Elaine (Microbial Technology Specialist): I am Elaine. My hometown is Shunde in Guangdong. Right after my graduation in Hong Kong, I came back to start my own business in Shunde. It was by chance that I came into contact with the environmental protection industry. It was actually my uncle who began the development of this research.

W. B. Yeung(Professor of Physics): I didn’t do any persuasion. She(Elaine) volunteered to join.

Elaine: My uncle brought back a chlorella species from Academia Sinica in Taiwan, China. At the time, when he got on the plane, he could only bring a few milliliters. Then, here in the lab, we slowly scaled up its cultivation. It took a few months to expand to 200 mu. Now these ponds can grow chlorella. First you need to use the water pump to remove the water droplets, and leave the worms behind.

If you ask me, whether I am engaging in environmental protection or agriculture or breeding…Actually, we’re a closed-loop within a loop. These are the industries we are involved with. Our company name after microbial technology, because this chlorella is a microbial product. Additional value has been derived from this chlorella species later on. It can deal with sewage disposal. It can feed aquatic products. We are involved in all of these fields. We even raise our own shrimps. Because of me, my husband has acquired 100 mu of land to grow shrimps just next to us. When we grow chlorella, we try to raise shrimps side by side. This is to convince ourselves, whether it really can accelerate the growth, shorten the time.

Gary (Modern Full-time farmer): Hey, chef! These shrimps are self-raised, really fresh. Please cook these for us. Around 7 or 8 years ago, she came back by herself and faced a totally unfamiliar environment. From an outsider’s perspective, you have such high qualifications. You don’t have to do these things.

Elaine: When I first started, I ran into a lot of problems, because I wasn’t in the field of chemistry, nor did I study environmental protection. I had no foundation at all. My family thought it was a waste of my talent and time to come back after I have studied for so long. A girl, getting so tanned and dirty. Instead of the big cities, I was moving further and further into rural areas. What I was working on looked like very low-end. Back in the old days, only those who were not educated would choose to become farmers or fishermen. But I think nowadays, you need technology even if working as a farmer or fisherman. Because the labor cost and rental cost are too high now. During adverse weather, we have experienced a loss of hundreds of thousands in just two days’ time. The new breeding methods focus more on prevention. Because when diseases and harmful factors are reduced, it brings economic gain. Nowadays, our country pays much attention to environmental pollution issues. Not to mention big cities, even villages and rural towns have strict monitoring. They won’t tell you in advance before quietly taking your water sample for testing. We have benefited from that indeed. We help pig farms and venues selling pre-cooked food to deal with their sewage disposal and we charge them for the service.

As a Hongkonger, I returned to my hometown to contribute, to do something meaningful. I feel a strong sense of purpose. My uncle has been offered me guidance along the way. He has been involved in this business for more than a decade. In the beginning there was no profit at all yet. That wasn’t his concern. He taught me step by step with no reservation. He has never thought of giving up. How could I possibly give up?