Nou En: August 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.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Camp Tsuji

This summer has been chock full of fun days hanging out with kids from the area. In early August we held an overnight camp at Tsuji house and around ten kids participated. We explored the vegetable fields, went swimming in the river, ate a gigantic pot of Japanese curry cooked over the wood fire and ended the evening with songs, thanks to Hanno and Faye. The next day the kids made pinwheels out of plastic bottles, swam some more, and painted an awesome "thank you" sign together before going home.

Next we held a day camp for our English school. The kids arrived and began stretching out balls of pizza dough and topping them which we then baked in our bread oven-- a total of 40. Then, WWOOFers paired up with the kids for a treasure hunt, we played a big game of hide and seek, and took a walk up the valley to visit the goats. We came back to the house to cool off a bit before digging in to some curry, followed by music around the campfire and fireworks.

Today's event centered around playing in the river and a curious contest devised by Seth. The kids teamed up with the WWOOFers to make a balloon-powered vehicle out of plastic bottles. Attached to the bottle is a sharp pin, as well as a drinking straw through which you thread a string. Letting the air out of the balloon propels the bottle along the string, hopefully to the pop the balloon at the end of the line. Got it?

What made these events unique was the interaction between the kids and the WWOOFers. It was great to see the kids playing and working together with foreigners and having a great time, despite the language, culture, and age barriers. I loved seeing the faces of the WWOOFers as they remembered how incredibly fun it is to get silly with kids. I loved seeing the faces of the kids as they took on new challenges with gusto and did things well outside their daily routines. These events were truly symbiotic! Good vibes all around. I'm already looking forward to next time.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Barefoot Building

I really hope Aidan never steps on a nail. Maybe by the time it happens, his feet will be blunt enough that they won't get punctured.

A handful of our longer-term WWOOFers are now helping to construct our house in the backyard. The current team: Seth provides the brains and engineering know-how, Aidan's got the brawn and a work ethic that would put even a Japanese person to shame, Toby provides the dirty jokes and common sense, and Gen uses his Yakuza connections to source free building materials.

So, the work on the foundation is finally complete. One of our long-termers last year, Louis, recommended that we do a dry-stone foundation since that's the work he does back in England. To put it mildly, it was much easier going when he was here guiding things, but he left last December to go hang out on the beach in Australia. Many a WWOOFer put in their 7 hours a day painstakingly finding that perfect jigsaw fit, freezing their butts off through the wintertime. Seriously, a big thank you to everyone who worked on it (I was lucky, I was exempt because I was pregnant, not wanting to lift big heavy rocks all day in the icy cold!)

But I'm chipping in a bit more now. Diapers hanging on the line, here I am peeling the bark off logs. It's kind of like shaving the legs of a giant carrot.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

This last nine weeks has flown by so quickly it's hard to recount all the great things I've learned and experienced. My original intention was to stay in Sasayama only four weeks and then head North to Hokkaido, but here I am, still enjoying myself and with no idea when I will leave.

One of the more interesting experiences was being taught to drive a tractor and tilling fields by a little old lady who didn't speak a word of English, and me not understanding any more Japanese than “Ohayo”!! but nevertheless having a great time destroying her rows with smiles all round and hugs and beer at the end of the day.

The skills I am learning here has completely altered how I view my future and the possibilities available to me when it comes to living green. In such a short time here everything has changed.

I'll finish by recommending that anyone who feels they need a break from their normal lives and wants to learn how to live an organic lifestyle, leaving the smallest of possible footprints behind should give this place a chance, just be ready to work for what you want.

-Toby

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Photos from Sara, Spring 2010

One of our WWOOFers from the spring, Sara, took lots of awesome pictures of the project while she was here showing the house and surrounding fields, lots of the things we worked on in that time, and everyone involved. It's a nice to look back on these photos and remember all the people that came through and all the fun stuff we did. Also it's interesting to see what we were eating at that time compared to what we're eating now that it's summer and we have loads and loads of fresh veggies coming in every day. Pretty much every meal we ate sansai salad (wild greens) gathered from the edges of the fields to go along with venison and brown rice. I think at that point we had even run out of our winter turnips. A goal for this fall is to plant lots of veggies to tide us over through those skinny months... it really was slim pickings, but made for lots of creativity in the kitchen.

Here is Sara with a carving knife and a bloody deer shank, soon to be frozen or cooked....

....over this incredible antique wood-burning stove, one of the best features of the Tsuji house, especially in those chilly spring months.

This is Julian preparing sansai tempura. Mmmmm....

We made our own koji (fermented rice fungus used to make sake, soy sauce, miso, etc.) for our homemade miso experiment. The rice ferments in these trays for a few days underneath the hot kotatsu table. We have yet to see how it turned out since it takes about a year for the miso to mature.

Mama Yuriko and the WWOOFers getting messy, stirring up some koji.

Sara, Momoko, Giacomo, ?, and Nanae making mochi together.

Sachiko, Sara, and Pierre making onigiri. Hmm... parmesan cheese onigiri???

Yuriko, Nanae, Jeremiah, and Seth preparing nobiru, the cute little wild onions that pop up everywhere in spring.

Nanae, one of our students-turned-WWOOFers, who is now headed to the Netherlands with another WWOOFer. Yay, Nanae. Sounds like fun.

And this is Sara making some seriously perfect rows in the Nou En Batake community garden.The soil perfectly turned and sculpted to a chiseled edge, her rows rival even obaachan and ojiichan's.

Me, Jeremiah, and Sara getting silly in bamboo hats while cutting bamboo shoots for canning and eating.

Robert taking Bear for a walk. Bear belongs to our friend and they let us take him on walks whenever we like.

The Tsuji house backyard....

....the Tsuji house garage and our indispensable K-truck...

....and the Tsuji house itself. Home sweet Tsuji house.

Monday, August 16, 2010

After a long rainy season, it's finally turned into a beautiful summer here in Sasayama. We've been busy and active the past few weeks and a lot of good work has been done. Thank you to all the WWOOFers that have passed through and to those that are still here doing their best every day.