Indonesian immigrant restores ancient family home in Kinmen to former glory

Indonesian immigrant restores ancient family home in Kinmen to former glory

2024-08-06

And now, we have the story of a member of the Minnanese diaspora who has returned to his ancestral home in Taiwan. Tsai Chi-fa was raised in Indonesia. Hundreds of years ago, his forebears were early inhabitants of Kinmen. Now Tsai has restored the family home to its former glory and plans to move in with his son and grandson. The former businessman is also readjusting to retirement, and has taken up a keen interest in coffee roasting and coffee house culture.

Tsai Chi-fa describes his ancestral home as it was when he first visited: The ancestral tablets were still in the house, but it had fallen into ruin and was overgrown with wild plants. After regaining possession of the house from its manager, he carried out a renovation of the historical architecture, restoring this 200-year-old Minnanese mansion to its former glory.

Tsai Chi-fa
Indonesian immigrant
My father wasn’t able to do this. But I think they would be happy that I can do it, as their descendent. I think my father and grandfather are happy up in heaven to know I have done this. That’s what I’m most happy about.

Tsai plans to move into the restored mansion, and invite his son and grandson to come and live with him here. Accordingly, he’s rearranged the layout of the rooms and facilities, so the building will serve better as a modern family home.

Tsai Chi-fa
Indonesian immigrant
This was two rooms originally. The original rooms didn’t have an ensuite bathroom. I turned the two rooms into one room so it’s bigger. This will be my room. You want to have a big room if you can.

Tsai likes how Kinmen is free from traffic jams, air pollution and violent crime. He feels safe and comfortable here. But it will take a while for him to get used to a slower pace of life after a lifetime of working hard to build his wealth. So, together with a friend from Aceh Province in Indonesia’s Sumatra, he’s started a new business importing coffee beans. They’ve bought equipment to start up a small roasting operation.

Tsai Chi-fa
Indonesian immigrant
After roasting a batch, we record it. I write down what I did, how long we roasted it for, and how it tasted.

After eight years living in Kinmen, Tsai has made lots of friends here. His little coffee parlor is a popular hangout spot where people chat about local life.

This is the story of a man who has made the long journey from Indonesia to his ancestral home in Kinmen, and whose perseverance has allowed him to put down roots in the home of his forebears.

As an adherent of traditional family ethics, he hopes his son will continue to preserve the family seat, handing down the family tradition and preserving the good for the next generation.

This story was provided by the program "We Are Family"
Funded by New Immigrant Development Fund

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印尼華僑金門尋根修復古厝盼家族團圓

2024-08-06

印尼新住民蔡其發，循著父親留下來歷史脈絡，回到金門故鄉尋根，順利找回阿公時代的古厝;也透過政府的歷史建築修復補助計畫幫老房子找回新靈魂。落葉歸根的蔡其發閒不下來，引進印尼阿拉比卡咖啡豆，自學烘咖啡，用咖啡交朋友。

蔡其發描述的，是第一眼見到祖厝時，蔡家祖先牌位還在裡頭，老房子像廢墟、雜草叢生的模樣。從代管人手裡拿回房子所有權後，蔡其發透過歷史建築修復獎助計畫，為房子修繕，讓超過200年的閩式建築風華再現。

[[印尼新住民蔡其發]]
“爸爸沒有能力，我做孩子的把它做好，應該他們也高興。阿公他們在天上知道了也高興。這個是我最快樂的。”

失而復得的祖厝，未來蔡其發打算自己住，兒子、孫子也會回來金門跟祖先團聚，所以，他調整了古厝裡的格局及設備，更符合當代使用需求。

[[印尼新住民蔡其發]]
“本來是兩個房間，過去的房間是沒有浴室的，現在我把兩個房間變成一個房間，比較大要自己住，能夠住大的房子就住大的房間。”

蔡其發說，金門不會塞車、沒有空污問題，治安又好，住在這裡安全又舒服。只是一輩子努力賺錢，突然步調變慢有點不習慣，於是他跟蘇門答臘亞齊省的好朋友進口咖啡豆，添購了機器設備，開始烘咖啡。

[[印尼新住民蔡其發]]
“烘了之後紀錄，我寫起來，我做烘咖啡怎麼樣怎麼樣，記錄烘多久時間，喝起來怎麼樣。”

在金門生活第八年，蔡其發結識了許多新朋友。他的咖啡屋裡經常人氣滿滿，聊著住在金門的生活經驗。

這是來自印尼蔡其發的故事，南洋與金門相隔千里，他總是心懷故里，因為這份執著，蔡其發終於落葉歸根金門。

重視家族倫理的他說，希望兒子繼續保存祖先留下來的古厝，那是一種根的傳承，善的延續。

以上內容由《我們一家人》節目提供內政部移民署監製

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