我在杭州茶村

方祥薰

掐指一算，我來杭州龙坞茶村已经4年多了。很多人问过我当初为什么选择杭州，为什么选择在乡村生活、选择了这个茶村。当时我的一个朋友邀请我来龙坞茶村，看看这里是不是一个建立和实现我们梦想的地方。老实说，我没有抱很高的期望。但是那天一到龙坞，我就立刻被它的环境和气氛所吸引了。

过去十多年来，我在世界各地生活过，包括世界上最发达和最不发达的一些城市。我来杭州之前的上一站是日本东京。在那里我学习了自行车设计、车架制作和保养。我的主要兴趣是研究可持续移动性，所以学习自行车相关的知识对我来说似乎是一个完美的选择。利用自己制作的自行车，我骑行到达过杭州以及周边的很多地方。我甚至还在杭州开了一家以自行车为主题的民宿，并因此认识了很多志同道合的朋友。

骑行在杭州这座城市，我感到自由、感到快乐，因为杭州是一个非常适合骑行的地方，尤其是在郊区。但与此同时，在某些地方看到一些随手丢弃的垃圾，我总是感到不舒服。因此，我决定在我的能力范围内做一些事情。

我在韩国出生长大，从小就被教育要有社会责任感，做出对环境有益的可持续改变无疑是一个重要方面。虽然花了一些时间来思考这个问题，但当决定开始真正实施后，有关的想法很快就付诸行动了。大约两年前，也就是2019年7月，我和女朋友Ava暂停了自行车主题民宿，并创立了Eco-Venture（生态探险）。与其说它是一个正式的组织，不如说它是一个环保倡议。我们组织的第一个活动是一个简单的捡垃圾活动：通过简单的海报，这次活动号召大家一起去大自然捡垃圾。这次“行动”的结果超出了预期。有超过30位热情的中外人士参加了这次活动——随后的每次活动都会吸引30位甚至更多的人士参加。不论是中国人还是外国人，在杭州的这些朋友对环境保护都非常在意。

在这些活动中，很多人问过我不少关于环保、可持续发展的专业问题。虽然可持续发展是我主要研究的课题之一，但严格来说，我既不是环保主义者，也不是专业人士。对我来说，可持续发展或环境保护不应该是少数专业人士的工作。作为一个普通人，每个人都应该对环境负责，在工作和日常生活中注重可持续性。这并不需要作出巨大的牺牲。它可以是一个简单的举动，比如把垃圾扔进垃圾箱。有时在捡垃圾的活动中，我们会碰到比预想更多的垃圾，因为一些碎片隐藏在主要道路之外的角落里。其实政府已经提供了足够多的垃圾桶，即使是在偏僻的地区也很容易找到垃圾桶。每当遇到这种情况，我多么希望人们能稍微多点耐心，确保垃圾被扔进垃圾桶。

它也可以是有趣的游戏或活动。在我们的环保活动中，我发现每个孩子都可以很自然地把所有的事情都变成一个游戏，并享受它。例如，他们比赛看谁捡的垃圾更多，或者把寻找特定类型的垃圾变成寻宝游戏，山林和茶园成了他们的游乐场。通过观看他们，我学到了很多，比如如何把活动组织得更加有趣。如果成年人和孩子一样有想象力，我们或许能把这个世界变成一个比现在更有意思的地方，同时还能玩得开心。而有这些经历的孩子长大后会变得更有责任感。

自创立生态探险以来，我自己也发生了很多变化。一方面，研究可持续发展领域是令人愉快的，包括可以学习以前不感兴趣的领域。特别是自从疫情暴发以来，我们无法组织活动，我有更多的时间来学习。另一方面，我对自己的行为变得非常谨慎。作为一个个体，我发现自己还没有过上足够环保或可持续的生活，对这一点我也在不断努力。

当人们询问我未来的计划时，我总是会说——我希望成为一座桥梁。目前我所做的一切都是如此：联接不同的民族和文化，联接人类和环境，甚至在某种意义上，连联接现在和未来。现在，杭州已经成为我在韩国以外生活时间最长的地方。吸引我的不仅仅是杭州和龙坞茶村美丽的环境，这几年的经历也不断告诉我，在这里，人们可以为自己、为社会、为地球做出真切而持久的改变。

（作者系韩国企业家，目前常驻杭州，长期致力于环境保护。）

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.