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, 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.


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