What comes to mind when you think of Taiwan's coastal environment or ocean culture? The Northeast Coast, Qingshui Cliffs, basalt formations… Syaman Rapongan, fishing villages, Mazu… Beyond these, what other coastlines in Taiwan are worth exploring?
Since 2017, the Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration (SMESA) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs has operated the "Social Innovation Products and Services Procurement Incentive Mechanism," bringing together nearly a thousand social innovation organizations (hereafter "social enterprises") that develop business models aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To encourage the public to embrace SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption and Production — SMESA launched the "Responsible Commerce" curated brand, selecting 80 featured products and services annually. Through the "Social Innovation Selection Catalog," these are promoted to consumers as sustainable options, including a number of social enterprises advancing ocean sustainability under SDG 14 — Life Below Water. This series of reports will explore, from everyday purchasing to local experiences, how the products and services of social enterprises can support marine conservation — seen through multiple perspectives.
Are you curious about what other coastlines in Taiwan are worth discovering and understanding? Here, we introduce four social enterprises that promote coastal scenery and culture through environmental education.
A Comprehensive Environmental Education Brand Rooted in Wetland Schools: Friendly Seed
Friendly Seed — true to its name — hopes to plant a seed of environmental friendliness in everyone's heart. Operating across Taiwan, Friendly Seed facilitates environmental education programs that rebuild mutual respect and understanding between people and their natural surroundings.
Did you know that the Sihcao Mangrove Tunnel — dubbed "Taiwan's Amazon" — is located inside Taiwan's only wetland national park? Since 2012, Friendly Seed has accompanied Taijiang National Park in developing the Taijiang Wetland School. What began as nature-and-ecology-focused courses has since expanded into a comprehensive curriculum covering salt village culture, agriculture and fisheries, and cultural beliefs. The school even offers an on-campus outreach program called "Black-faced Spoonbill on a Mission," designed for students from the third grade of elementary school through to the general public. Courses are available year-round by reservation. After 13 years of partnership, Friendly Seed hopes the Taijiang Wetland School will one day become a publicly accessible wetland-based environmental learning center.
The Taijiang Wetland School has guided countless students in understanding wetland environments, resident species, industry development, and salt village culture. Image credit: Friendly Seed
In 2018, Friendly Seed also established a presence on Heping Island in Keelung, launching the marine education brand "Slow Island Travel." The concept is to explore a place slowly, tell the island's story in the island's own language, and put environmental stewardship into practice through travel. Participants become citizen scientists, conducting ecological surveys in intertidal zones, and can also enjoy a natural seawater swimming pool — all in the spirit of forging a genuine connection between people and the sea.
Heping Island is the closest offshore island to Taiwan's main island, making it an ideal one-day family outing. Image credit: Friendly Seed
Heping Island — Elevated to a Whole New Level: Heping Island Geopark
Since we're talking about Heping Island, we can't skip Heping Island Geopark! Formerly known as Sheliao Island, Heping Island's geographical position has made it a witness to multiple chapters of Taiwan's history — boasting not only 400 years of human heritage but also 20 million years of geological history. Shaped by wind and wave erosion, its rocks have been sculpted into utterly unique formations.
"Travel is not just travel — it is something that changes a place." Heping Island carries a piece of Taiwan's ocean culture, and the opportunity to share these precious assets with the world is the result of efforts by a group of young Keelung locals with backgrounds in environmental education, tourism, and marine industry-academia partnerships. Together, they have transformed Heping Island into a world-class island destination, combining intertidal ecological survey experiences, geology-guided tours, water activities, live-action mystery solving, island sketching workshops, and more — activities suited for the whole family.
Twenty million years of geological history, sculpted by sea wind and seawater into extraordinary shapes. Image credit: Heping Island Geopark
The intertidal ecological survey experience is a collaboration with Slow Island Travel — you can book the itinerary through either organization's website. Before you leave, be sure to pop into their curated shop, Lido Yuren, which is filled with high-quality sustainable products with ocean-inspired designs. Fair warning: once you're in, it's hard to leave.
