The team "Hing-Bar-Ke" from the Department of Innovative Product Design, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, was formed by eight students and directed by Prof. Hong-Ming Chen. Their graduation projects,"Grapees" and "Fiber Vine Peels," won two awards for the 2017 Red Dot Design Concept Award in Germany. The team was the only one from Taiwan that won two awards. Their winning entries--"Grapees" and "Fiber Vine Peels"--utilize wasted agricultural products, such as grapes and grapevines, and create lighting devices and furniture with grapevine branches, raisins, and rattan fibers.

【The team "Hing-Bar-Ke" from the Department of Innovative Product Design, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, directed by Prof. Hong-Ming Chen, won prizes in the competition of Rural Revival Program for College Students】

【An award-winning product by "Hing-Bar-Ke: Grapee--a grapevine chair】

Since early 2016, the team has stationed in Dahsun Village, a rural village in Changhua County, where they were very much cared for by local residents. They learned from the problem of burning vine branches after the local grapes were harvested. With reference to the team's co-mentors, Prof. Ya-Ting Yu of the Department of Architecture, Tamkang University, particularly her recommendations and guidance design and application, they proceeded with the possibility of recycling and reusing the wasted materials. It was hoped that this would lead to the reduction of environmental pollution and tillage costs, the transformation of local micro-industries, and experiencing modes of tourism driven by local craftsmanship, along with betterment of the rural life in Taiwan based on the operation mode of the eco-museum. As a result, a number of community activities, such as "Community Handmade Dyeing Workshop," "New Starry Profile," "Starlight Dinner under the Vineyard," and "Village Revolution in Emerging Communities--Mosquito cinema," etc. came to being, not only promoting the use of value-added industries and agricultural waste, but also enhancing the community exposure of the community. It is hoped that the rural community will be able to develop into a village of art and light up the hope in the future. This award is not only the best recognition of emerging communities, but also the best encouragement and support for the team's long-lasting cultivation in rural areas.

【An award-winning product by Hing-Bar-Ke: Fiber Vine Peels—a rattan fiber lamp】

【An award-winning product by Hing-Bar-Ke: Fibers Vine Peels—a rattan fiber container.】

Over the past year, the team has been working on the results of their participation in the Rural Revival Program for College Students. They continued to develop many rural products with characteristics, such as emerging chairs, grape vines, grape dyes, growth type, star map, biological carbon application, new dolls, and other crafts and design products. The team was great affirmed at different stages by different prizes and awards, such as the Silver Award for the rural revival program, Innovative Experiment Award, Residency Award, New Generation Design Exhibition Gold Dot Design Award, eight finalists for iF Design Awards and four finalists in Design Concept Awards and Red Dot Design Awards.

【Hing-Bar-Ke was planting growth molds in the vineyard of the emerging community of Dahsun Village, Changhua County.】

【Hing-Bar-Ke held hands-on workshops in the community; villagers were taught by teammates to learn how to use dyed cloth products by community residents.】

As Prof. Hong-Ming Chen said, what touched him the most was that all the students invested the prize money they won in the past--more than NT$300,000—back in their research and development. There were still many strains of plants in the laborer plant they brought back from Changhua, with which the team hoped to develop a work based on the “grow model” of the grapevine transformation. Repeated failure and frustration have never beaten any member of the team during their development. In 2017, the team gain four new members and even adopted an intelligent platform to market crops and local specialty products, learning more mature technology to hold community workshops. Local residents hope to integrate various resources into their work, so that more people would pay attention to this beautiful place.

【Red Dot Design Award founder and CEO Dr. Peter Zec (first from left) and Red Dot Asia President Chi-Kin Chiu (first from right) and Hing-Bar-Ke team】

【Hing-Bar-Ke was invited to participate in the award ceremony of Red Dot Design Award in Singapore (Photo courtesy by Kai-Qiang Wang, Commissioner of the Central News Agency in Singapore).】