VISION
The proposal aims to take the best out of the ancestral cultural way of living in Kong Hu Xi and the contemporary one to lead to a projected scenario. The vision of this first group of students aims to counter the rural exodus of the village by finding a new ecological, economical, social and cultural balance within Kong Hu Xi.
The ancestral dwelling consists of a house with a tri-generational family. The house operates with its pigsty, its portion of fields, and in its immediate vicinity, it also works with a small vegetable garden, and a source for water supply. The inhabitants have still good carpenters and build their own houses in timber frame. The rice fields are grown on a rice-duck and rice-fish system, ducks and fishs being used to eat the insects that eat the rice plans. The pigs are fed with the wastes of human food which is sufficient since the village is well populated. The concept of waste does not exist. Both human and animal excrement, both collected in the hog barns, are used as fertilizer for the fields. In terms of economy, the only effective way of transportation is by foot and the river. But the river system is declining in favour of the road infrastructure. In terms of culture, a typical Tujia dance is practiced during important events. We will also highlight the craftsmanship of the village and the ability to make lanterns in paper or silk. The inhabitants also build wooden boats called Sampan.
In the current situation, the big factor of change is the appearance of the metropolitan area. This absorbs a significant amount of workers. The city has brought the dream of better comfort as well as the consommation of new products that are disruptive elements in the ecosystem set up. Ducks and fish are replaced by pesticides that prove to be less productive than the ancestral system, they pollute the soil and water and cost money. In addition, the human food source induced by ducks and fish has disappeared.
At present the houses are mono or bi generational. Either the old and the young, or just the old ones. The use of the fields is therefore reduced. The houses in the village are almost empty. Because of the presence of fewer people, the pigsty houses only hold one pig, since smaller families have not enough waste to feed several. The pig being a social animal, it is miserable if it is left alone and therefore less productive.
In the projected situation, we would like to return to some elements of the ancestral system that work well while adapting it to certain aspects of modernity. The idea is to find a suitable contemporary input in the village. We want to find a double balance: the balance within the village and the balance with the city and its stakes. To this end, several notions are put in place: the return to rice-duck and rice-fish agriculture, the revitalization of the craftsmanship, the plantation of new types, the grouping of piggery, the grouping of the sources allowing a better control of the water as well as the contribution of modern comfort techniques.