Devon's Parallel Universe

Health Is Everything – Cancer Leads To A Brand-new Life

　　漫步在木柵河堤，除了享受令人心曠神怡的景致，這裡還有著一間隱身在巷弄間的咖啡店等著你探訪──白堊紀咖啡廳。

     Taking a stroll in Mucha embankments, besides enjoying breathtaking views, you can find a coffee shop ─ Cretaceous café, hidden in alleys, waiting for you to visit.

    老闆陳裕達二十六歲便從花蓮來台北打拼，原本從事通訊業的他，三年前偶然接觸到德國白堊紀的自然塗料。他發現這種塗料無毒、天然的特性，除了可調節室內溫度，剩餘的塗料還能拿去當肥料，於是他與德國總公司接洽並成為白堊紀塗料台灣代理商的北部經銷商，同時他也決定設立一個無毒展示空間來介紹這種塗料。

    The owner of Cretaceous café, Chen Yu-Ta, a Hualien resident, left his hometown for Taipei to work when he was twenty-six years old. He had engaged in the communications industry; but three years ago, he accidentally came into contact with the Cretaceous natural paint which was imported from Germany. He found that the paint is non-toxic and natural. Moreover, besides being able to help regulate the indoor temperature, the remaining paint can be used as fertilizer. So Chen Yu-Ta contacted the head office in Germany and became a franchisee of Cretaceous painting agents in northern Taiwan. He also decided to establish a innocuous space to popularize these marvelous paints.

    開咖啡廳是陳裕達的夢想，因此他將塗料與咖啡廳兩者結合。他雇用六名文化大學美術系的學生來繪畫，整間店用白堊紀塗料以壁畫的方式來彰顯，天花板上畫著藍天白雲、樹木花草以及河流等，讓客人有貼近自然的感受。

    Chen Yu-Ta has always dreamed of opening a coffee shop, so he combined paints with café to fulfill his dream. In order to fully utilize Cretaceous paint, he hired six students from Fine Art Department to draw murals with the paint. One can find blue sky, trees, flowers and river on the ceiling and walls, which make the guests feel close to nature.

    為了打造一個無毒的環境，店內桌椅皆是使用天然木材，讓老師傅製作，並在表面塗上亞麻籽油，讓木材可以繼續呼吸，不像一般在實木上塗亮光漆，他認為這失去了使用天然木材的意義。同樣的理念也延伸到食材的選擇上，店裡的咖啡都是購買公平交易協會的有機咖啡豆。陳裕達說，購買公平貿易協會咖啡的人實在不多，但是若能建立一個平等的買賣關係，就能讓非洲種植咖啡的農民減少被中盤商剝削的機會，價錢合理後雨林也不會被過度砍伐，進而達到保護雨林的功能。

　　Moreover, in order to create a non-toxic environment, all the furniture in the coffee shop are made of natural wood and created by an old master. The tables and chairs in the coffee shop are also coated with linseed oil instead of lacquer on the surface, so that the wood can continue to breathe. Chen thought if he chose to use lacquer, it will lose the significance of using of natural wood.The same idea extended to the choice of ingredients; thus, Chen bought the fair-trade organic coffee. Chen Yu-Ta said,“few people would buy coffee beans from Fair Trade Association; but if an equitable trading relationship is established, it can reduce the chance of coffee farmers in Africa to be exploited by the distributors. If the price of coffee beans is not good, coffee farmers will turn to clear the land to plant coffee. So when the price is reasonable, the deforestation problem could be controlled and thus we will be able to protect the rainforest.＂

　　籌備咖啡店開張共耗時約兩年，不管是壁畫、桌椅或食材，店內的一切都是高成本，餐點方面只是一般西餐咖啡店的價位，難以回收成本。陳裕達笑說，當初也沒想到會賠那麼多。咖啡廳的地點隱蔽，因此客人並不多，有些客人可能是無意間經過，才發現了這間店。對此，陳裕達不後悔，他認為河堤旁的景觀很美，咖啡店是一個夢想，目的在於推廣有機環保的產品而非以營利為主，未來更希望能開分店，並且深入社區。他說，民眾可以下了班來這裡購買有機蔬果，或是通過認證的肉品，回家自己烹飪喜愛的料理，不一定要在店裡消費，他希望能成為社區的有機食品供應商，當街坊的好鄰居。至於利潤多少，他覺得不是首要的事。

　　It took about two years for Chen to prepare for the opening of the coffee shop. Besides the money he spent on frescoes, furniture or food, everything here cost higher than other coffee shops, so it is difficult to make much revenue. “I had not expected my own coffee shop to cost that much, ”Chen Yu-Ta said with a smile. Cretaceous café is located in a isolated place so it doesn't attract many guests to pay it a visit. Some guests in fact may be inadvertently passing by this place then discovering such an awesome shop. Nonetheless, Chen Yu-Ta has no regrets. He thought that the landscape next to the riverbank is beautiful, and owing a coffee shop is his lifelong dream. His purpose is to promote organic and environmentally friendly products and not for profit only. He hopes he will be able to open branches and interact even more with the community in the future. In his opinion, "people can come to Cretaceous café after they get off from work to buy organic fruits and vegetables or certified meat, then they can cook their favorite dishes with these ingredients. “Consumers do not necessarily buy goods in my coffee shop. I just hope I can become a supplier of organic food and a good neighbor in the community,”Chen remarked. As for how much profit he can made, he felt it is not his priority concern.

    陳裕達如此重視健康，起因於他在兩年前得知自己罹患胰臟癌後，他更加感受到人應好好照顧身體，以及有機無毒商品的可貴。未來他期盼能夠透過咖啡廳，讓更多人接觸有機食品、用無毒漆料自己DIY畫壁畫的藝術，以及更多對環境有益的觀念。

　　Because Chen got pancreatic cancer two years ago, he has always led a health way of life. Chen Yu-Ta thought that people should take more care of themselves, and consume more organic products. He looks forward to make more people get to know the organic food, use non-toxic paints to paint by themselves, and promote more environmentally beneficial concepts through his coffee shop.

Devon心內話：

我是相當怕死的人，小時候有幾次懷疑自己得了絕症，自己在廁所抽抽噎噎地哭了起來。只有少數人面對自己的死亡倒數可以淡然看待，多數人總是不見棺材不掉淚，非到最後關頭不知珍惜。時間揮霍起來跟花錢一樣爽，可是錢可以再賺，時間呢？有夢就趕緊追，因為誰也不知道自己的生命會停在哪裡。躺在病床上，感受著自己的氣息逐漸消失，巴巴地希望著自己的人生能重來一回，到這種時刻，人生走馬燈只是讓人們更後悔、更扼腕罷了。是否有來世？這又是一個未可知的問題了。

☼獻給重視生命的你