Meet the Chinese Man Who is 100% Self Sustainable

By Aaron Mah

Images by Holly Li

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.

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