Cleanliness is next to godliness
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Also leading their lives with respect for the environment is Tzu Chi volunteer couple Cai Meihui and Li Mingzao from the Zhonghe district of Taipei. The two have set up a rainwater recycling system in their home, and tied it in with a special garden-watering setup of their own design. And on top of all that, the pair even make their own soap- which I have one right here with me- it's made from a very special ingredient-- you'll never guess-- from recycled cooking oil. So if you want to try it yourself, you'll need a pair of rubber gloves, and a bowl of lye - which is a corrosive chemical known as sodium hydroxide. Mix it with two bowls of water, and add recycled cooking oil, flour, salt, and sugar; set the mixture for 30 days, and your soap will be ready.
< Get your soapbox here! >
At Cai Meihui's door, one finds two big boxes of small white soaps set out.
< Always the same basic recipe >
The home is on the first floor, which has allowed her to appropriate part of the alley when making her soaps.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui:"This bowl of lye or known as sodium hydroxide, one bowl; and two bowls of water."
After a thorough mixing, five bowls of used cooking oil are added.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui:"Restaurants or snack stands bring their used oil by here. They know I make soap, so they brings it, and then, I use it. To make soap."
< Making it her own >
To improve texture Cai Meihui also adds her own special blend of ingredients, which includes flour, salt, and sugar. The mixing process produces high heat, so safety masks and gloves are worn. The final stage is to pour the hot soap into tofu molds, where it dries for at least a month.
Meihui uses these soaps for both her dish-washing and laundry, which she does by hand, typically, only using her washing machine for its spinner. The wash cycle does get used, though: for blankets. And of course, the water gets re-used.
< Up on the rooftop >
On the roof of this household, one finds a big water tank, used to store rainwater.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Li Mingzao:"I see it as such a waste, when it rains. During rennovation, I thought: let's use a tank to catch the rainwater, and because it'll stink, let's find a way to filter it with rocks, charcoal, and sand."
This is Meihui's husband, Li Mingzao; Li is an interior designer, and also a Tzu Chi volunteer, who was involved in every stage of the Jing Si Abode's construction. For this reason, Li has been affectionately nicknamed "Free-going Li". Though Li underwent surgery five years ago for a brain tumor, his recovery has been strong; he has linked his rainwater catchment system to their sanitation plumbing, for cleaning water.
< Pretty plants, all in a row >
All along this row of plants, one sees attached plastic bags. This is Meihui's innovation.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui:"After the bags fill, you pop a hole in them, and the water slowly trickles out - just like an I.V. I saw it on the Da Ai channel - it's just perfect. I just do this, and my plants get watered. It saves me so much."
The system was indeed broadcast by the Da Ai channel, in its coverage of farmer adaptations to the Gansu drought. By covering the soil with plastic sheets, moisture is conserved. After seeing it, Meihui was inspired to attempt something similar in her own garden.
And of course, this couple never buys bottled drinks.
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui:"We cook our own herbal jellies, and make drinks from those. We never buy bottled stuff."
< Making conservation work for them >
Soap, water - electricity - kitchen utensils - this husband-wife pair works to conserve wherever they can. Their home is a recycling point, too - and Tzu Chi could ask for no better example, out amongst the community, promoting the good life.
同樣也是過著尊重大地的生活，是台北中和區的慈濟志工蔡美惠和李明灶夫妻，他們在自家裝設雨水回收系統，也用一種很特別的方式省水澆花，就連家裡洗衣服和洗碗的肥皂也都是自己做成的，我手上就有一塊象牙色的肥皂，有個很特別的原料，您一定猜不到就是回收的回鍋油，如果想要自己在家試試看，就要準備一雙塑膠手套、一碗鹼液，也就是有腐蝕性的氫氧化鈉，加入兩杯水，接著放入回鍋油、麵粉、鹽還有糖，攪拌過後，放置30天，肥皂就完成了。
還沒見到蔡美惠，就先在她家門口看到這兩大盒白色的手工皂。
蔡美惠家住一樓，因此有足夠的空間可以製作手工皂。
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui：「這一碗鹼片，氫氧化鈉一碗，兩碗水。」
攪拌均勻之後，再加上五碗回鍋油。
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui：「餐廳或是小吃攤都會把回鍋油送過來，他們知道我有在做肥皂，就送過來，送過來我就做。」
而為了提高手工皂硬度，蔡美惠會額外加入少許的麵粉、糖和鹽巴，攪拌的時候會產生高溫，因此必須全程戴手套和口罩以確保安全，然後就可以倒入裝豆腐的小盒子裡，接著陰乾，放置至少一個月。
蔡美惠做好的手工皂，用來洗碗還有手洗衣服，家裡的洗衣機多半用來脫水，只有毛毯才會用洗衣機洗，而水也會回收再利用。
蔡美惠家裡一樓的屋頂有一個大水桶，是專門用來儲存雨水。
Tzu Chi volunteer, Li Mingzao：「看到雨水流掉很浪費，改房子的時候，我就想到用水桶把雨水儲存起來，因為雨水儲存起來會發臭，想辦法把木炭、石頭跟沙擺在裡面，來過濾水。」
蔡美惠的先生李明灶是一位裝潢師傅，也是一位慈濟志工，經常參與花蓮靜思精舍的各項工程，因為配合度高而且做工細膩，被暱稱為李免走，雖然五年前因為腦瘤開刀，如今恢復良好，他所改造的家庭雨水儲存系統直接連到家中的洗手間，提供乾淨的水。
一整排的盆栽上面放著塑膠袋，這也是蔡美惠的省水妙招。
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui：「這個塑膠袋把水裝滿，然後打一個洞，然後水就這樣慢慢滴，像在打點滴一樣，我在大愛台看到，這樣很理想，我就用這樣子澆花，不用澆得很辛苦。」
這就是大愛台曾經報導過的甘肅農夫的旱作新技術，用塑膠膜覆蓋在耕作的農地上，能有效將水份保存在土壤中，蔡美惠看了之後，靈機一動，用到自己的花園裡。
當然，蔡美惠和李明灶夫妻從來不買飲料。
Tzu Chi volunteer, Cai Meihui：「我們都是自己煮青草茶，裝來自己喝，我從來沒有買過飲料。」
無論是肥皂、水電、廚房裡的鍋碗瓢盆，就連家裡也是一個回收站，他們兩位都是社區裡帶動健康生活的理想典範。
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