Everyone’s breathing and smiles truly come from the depths of their hearts.
The tomatoes at YouGood Farm originated from four old varieties of natural genetic tomato seeds shared by fellow farmers 6 years ago. They are Big Yellow (suitable for soup and raw consumption), Big Red (stir-fried), Flower Ball (raw with sandy flesh), and West Rice Pudding (raw with a refreshing and sweet taste). Since then, the community has been saving seeds every year, selecting these native and robust seeds that have not been exposed to pesticides or chemical fertilizers, allowing the inherent flavors of tomatoes to be passed down.
In just two days, the 350 kilograms of tomatoes were scattered throughout the community and transformed into our food, artwork, gifts, work tools, and seeds. They became an entity that was reimagined and recognized by hundreds of onlookers.
During the Tomato Festival, some people exclaimed, “Are these tomatoes fake?” while others were surprised, “I didn’t know tomatoes have more than one color!” Following this, these friends experienced how tomatoes are bred and learned about the process of creating diversity in our workshop. They then enjoyed a meal made using tomatoes and praised it as having the “taste of childhood”, evoking happy memories of eating sweet tomato soup with family during summer when they were children. Everyone took home these tomatoes from the market. The understanding of tomatoes underwent a reshaping process.
The possibility of gathering people together and reconnecting with their local roots.
The Tomato Festival brought together long-lost companions. It was not just a community gathering for neighbors, but also a collective visit for friends from outside the community. The children in the community were no longer just classmates or neighbors, but also working partners representing our community. Partner Ducks roamed in the fields, partner geese walked in the distance, and the white egret and the cattle egret stay in the field. In the community, we have many working partners.
The eggs from chickens, ducks, and geese were labeled as “partners’ eggs” and priced for sale at the market. The visitors couldn’t resist taking pictures of them.
Some friends started their journey from the center of Shanghai in the early morning, around 6 a.m. They rode their homemade bamboo bicycles and traveled over 60 kilometers. Finally, in the afternoon, they arrived at the event venue.
On the second day of the Tomato Festival, it started raining right before the end of the event. Participants calmly took out their umbrellas and put on their raincoats. They continued to leisurely enjoy their dinner in the fields. Many friends even happily went for second and third servings in the rain, exclaiming, “It’s so delicious!”
Eight elementary school children, dressed in raincoats, stood on a makeshift stage made of wooden pallets and performed a flute ensemble. Quietly and orderly, they played the rehearsed piece they had been practicing for a long time. Despite the drizzling rain, everyone continued to laugh, clap, and cheer.
The “Shanghai-style Hot Wave of Wellness” workshop in the village turned Hai Tao (cofounder of YouGood Farm)’s home into a haven for wellness. Activities such as making a traditional sachet for the Dragon Boat Festival, creating mosquito repellent, cooking rice in bamboo tubes, and handcrafting Margherita pizzas were all greatly loved by the children. The coffee grounds mushroom cultivation workshop sparked the fascination of young people as they discussed de-anthropocentrism. The flower and plant game of transforming old dyed fabrics created a quaint and timeless outdoor experience, while He Xuan’s impromptu dancing at the end of the rice fields made participants feel the freedom of movement.
On the first evening of the Tomato Festival, organized by the Earth Hour Film Bureau, a highly anticipated documentary called “Planet Local” was screened. The translator of the film, and our old friends Doris and Ruiqi, were invited to join us for a post-screening discussion.
The film addresses the impact of the globalization of markets on small-scale, diverse agricultural farming practices, which were originally considered “small but beautiful.” It highlights a series of staggering facts: large-scale mechanized harvesting and processing result in the wastage of nearly one-third of the global food supply; small-scale, diversified farms are over five times more productive than industrialized monoculture farms; and small farms currently safeguard 95% of the world’s agricultural biodiversity.
The film addresses the impact of the globalization of markets on small-scale, diverse agricultural farming practices, which were originally considered “small but beautiful.” It highlights a series of staggering facts: large-scale mechanized harvesting and processing result in the wastage of nearly one-third of the global food supply; small-scale, diversified farms are over five times more productive than industrialized monoculture farms; and small farms currently safeguard 95% of the world’s agricultural biodiversity.
The next morning, a Small Farmer Talk was held, where small-scale farmers from the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai areas gathered together to share their current situations, discuss the challenges they face, and exchange ideas on the path ahead.
The Tomato Festival aims to celebrate the diversity of tomatoes and explore localized solutions from the perspectives of food, art, and land. We will continuously invite small-scale farmers to join us in exploring how they can voice out while facing global issues such as climate crisis (agriculture being the most impacted sector) and biodiversity loss. We will discuss whether small-scale farmers can sustainably continue their production while maintaining their way of life and how they can effectively raise their voices.
The “Planet Local ” also resonates with our response: transitioning from globalization to localism is an effective solution and the greatest possibility for exploring sustainability. Increasingly, young people around the world are returning to the land, engaging in ecological education, promoting natural farming methods, and establishing ecological communities. With a focus on their responsibility towards the environment and land, they engage in production and consumption practices that prioritize sustainability.
At YouGood Farm, we practice natural farming methods and permaculture. The ongoing revolution of localization is experiencing such changes: we appreciate the gifts of nature while acknowledging the pain brought about by globalization. Returning to ancient lands, we embark on a new transformation – individuals with courage and strength are leading the revolution of localization.
Returning to our roots means reconnecting through emotions and shared understanding between people and the environment. We celebrate abundance and diversity, cherishing the objects that coexist in our corner of the world. Through this, we gradually establish a symbiotic relationship with the land using a slow and low-consumption approach. The fields, ducks, plants, and birds become integral parts of our lives, and our perception of ourselves as individuals begins to change.
As the ecological architect Lawrence Halpri said, “I want to participate in absolutely real events, join people and the environment so that life can thrive as a whole.” Tomatoes have achieved our symbiosis this time.
Community partner Ashley shared her feeling about living in the countryside and among community friends, which also concludes our thoughts towards the festival and our community. “In the city, it seems like we have always been chasing an “eternal summer,” an everlasting youth. But in the countryside, we have always been celebrating the process of getting older, rediscovering ourselves and our lives through ancient traditions, discarded objects, and the interweaving of pain and joy that exists within life. In doing so, we uncover a greater capacity for love, giving, and creativity than we never thought possible, and this power of love can extend beyond our own lives, taking the form of community and spreading through the way we live.”
Text: Chengcheng, Ashley
Photography: Li Gaoshan, Qi, Chengcheng, Jasmine
Tomato Art Installation Design: Lv Yanni, Cy
