Nantang DAO Chronicle: Paving a New Path

In March 2025, I went to Sanhe Town, Suxian Village (formerly Nantang Village) in Fuyang City, Anhui Province for a field study lasting one and a half months. During this period, I conducted in-depth interviews with 14 respondents, including core members of the Nantang DAO, local agricultural cooperative employees, and villagers, and participated in several activities of the Nantang DAO. This article is the last two parts of the "Nantang DAO Chronicles" series, focusing on the development direction of the Nantang DAO, exploring the integration of rural construction and Web3, presenting the visions of each member, and sharing my genuine insights.

Find a way out

Despite the challenges, the story of Nantang DAO continues. The community is exploring forward through trial and error, digging for new possibilities in the pursuit of change. Some core members have gone to Jianta Village in Pujiang County, Chengdu, to launch new projects, attempting to build a "Rural Entrepreneurship DAO." Meanwhile, some members choose to stay local in Nantang, proposing the initiative of "living well," continuously cultivating the community through organizing blockchain co-learning, band activities, and more. One side explores externally, while the other takes root locally; the two paths coexist harmoniously.

attract more professionals

Talent is the cornerstone of organizational development. The Nantang DAO plans to invite senior experts from the industry to form a "Governance Advisory Group" to provide professional mediation for internal disputes and to offer systematic recommendations for strategic direction. Through the "Rural Web3 Bilateral Enlightenment Program", community members have participated multiple times in domestic and international Web3 events and have gone into universities to give presentations, enhancing their professional skills while also attracting more professionals to join. New members continuously inject vitality, opening up more possibilities for community development.

Facing the world, drawing on experience

Nantang DAO has researched multiple international DAO cases, many of which provide insights closely related to rural development. For example, the "Nishikigoi NFT" project launched by Yamakoshi Village in Japan views NFT holders as "digital villagers" and attracts over 1,750 members globally to support regional sustainable development. Yamakoshi Village also proposed the concept of a "dual-layer DAO-driven governance revolution" to achieve co-governance between physical villagers and digital villagers.

Another noteworthy case is CabinDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to building network cities. Its development has gone through stages such as the creator era, DAO service providers, and digital nomad communities, ultimately deciding to shift towards a purely community-driven network. The experiences of CabinDAO reflect a reflection on different models of entrepreneurship, DAO, and community networks, which is worth considering deeply for rural construction DAO practitioners.

Delve into the local market, seeking advantages

While learning from global pioneers, Nantang DAO needs to conduct in-depth research and analysis based on local realities. Nantang Village is renowned for its historical experience in democratic governance, and the attention from society is the greatest advantage of this land. Looking back at the history of Nantang, it can be seen that the pursuit of democracy and rights has never ceased, and its important historical nodes have always resonated with the advanced organizational concepts in the context of the great era.

From rights protection organizations to deliberative rules, from cooperatives to the Nantan DAO, Nantan has experimented with different democratic governance methods over the past 30 years. However, regardless of how innovative the organizational form is, the key lies in whether it focuses on "human connections" and whether it addresses the fundamental needs of local farmers. It is encouraging that the various attempts made in the past and those currently underway have already produced a good "linkage" effect. After DAO members and cooperative members live and learn together, some wonderful chemical reactions are quietly taking place.

In Conclusion

Despite the conflicts, the integration of rural development and Web3 holds promising prospects. Through the test of time and practice, both sides are expected to reach a consensus amidst the conflicts, forming a governance model that balances individual autonomy with collective collaboration. In future developments, Nantung DAO needs to promote Web3 technology and governance models while also rooting itself in the cultural soil of the countryside and the tangible interests of the villagers, focusing on addressing the most fundamental needs of rural areas, so that new digital technologies can truly touch the soul of rural society.

How do you view the exploration of DAO in rural areas?

Rural construction and DAO are like two circles that originally intersect, but have begun to converge in recent years. However, due to the short duration of contact and differences in values and cultural backgrounds, friction is inevitable within this intersection, including the collision between decentralized governance logic and rural collectivist culture, as well as the integration of external ideas and local traditions.

The most critical issue lies in how DAO, as a new organizational form, can find its scope of function and capacity boundaries within rural governance structures. Additionally, it must be acknowledged that DAO is not the ultimate answer to all organizational governance issues. No organizational design is perfect, and the trade-offs and choices in the governance process are key for organizations to address sustainable development challenges.

Is the decentralized governance model suitable for Nantang?

Nantang does not necessarily need an external DAO, but the principles of DAO—transparency, participation, and decentralization—can undoubtedly provide inspiration for the governance of cooperatives. By drawing on such external experiences, Nantang can gradually introduce decentralized governance mechanisms while retaining its own characteristics, thereby achieving more resilient and inclusive development.

The expectations of the Nantan DAO partners

In the interview, members of the Nantan DAO shared their expectations for the future:

• The essential emphasis is on continuous change and openness, encouraging more people to participate in promoting the development of the Nantang DAO.
• Biao Ge expressed confidence in the future, emphasizing the core role of people, and hopes that the Nantan DAO will focus on pragmatic actions.
• Cikey hopes that everyone "lives a little happier and plays a little happier" and does some practical things.
• I just feel that we should "do some local things, and they should be real and not too ethereal."
• Tiao believes that the best scenario for the Nantang DAO is to become a "fund disbursement platform," and specific matters are more suitable to be advanced in the form of project teams.
• Xiaobai expressed concern about the current situation of the Nantang DAO, but is open to possible cooperation and development.
• Yu Xing focuses on reducing internal friction and promoting the integration of Web3 with rural development, entering a substantive stage.

My feelings

In my life and research in Nantang, I gained authentic and profound insights. I deeply realized the vivid stories carried behind data analysis, witnessing the expectations, contributions, and departures of people coming here. I re-examined the meaning of DAO and recognized that DAO itself may not carry inherent meaning, but rather reflects a set of values and pursuits: rural areas deserve to be taken seriously, and connections between people can be improved.

In the end, I met people from different backgrounds and experiences. Why did they come here? I think it is the open and inclusive soil here, the residents' respect for rules and order, and the shared, undiminished glow of idealism in the hearts of these people.