After leaving his family home in Taitung at 14, Kacaw first worked on boats in the Southern Pacific for six years. Then, via the introduction of a fellow Amis, he was hired to work in the Haishan mine in 1971.
14 歲離開台東家鄉後，嘎造先去南太平洋跑船 6 年，1971 年經族人朋友介紹，轉到海山煤礦工作。