Yao Jizhong is one of the millions of people who migrate to big cities every year in search of a more prosperous life. But unlike many migrants, the 35-year-old does not measure his prosperity in terms of material wealth. He moved to Beijing to pursue a bigger dream: showing the world that less is more.
For the past 17 years, Yao has barely bought any clothes, cosmetics, detergents, or processed or non-organic foods. In the hope of removing himself from the work-earn-spend cycle, he is now almost entirely self-sufficient, instead relying on nature and his own skills.
Word is getting around. The Anhui native has over 4,000 followers on Weibo, and he has even re-entered the consumer economy in his own modest way, selling homemade pastries and snacks at a local organic market.
Yao presents pastries that he sells online and at local organic markets.
It’s a few days before Chinese New Year, and Yao is making tofu at his home in the suburban district of Changping. He invites us into the enormous courtyard that he rents with friends, some of whom moved here with their families to run their small businesses full-time. Together, they form a commune of sorts, growing their own food and living off the land.
“I only eat seasonal and organic vegetables,” Yao explains cheerfully. “Unseasonal ones are tasteless to me – like eating sawdust. I can even taste the chemicals they use to keep them in season.”
In Yao’s small, scantily furnished bedroom, cabinets hold precious exhibits of handmade pastries, home-grown organic nuts and fermenting vinegar. A banner inscribed with ‘qingcao shan ren’ (green grass hermit) hangs in the middle of the room. The room is surprisingly cold and he offers us some freshly made soymilk to warm us up, explaining that it is only one step away from becoming tofu.
Yao cooks a meal using organic and homemade ingredients.
“I was always fascinated with ecological agriculture, so I had this idea of farming my land without any chemicals,” he says.
After graduating from high school, Yao decided to become a farmer in his hometown in Anhui. But it proved more difficult than he had envisaged. Having learned very little about growing vegetables at school, he found it impossible to support himself without using chemical pesticides and fertilizers to boost his yield. With no support from his family, running at a loss was not an option.
“Nobody understood me back in my hometown. I didn't allow my family to use any detergents or soaps — they thought I was crazy."
“I moved to Beijing in 2008,” he recalls. “I feel people here appreciate the things I do. But nobody understood me back in my hometown. I didn't allow my family to use any detergents or soaps – I'd throw them away, so they thought I was crazy.
“I don't believe in buying disposable products. I even collect tea leaves after brewing, and rub them into my teeth and gums to get more out of them.”
This is just one of the countless ways that a self-sustaining lifestyle manifests itself. But being thrifty is just as important as being resourceful. Almost all of Yao’s clothes have been donated by friends, including the patched-up trousers he wore on the day of our visit. Most of his kitchenware is scavenged from others’ trash, meaning that no two bowls are the same.
Yao's scantily furnished bedroom at his home in Changping.
"I don't believe in buying disposable products," Yao says.
Yao ushers us into the kitchen where he begins preparing lunch. While he spends around RMB300 on organic ingredients on his monthly shopping trip, almost everything here is home-made.
“These are dried vegetables – all organic. I gathered them in the summer then dried them under the sun in good weather. This way, you can store them for really a long time,” he explains, pulling out a huge pot of home-made soybean paste from under the table.
He proceeds to chop the vegetables into small pieces – dried bamboo shoots, dried mushrooms and dried beans. Nothing goes to waste. (“I collect kitchen and food waste, add bacteria and leave it to ferment for a few days before burying it in the ground.”)
The diet of this modern ascetic is a simple one. Breakfast usually consists of millet congee, while lunch is made with whatever organic vegetables he can find, served over brown rice. Then it’s congee again for dinner, this time served alongside some nuts. But regardless of whether it tastes good (which, for the record, it genuinely does), it seems to be working – Yao has not needed to see a doctor for more than 10 years.
“I don't like to be too full; I prefer to only be 70 percent full. It’s better for your heath, especially for dinner,” he explains. “I've only had KFC twice in my life so far. I didn’t really like it. And it is so expensive – not worth the money!
“When I go out and eat with friends, I just order a glass of water and eat what I’ve prepared at home. Otherwise my stomach will act up.”
And as one would expect of someone who cooks and eats sustainably – Yao also washes up sustainably. Cups and bowls with oil on them are separated, and then soaked in the water that had been used to wash the vegetables. Instead of using detergent, Yao uses a handful of powdered tea seeds that he rubs on the dishes before rinsing them with running water.
Powdered tea seeds are used for washing dishes.
Recycled rice bags hang to dry.
“One part brown sugar, three parts vegetable rind and ten parts water. Add some yeast, ferment it with soapberries for about three months, and you get your own enzymatic laundry detergent,” he explains.
The man seems to have an answer for everything. But far from carrying himself with the holier-than-thou attitude that often accompanies the organic lifestyle, Yao has a simple message – happiness doesn’t need to be material.
Images by Holly Li.
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