Nou En: July 2010

Nou-En

In rural Japan, as in many areas around the world, small communities are suffering from rapid population decline as young people flock to the cities. A self perpetuating cycle develops in which rural communities lose their youth to entertainment and work opportunities in the city, which cripples the local economy by leaving behind small towns and villages lacking an able workforce.

Here in Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture, the evidence of this can be easily seen on any walk or bike ride around the valley. In some villages more than half of the houses are vacant. Many fields have been abandoned and have begun the rapid transition back to a more natural state. Elementary schools with great facilities are being forced to close due to low enrollment. At our local elementary school this year's First Grade class has three students. Village elders possess a lifetime of priceless skills and knowlege that is not being passed on because of a lack of interested youth. Looking forward in time, it is worrisome to imagine the state of these communities if current trends continue.
Seeing these things, we here at Nou En have been motivated to work for positive change. Our aim is to encourage young people from around the world to return to rural communities. We organize enthusiastic volunteers (mostly through the WWOOF organization, http://www.wwoofjapan.com) to help local farmers in exchange for healthy food and invaluable local knowlege. We network and assist local organic farms with vegetable and rice production on a regular basis. We try to enthusiastically jump in and help local villagers whenever we can. In addition to these projects, we also have our own fields and gardens as well as chickens and goats that we care for.
Because part of our aim is encouraging people to want to live in the country side we also take time to enjoy the benefits of country living. We go hiking in the surrounding mountains, swimming in ponds and streams (especially during the hot humid Japanese summer!), barbecues with friends on weekends, kendo lessons at the local gymnasium and much more.

Mostly we try to provide a communal living environment where we work, learn, and grow together, all while striving to benefit and elevate the local community.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Harvesting

Everyone’s hard work over the last several months is beginning to pay off (Thank you’s to all those that have come and gone). The broccoli, daikon, beets, negi, lettuce, spinach, turnips, and carrots have been great additions to our meals recently, but now the big harvesting has started. We have now harvested the onions, peas, garlic, and wheat. The house is beginning to look a bit strange with all the hanging food around. We still need to tie and hang all the wheat.

Nou-En Batake has been getting some much needed love recently. The plots are looking really good and soon we’ll be ready for those typhoon winds.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Friendship. In the last few weeks I have had the wonderful experience of living and working in Sasayama. By luck, I found the generous Nishimura family who welcomed a stranger as a friend and a friend like a part of the family. I have met French, Japanese, a Tasmanian, a New Zealander, a Singaporean, and other Americans, all of which with open-hearts and open-minds. Though we come from varying nations we are not defined by our country of origin but by our unique personalities. This is something I think we all forget while in the safety of our own hometowns. Each new friendship offers a lifetime of stories to share and infinite opportunities in store for the future. Friendships like these are formed in instants but feel like they have lasted forever.

Community. The Nou-en project has a clear communal objective but everyday is teeming with communal ideology. We work for our benefit. That “we” is not we as a family or we as a group of friends, the “we” I refer to is the global we, we as a part of the earth, reverent for the lives given for our food and always conscious of a balance we wish to return to and maintain.

Memories. The most valuable “possessions” I own are my memories. This chapter in my life has generated a multitude of unique and beautiful memories. Each day offers the opportunity for a new and exciting experience. Moments of humility, excitement, frustration, and elation paint the canvas of each day. Ceaselessly I am awestruck when I look around to see where I am and what I’m doing. Diversity and contrast have held new bounds in this magnificent world as soon as I decided to step out the door. Life has taken on a new definition. My reality has changed forever.

-Seth Paul