我在杭州茶村

方祥薰

掐指一算，我來杭州龍塢茶村已經4年多了。很多人問過我當初為什么選擇杭州，為什么選擇在鄉村生活、選擇了這個茶村。當時我的一個朋友邀請我來龍塢茶村，看看這里是不是一個建立和實現我們夢想的地方。老實說，我沒有抱很高的期望。但是那天一到龍塢，我就立刻被它的環境和氣氛所吸引了。

過去十多年來，我在世界各地生活過，包括世界上最發達和最不發達的一些城市。我來杭州之前的上一站是日本東京。在那里我學習了自行車設計、車架制作和保養。我的主要興趣是研究可持續移動性，所以學習自行車相關的知識對我來說似乎是一個完美的選擇。利用自己制作的自行車，我騎行到達過杭州以及周邊的很多地方。我甚至還在杭州開了一家以自行車為主題的民宿，并因此認識了很多志同道合的朋友。

騎行在杭州這座城市，我感到自由、感到快樂，因為杭州是一個非常適合騎行的地方，尤其是在郊區。但與此同時，在某些地方看到一些隨手丟棄的垃圾，我總是感到不舒服。因此，我決定在我的能力范圍內做一些事情。

我在韓國出生長大，從小就被教育要有社會責任感，做出對環境有益的可持續改變無疑是一個重要方面。雖然花了一些時間來思考這個問題，但當決定開始真正實施后，有關的想法很快就付諸行動了。大約兩年前，也就是2019年7月，我和女朋友Ava暫停了自行車主題民宿，并創立了Eco-Venture（生態探險）。與其說它是一個正式的組織，不如說它是一個環保倡議。我們組織的第一個活動是一個簡單的撿垃圾活動：通過簡單的海報，這次活動號召大家一起去大自然撿垃圾。這次“行動”的結果超出了預期。有超過30位熱情的中外人士參加了這次活動——隨后的每次活動都會吸引30位甚至更多的人士參加。不論是中國人還是外國人，在杭州的這些朋友對環境保護都非常在意。

在這些活動中，很多人問過我不少關于環保、可持續發展的專業問題。雖然可持續發展是我主要研究的課題之一，但嚴格來說，我既不是環保主義者，也不是專業人士。對我來說，可持續發展或環境保護不應該是少數專業人士的工作。作為一個普通人，每個人都應該對環境負責，在工作和日常生活中注重可持續性。這并不需要作出巨大的犧牲。它可以是一個簡單的舉動，比如把垃圾扔進垃圾箱。有時在撿垃圾的活動中，我們會碰到比預想更多的垃圾，因為一些碎片隱藏在主要道路之外的角落里。其實政府已經提供了足夠多的垃圾桶，即使是在偏僻的地區也很容易找到垃圾桶。每當遇到這種情況，我多么希望人們能稍微多點耐心，確保垃圾被扔進垃圾桶。

它也可以是有趣的游戲或活動。在我們的環保活動中，我發現每個孩子都可以很自然地把所有的事情都變成一個游戲，并享受它。例如，他們比賽看誰撿的垃圾更多，或者把尋找特定類型的垃圾變成尋寶游戲，山林和茶園成了他們的游樂場。通過觀看他們，我學到了很多，比如如何把活動組織得更加有趣。如果成年人和孩子一樣有想象力，我們或許能把這個世界變成一個比現在更有意思的地方，同時還能玩得開心。而有這些經歷的孩子長大后會變得更有責任感。

自創立生態探險以來，我自己也發生了很多變化。一方面，研究可持續發展領域是令人愉快的，包括可以學習以前不感興趣的領域。特別是自從疫情暴發以來，我們無法組織活動，我有更多的時間來學習。另一方面，我對自己的行為變得非常謹慎。作為一個個體，我發現自己還沒有過上足夠環保或可持續的生活，對這一點我也在不斷努力。

當人們詢問我未來的計劃時，我總是會說——我希望成為一座橋梁。目前我所做的一切都是如此：聯接不同的民族和文化，聯接人類和環境，甚至在某種意義上，連聯接現在和未來。現在，杭州已經成為我在韓國以外生活時間最長的地方。吸引我的不僅僅是杭州和龍塢茶村美麗的環境，這幾年的經歷也不斷告訴我，在這里，人們可以為自己、為社會、為地球做出真切而持久的改變。

（作者系韓國企業家，目前常駐杭州，長期致力于環境保護。）

Making the Earth a Better Place from a Tea Village

By Paul Sanghoon Bhang

It has already been more than four years since I came to Longwu Tea Village in Hangzhou. Many people ask me why I have chosen Hangzhou， the countryside and this particular village. When a friend of mine asked me to come to the village to see if it would be the place to build our dream， I didnt have much expectations. But the day I arrived， I was immediately attracted by its environment and atmosphere.

