{"id":89,"date":"2026-08-03T22:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T14:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4mber.tw\/?p=89"},"modified":"2026-08-13T15:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T07:42:11","slug":"from-concept-to-fieldwork-my-journey-of-reframing-surplus-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/?p=89","title":{"rendered":"Pillar 01: From Concept to Fieldwork \u2014 My Journey of Reframing Surplus Food"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignleft is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ruminae - A start-up Competition\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GfAq8p_rEbY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-1\" style=\"color:#af0000\"><strong>Executive Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-2 wp-block-paragraph\">Can a business idea transform from a classroom project into a real-world inquiry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-3 wp-block-paragraph\">My journey with Ruminae wasn&#8217;t just about winning 1st Place among 200 investors at our academic pitch. As the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), it was a transformational process of questioning assumptions, navigating technical and commercial friction, and moving from digital interfaces directly into the agricultural fields of Japan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-4 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#aa0606\"><strong>Phase 1: The Spark &amp; The Mindset Shift<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It began with a corporate visit to E.SUN Bank, where I witnessed how financial institutions align with SDGs. Returning to my high school, my team began looking at local issues through SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption). When brainstorming names, we kept hitting dead ends. Nothing captured our intent until the term <em>Rumination<\/em> was brought up. To humans, &#8220;rumination&#8221; sounds strange. But that was precisely the point: people treat surplus food as unwanted &#8220;leftovers&#8221; simply because of misaligned perceptions. We realized our mission was not just selling cheap food, but <strong>reframing public perception<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"http:\/\/4mber.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Ruminae-pitch.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:530px\" aria-label=\"Ruminae pitch \u7684\u5d4c\u5165\u5167\u5bb9\u3002\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-e99b04e2-003b-4a8c-9a8a-1133874e1367\" href=\"http:\/\/4mber.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Ruminae-pitch.pdf\">Ruminae pitch<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/4mber.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/Ruminae-pitch.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-e99b04e2-003b-4a8c-9a8a-1133874e1367\">\u4e0b\u8f09<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-5\" style=\"color:#aa0606\">Phase 2: Facing Reality &amp; System Design&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As CTO, my biggest initial shock was realizing that <strong>we were not the first to attempt a surplus food platform<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How could we offer genuine innovation rather than a copycat app?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To resolve this, I conducted a deep study into Spotify\u2019s business ecosystem. Just as Spotify gave independent artists a stage, Ruminae could give overlooked local flavors a second chance. I worked through weeks of iteration to design a system that balanced commercial viability with social empathy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-6 wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Iterative Feature Design:<\/strong> Introduced customizable allergy filters to solve safety concerns for mystery boxes and built real-time store crowd tracking for pickup efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Quality Assurance<\/strong>: Designed a feedback-driven mechanism where consistently low-rated vendors are phased out to build long-term platform trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Social Safety Net<\/strong>: Partnered with disadvantaged community members for local deliveries, turning carbon reduction into local employment opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-7 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#aa0606\"><strong>Phase 3: The Pitch &amp; The Unanswered Question\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pitching Ruminae in English under tight time limits forced me to distill complex ideas into compelling stories. Winning <strong>1st Place<\/strong> among 200 investors proved that environmental sustainability could be backed by solid commercial logic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, despite our success on stage, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I felt a gap in my understanding: Is solving food waste on a mobile app enough if I don&#8217;t understand where the waste originates?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-8 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#aa0606\"><strong>Phase 4: Taking Action \u2014 Pursuing Upstream Answers in Tokushima (Japan)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Driven by this question, I refused to let Ruminae remain just a classroom exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To understand the structural root causes of food waste beyond digital interfaces, I actively sought out and applied to participate in an <strong>agricultural volunteer program in Tokushima, Japan<\/strong>. My goal is to observe the upstream supply chain firsthand\u2014exploring how agricultural standards, climate factors, and distribution systems create surplus before food ever reaches consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Reflection: Human Inquiry in the Age of AI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an era where AI can quickly draft business models, this journey taught me that true Liberal Arts inquiry requires physical engagement, constant self-questioning, and continuous action.From analyzing financial sustainability in a classroom to taking initiative for international agricultural volunteer work, I learned that real solutions lie at the intersection of technology, commercial empathy, and cross-border human connection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Executive Summary Can a business idea transform from a classroom project into a real-world inquiry? My journey with Ruminae wasn&#8217;t just about winning 1st Place among 200 investors at our academic pitch. As the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), it was a transformational process of questioning assumptions, navigating technical and commercial friction, and moving from digital interfaces directly into the agricultural fields of Japan Phase 1: The Spark &amp; The Mindset Shift It began with a corporate visit to E.SUN Bank, where I witnessed how financial institutions align with SDGs. Returning to my high school, my team began looking at local issues through SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption). When brainstorming names, we kept hitting dead ends. Nothing captured our intent until the term Rumination was brought up. To humans, &#8220;rumination&#8221; sounds strange. But that was precisely the point: people treat surplus food as unwanted &#8220;leftovers&#8221; simply because of misaligned perceptions. We realized our mission was not just selling cheap food, but reframing public perception. Phase 2: Facing Reality &amp; System Design&nbsp; As CTO, my biggest initial shock was realizing that we were not the first to attempt a surplus food platform. How could we offer genuine innovation rather than a copycat app? To resolve this, I conducted a deep study into Spotify\u2019s business ecosystem. Just as Spotify gave independent artists a stage, Ruminae could give overlooked local flavors a second chance. I worked through weeks of iteration to design a system that balanced commercial viability with social empathy: Iterative Feature Design: Introduced customizable allergy filters to solve safety concerns for mystery boxes and built real-time store crowd tracking for pickup efficiency. Quality Assurance: Designed a feedback-driven mechanism where consistently low-rated vendors are phased out to build long-term platform trust. Social Safety Net: Partnered with &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":94,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-innovation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/SoloCam-2025-05-20-155716.688-F-M6-1-scaled.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143,"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89\/revisions\/143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4mber.tw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}