The Salt Brand of Choice for Fine Dining — Selling Not Just Salt, but the Wind and Light of a Century-Old Salt Field: Zhounnan Salt Farm
Fleur de sel croissants, potato chips, beverages… just what is this "fleur de sel" everyone's talking about? Beyond saltiness, what else can salt offer? That seemingly unremarkable seasoning hiding in plain sight at the back of your pantry is, upon closer inspection, a surprisingly fascinating subject.
Beyond the widely known Qigu district in Tainan, salt production was once a defining feature of Budai in Chiayi as well. As national policy shifted, salt fields across Taiwan gradually fell into disuse. The founder of Zhounnan Salt Farm, Cai Jiongqiao, resolved to revive Budai's salt-making culture — tracking down retired salt workers to help recover the memory of the salt fields and developing a suite of environmental education programs. Starting with "salt worker's tea," visitors are invited to step into a day in the life of a salt worker, rekindling the connection between people and the land.
After taking over in 2008, Zhounnan Salt Farm brought veteran salt workers back to restore the salt fields — a process that took three years before the first harvest of salt was produced. Image credit: Zhounnan Salt Farm
The three defining DNA elements of sun-dried salt — minerals, microorganisms, and climate — determine its flavor profile. Zhounnan Salt Farm has developed a range of specialty salts produced under varying conditions, including Seasonal Fleur de Sel, Frost Salt, and Thick Algae Salt, earning the farm a strong reputation in the fine dining world. The farm-to-table movement has helped bring Taiwan's salt-making culture back into the spotlight, turning a once-overlooked seasoning into a key ingredient that draws out the finest flavors on the plate.
Preserving Taiwan's salt-making culture is a long road ahead. Alongside last year's publication of Salt-Selected Island Flavors, Zhounnan Salt Farm also harbors a grander ambition: the Taiwan Salt Selection Team. The initiative seeks out distinctive salts from across the island — such as Kenting coral salt, Green Island Kuroshio sea salt, hand-roasted sea salt from the Amis people of Changbin in Taitung, and mountain bamboo salt — with the hope of uniting Taiwan's salt artisans, giving new value to Taiwan's salt heritage, and preserving the traces of a way of life once sustained by the sea.
Zhounnan Salt Farm hopes to connect more salt artisans in the future, breathing new life into Taiwan's salt-making culture. Image credit: Zhounnan Salt Farm
Preserving Not Just a Village, but the Cultural Memory of an Entire Maritime Community: Rìguāng Wénlǚ
Jingsha — a place where military history, fishing village life, and Min-Dong architectural clusters converge — is one of the earliest settlements on Nangan Island in Matsu, and a microcosm of Taiwan's western offshore islands. Yet like so many other outlying islands, it faces the same challenges: young people leaving, an aging population, and dwindling tourism.
Nestled in this hillside-and-sea village is one organization breathing new life into the Jingsha community: Rìguāng Wénlǚ. With "Ocean × Environment × Action × Digital" as its guiding pillars, the organization has built the "Jinliao Creative Regeneration Base," drawing young people and travelers back into the community. Their work goes beyond renovating old houses — they are deeply involved in community development and environmental education. More than a visitor center, the base serves as a connector for local businesses, a launchpad for young entrepreneurs, and a storyteller for the community.
The base's guided walking tours take visitors through the living traces of wartime and fishing village life, and participants can also join beach cleanups, create marine debris art, or sample local specialties like sweet potato dumplings and Matsu laojiou (aged rice wine).
The base collects marine debris to use in workshops where participants craft it into works of art. Image credit: Jinliao Creative Regeneration Base
Since Jingsha is celebrated as the "hometown of laojiou," a visit here wouldn't be complete without tasting Matsu's aged rice wine. Now in its third consecutive autumn, the "Jindong Wine Festival" brings together an artisan market, traditional laojiou brewing, ocean talks, and community tours. The event not only showcases the charm of laojiou and its by-product hong zao (red fermented rice), but also preserves the unique maritime community culture of this remote island.
The Jindong Wine Festival has become an annual highlight for the community. Image credit: Jinliao Creative Regeneration Base
We tend to think of "the sea" as something far away — yet it has long been woven into our songs, our tables, and our beliefs, embedded deep within the fabric of our everyday lives.
Next time you have a free moment, why not visit one of these places and go in search of Taiwan's ocean memory?
Further Reading
