Media

Since 2013, the Policy for Sustainability Lab (PSL) of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong has been revitalising local rural areas in collaboration with indigenous villagers, urban enthusiasts, nonprofits and experts from various fields to pass on southern China’s rural culture and natural environment. Having done six years of revitalisation work, PSL is going to organise a large-scale co-creation event "Lai Chi Wo! Village Fest" in Lai Chi Wo on the two consecutive weekends of 21, 22, 28 and 29 December 2019 as part of the "HSBC Rural Sustainability" programme. Two local artist teams “Art for All” and “On Earth” and Lai Chi Wo villagers will jointly lead participants from all walks of life to experience the unique environment and culture of the Hakka village with their five senses and rediscover the sustainable rural life.

"Lai Chi Wo! Village Fest" is a festive event to promote a better lifestyle which is based on sustainable urban-rural symbiosis. A number of art activities and creative programmes will be held to celebrate the revitalisation of Lai Chi Wo and let more urban dwellers experience the joy of sustainable rural life.

"Lai Chi Wo! Village Fest" has two main themes – “Hakka Culture” and “Joyful Earth”. Activities include a 300-people co-created performance, Hakka folk song singing, soil moulding, exhibition guided tours, Hakka embroidered band knitting, earthen kiln cooking, mud brick making, and medicinal herb discovering. It is expected that participants will find that Lai Chi Wo is a place full of treasures and appreciate that the villagers are able to make use of in-situ materials to meet their needs in an environmentally-friendly and pragmatic way.

Details of "Lai Chi Wo! Village Fest":
http://www.socsc.hku.hk/psl/laichiwo/zh/pages/co-creation/lai-chi-wo-village-fest/

Introduction to the "HSBC Rural Sustainability" Programme:
http://www.socsc.hku.hk/psl/laichiwo/zh/

Members of the media are cordially invited to visit Lai Chi Wo and cover this event.

Contact Information: Ms. YAU Anna, Project Manager, Centre for Civil Society and Governance, The University of Hong Kong (Tel: 6089-6047 / Email: annawyau@hku.hk)
Remarks: 25 December 2019 (Wednesday) is the registration deadline for joining "Lai Chi Wo! Village Fest" activities on 28 and 29 December 2019 (Saturday and Sunday). Interested members of the media may arrange the date of publication accordingly.

About Lai Chi Wo
The Hakka village of Lai Chi Wo located in a remote valley in the north-eastern New Territories was founded over 300 years ago by two Hakka clans the Tsangs and the Wongs. Villagers in the past cut the hilly slopes into terraces for paddy farming and led an environmentally friendly lifestyle. The village is surrounded by the Plover Cove Country Park and the Yan Chau Tong Marine Park and designated as part of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark. The village is endowed with diverse habitats, including Feng Shui Woods, agricultural lands, streams and mangroves, as well as many precious species, such as Coastal Heritiera (Heritiera littoralis), White-flowered Derris (Derris alborubra) and Dwarf Eel Grass (Zostera japonica). Since the 1950s, villagers began to move out to the urban areas of Hong Kong or overseas for a better living, leaving the village largely desolated. The revitalisation programme implemented since 2013 has seen villagers gradually moving back. With the intact village layout and the reinvigorated community, Lai Chi Wo has become an exemplar of local rural revitalisation.

About “Policy for Sustainability Lab, Centre for Civil Society and Governance, The University of Hong Kong”
The Policy for Sustainability Lab (PSL) formally joined the Centre for Civil Society and Governance on 1 May 2019, and became one of the Centre’s major pillars. The mission of the Centre is to contribute to the attainment of a sustainable society through forging community-based and innovative solutions to social and environmental challenges. The work of the Centre is knowledge-based, with a focus on research, knowledge dissemination, and social impact. Under the overarching mission of the Centre, PSL aspires to promote and facilitate beneficial socio-ecological interactions as a way to attain sustainability.

About the "HSBC Rural Sustainability" Programme
The “HSBC Rural Sustainability” programme aims to revitalise the rural communities of Hong Kong and to promote urban-rural symbiosis and sustainable development. It revitalises the local rural areas through multiple ways including community building, socio-economic collaboration, regional innovation, sustainable development education and research, as well as start-up incubation. The programme has the vision of contributing to the long-term vibrancy and sustainability for Hong Kong’s rural community and beyond. It strives to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The programme is initiated by the Policy for Sustainability Lab of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong and supported by HSBC and the Environment Bureau of HKSAR.

About “Art for All”
“Art for All” is a non-profit Community Art Charitable Organisation established in 2001 which aims at assisting socially underprivileged people. The team launched the “Murmur of the Bricks” art installation project which uses soil and straw in Lai Chi Wo to make adobe bricks and transforms an old village house into an interactive art installation to inherit the almost forgotten stories and songs of Lai Chi Wo Village. The art installation drives audience’s contemplation to Hakka culture, vernacular aesthetics, traditional crafts and the values of rural villages in the contemporary society.

About “On Earth”
“On Earth” is an art project launched in Lai Chi Wo in 2019 by a group of ceramist and artists. The project focuses on the “People”, “Land” and “Natural Resources” of Lai Chi Wo with ceramic art as the vehicle for exploration. The project team organises various activities that allow participants and villagers to learn about ceramic art, create Lai Chi Wo characteristic art pieces, and record villagers’ stories. The result of the project is shared with both the local and overseas public to help them apprehend Lai Chi Wo from different perspectives and help villagers and their descendants jointly sustain the beautiful rural land and natural ecological environment of Lai Chi Wo. The project also invites artists of other media to participate in art residency to jointly explore the symbiotic relationship between human and earth.