Led by a Frog: Turning Satoyama Policy Into a Market Experience

Challenge

The Chiayi Branch has spent years promoting the Satoyama Initiative, community forestry, and Taiwan's National Green Network, but that kind of policy language stays abstract for most people. This market, held at the Chiayi Arboretum, needed to turn 'connecting satoyama producers with city consumers' into a real experience that ordinary people would spend a full day at and choose to spend money supporting, all while our team carried visual design, physical setup, recruitment and management of 44 vendors, and on-site execution within a limited budget.

Goal

Make the policy idea tangible through a complete market visual identity, key visual, wordmark, and print collateral, paired with clear on-site wayfinding. Bring together friendly small farms, forest-based livelihoods, and ecological-experience booths to build a direct exchange platform between city consumers and satoyama producers, and use hands-on eco-craft workshops and conservation outreach to raise public awareness of biodiversity.

Approach

1. Set the theme as 'the Chuluo tree frog leads you through Chiayi and Tainan's satoyama and coastal landscapes,' building a key visual that ran through the stage backdrop, booth signage, hand-held signs, invitation cards, and DM flyers, forming one clearly recognizable market brand.
2. Kicked off preparation in December 2025, running three core planning meetings and two vendor briefing sessions. Organized the 44 booths into zones for friendly farm produce, creative food, artisan crafts, DIY activities, and conservation outreach, and used LINE Official Account to confirm 100% of vendors, closing every gap in pre-event communication.
3. Coordinated on-site infrastructure, tents, stage, sound system, generators, and evaporative coolers, along with staffing and event flow, tying together the opening ceremony, a screen-printing DIY experience, arboretum tours, stage performances, and a spend-and-win lucky draw into one participatory day for visitors.
4. Produced a full post-event report, collecting feedback surveys from vendors covering sales and satisfaction, and translated on-site observations into concrete recommendations for the client to use in planning the next edition of the market.

Outcome

The event drew 4,354 visitors in a single day. All 44 booths completed registration and payment, all three ecological-experience sessions sold out with 24 people on the waitlist, and vendor feedback surveys averaged 4.68/5, with 88% of vendors specifically praising the market's atmosphere and visual style. The event earned 20 reports across Taiwanese media including Central News Agency, ETtoday, UDN, and Liberty Times, successfully turning satoyama policy into a market that people actually showed up for, and paid to support.