“The Tribal Tour on Dining Tables”, launched by the East Longitudinal Valley National Scenic Area Headquarters ( with Headquarters), with the theme, “tribal culture x scenic secret spots x dining experience”, won the “Local Culture Promotion Contribution Award” in “shopping design-Taiwan design best 100” in 2018. In 2021, its tribal tourism program “East Longitudinal Valley Tour”, based on the design concept of tribal lifestyle experience, stood out from the 5,835 submissions and won the hearts of 88 international panelists, which included Japanese, winning the Good Design Award 2021's Initiative and Activity for Region.
According to Director Kuo, the “East Longitudinal Valley Tour” launched by the Headquarters in 2018, comprises two brands, “East Longitudinal Valley Tour: The Tribal Tour on Dining Tables” and “East Longitudinal Valley Tour: Tribal Food Paradise”. “East Longitudinal Valley Tour: The Tribal Tour on Dining Tables” emphasizes in-depth tribal themes, and based on tribal food culture, integrates themes such as food ingredients, seasonal stories, music and folk songs, offering half or one day feast for the public to enjoy an in-depth experience of the daily tribal life and traditional culture. “East Longitudinal Valley Tour: Tribal Food Paradise” makes its debut this year, offering an immersive tribal food experience paradise with the surroundings as backdrop and integrating elements such as tribal cuisine, aesthetics, music and featured crafts. More than 25 tribal villages from East Longitudinal Valley's Amis, Bunun, Sidek, Taroko and Beinan tribes, as well as Alisan's Tsou tribe and Taitung's Paiwan tribe, together with 33 local shops, offer the public a relaxed and lively experience in learning about tribal culture in various aspects, including dining, hunting, valley stage, handcrafts, etc. The commonality of the brands is the respect for the wisdom of the ancestors and friendly attitude towards the land. They are also in line with the spirit of sustainable development and green travel emphasized globally in recent years. Daily utensils are made by using materials easily obtained in nature, conveying the concept of environmental protection and cherishing things. While passing down and preserving tribal culture, it also retrieves tribal people's identity in relation to their culture and values, exhibiting the aesthetics of the unique tribal lifestyle.
Director Kuo said that this glory is the perfect result of the local team's long-term cooperation. “East Longitudinal Valley Tour” is a brand about the indigenous people's lifestyle which the Headquarters has been promoting over the years. A team formed by the Jabez team, which is in charge of coordinating, planning and curating, and visual designer, Akibo, is deployed on site for local observation and in-depth connection, providing the brand with nutrients for full development. Through featured interviews on tribal lifestyle, exploring the cultural context of food, and conveying the transformation, every process carries the expectation of tribal cultural heritage and the hard work of the members.
With encouragement from the Good Design Award 2021, the Administration and the team will continue to uphold the original intention in the future, and uncover, archive and share more precious tribal culture.