I have lived in different places all over the world for over a decade before， in some of the worlds most developed and underdeveloped cities. My last stop prior to Hangzhou was Tokyo， Japan. There I learned bicycle design， frame building and maintenance.

My main interest was studying sustainable mobility， and studying bicycles seemed a perfect choice for me. With the bike I made myself， I was able to travel to a lot of places. In fact， I even started a bicycle-themed guesthouse in Hangzhou， and met many people.

Traveling by bike around the city， I felt free and happy， since Hangzhou is a very bike-friendly place， especially in the suburban areas. But at the same time， I always felt uncomfortable seeing litters in certain areas. Therefore， I made up my mind to do something about it within my power.

Growing up in Korea， I was taught at a very young age to be socially responsible， and to make sustainable changes is undoubtedly an important aspect. While it took me some time to think about the issue， it didnt take long for me to put my idea into action when I decided to begin it.

About two years ago， in July 2019， I founded Eco-Venture after winding up the bicycle-themed guest house. It was not so much a formal organization than an environment initiative. The first “event” we organized was a simple trash-picking event. After discussing with my girlfriend Ava， we made simple posters and called on people to just go out in nature and pick up trash with us. The result of the “action” was exceeding my expectations. There were over 30 passionate people， Chinese and international， at the event — and in subsequent events. There were a lot more people who were interested in this action than we thought.

While organizing these activities， many people asked me many professional opinions on environment protection or sustainability. Although sustainability is one of my main subjects of study， I am not strictly an environmentalist nor a professional. For me， sustainability or environmental protection should not be only a few professionals job. As an ordinary human being， everyone should be responsible for the environment and focus on sustainability in their work and everyday life.

It doesnt need great sacrifices or efforts for that to happen. It could be a simple act of throwing trash into the bins. Sometimes during our events， we could pick up more trash than expected as some pieces were hidden outside the main roads， usually unseen unless you carefully look into the nooks and crannies. In fact， the city of Hangzhou has provided more than enough trash bins， which can be easily found everywhere. Whenever we were in such areas， I wished people could be just a bit more patient to look around for the bins.

It could be also a part of fun games or events. In our events， I found that every child could naturally make everything into a game and enjoy doing it. For example， they make it a competition to see who picks up more trash or they turn finding a specific type of trash into a treasure hunting. They were able to change the hills and the tea fields into their playgrounds. By watching them， I learned much about making events as fun as possible. If grown-ups have similar imaginations as children， we would all be able to make this world a much better place to live in than now， and having fun at the same time. And of course， the children who grew up having these experiences would become much more responsible grown-ups.

Since founding Eco-Venture， there have also been many changes in myself. For one thing， studying the sustainability field is enjoyable， including the areas that I was not interested in before. Especially since the pandemic broke out， we were not able to organize events actively， I had much more time for my studies. For another， Ive become much cautious with regards to my own behaviors as well as their outcomes. As a person， I find myself not living in very eco-friendly or sustainable life yet， which I still strive to achieve.

When people ask about my plans， I always say： I wish to be a bridge. What I have been doing is part of my path connecting different peoples and cultures， connecting humans with the environment， and， in a sense， connecting the present with the future. Now， Hangzhou has become the place where I have lived the longest outside my native country. It is the beautiful surroundings of Hangzhou and Longwu Tea Village that have drawn me， and as the experiences in the past few years show， it is also the belief that here people can make genuine and lasting changes.

Born in Korea， Paul Sanghoon Bhang has been a life traveler. He lived， studied and worked in over 30 countries for over 15 years before moving to Hangzhou. With a diverse interest in various subjects， such as sustainability， education， language， culture and food， Paul is the founder of Eco-Venture and a lecturer at Hangzhou Normal University.