The Mind Of A Greenhouse

The Mind Of A Greenhouse is a small book from a high-altitude charity, art, and science experiment in Nangqen, Qinghai. It begins with a practical problem: how can a school at around 3,700 meters grow vegetables through winter, when fresh food is expensive and has to travel from far away?

In 2018, Shih Wei Chieh joined weather engineer Wiriar Rattanansuwan and Tsangsar Kunga of Tashi Gatsen School to work on a greenhouse for the orphan children cared for by the school. The project slowly became more than a building. It became a way to think about warmth, food, sunlight, local materials, plant dyes, dye-sensitized solar cells, and what a fragile support system can mean in a remote place.

This book is not only documentation of a finished project. It is a field note from something still unfolding: a greenhouse as infrastructure, a classroom, a shared experiment, and a small machine for keeping care alive.

Book / support edition

The price of this book is USD 50. USD 25 from each copy will be used to support Tashi Gatsen School. Buying the book means collecting the story, and also sending part of the money back into the place where the story began.

For readers interested in

• solar energy, plant dye, and low-tech material experiments
• art and charity projects that stay close to real local needs
• greenhouse building, food infrastructure, and high-altitude survival
• artist books, field notes, and ongoing research archives

Free PDF / archive link