Paper short abstract:

This paper asks what drives rural Tibetan wine makers to pursue an ecologically friendly agenda? Reasonings include observations of chemical degradation on land, Buddhist ethnics, and new conceptions towards how ethnic representation can be exemplified by ecologically friendly commodity production.

Paper long abstract:

While smallholder agricultural communities in China are pushed to produce cash crops under government incentives promoting development, such undertakings often overlook ecological health and sustainability. However community awareness of such sustainability is not always non-existent, and in some cases commodity schemes may be altered to promote ecologically sound practices and healthy living. This paper examines such considerations among Tibetan grape and wine producing communities in Yunnan Province, where over ten years vast areas have been transformed into monocrop vineyards for government promoted "Shangri-La Wine," marketed using Tibetan culture and the serenity of this Himalayan region. Despite these marketing developments of "natural" wine products, the emergence of this industry has led to rapid development in the use of agricultural chemicals introduced by wine companies and government extension workers, the effects of which are not lost on local communities. In this paper I explore this trend to inquire into what ways villagers have developed their own understandings of concepts such as organic, and how these have influenced their own identities as household wine makers and rural Tibetans; an ethnic group often viewed by Chinese consumers as being strong environmental stewards. Utilizing a framework of "green" marketing and Buddhist ethics, I examine how villagers have responded to personal concerns over chemical use on health and environments, including perceived pollution impacts on local retreating glaciers, to begin to produce their own chemical free wines, which they insist are healthier and more desirable than corporate varietals, such as the "Shangri-La" brand.