Nostalgia and Invention in a Jar of Fruit Chilli Sauce
徐彩玲 Founder, New Chili Sauce; Secretary-General, Mayuan Community Development Association, Gukeng, Yunlin
This meeting welcomes 徐彩玲, founder of New Chili Sauce and secretary-general of the Mayuan Community Development Association in Gukeng, Yunlin, to share how she set out from her hometown to weave culture, agriculture and entrepreneurship into a vibrant path of rural revitalisation.
As the daughter of an immigrant mother and a Gukeng farming family, 徐彩玲 grew up as her mother's cultural interpreter and walked alongside her father through the transition to eco-friendly farming. With a background in environmental management, she has long focused on local wellbeing, rural long-term care and industrial upgrading, and ultimately chose to return home to work on community revitalisation and place-making.
In recent years she has blended Thai flavours from her mother's homeland with local Yunlin produce to create the New Chili Sauce brand — developing signature sauces that combine citrus and chilli and giving the region's crops a new story and new value.
From village to brand, from culture to entrepreneurship, 徐彩玲's story shows that staying home is not only about protecting the land — it is also an opportunity to build a new future for the place you love.
Topics we'll explore
- How growing up in an immigrant family becomes material for cultural innovation
- Taking community wellbeing from idea to practice
- Building a local Taiwanese brand from Thai flavours and Yunlin produce