Nou En

Goodbye from Seth

2011-03-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

I had an incredible year in Japan staying in wonderful Sasayama. I met
so many kind people, did so many amazing things, ate so many delicious
meals, and saw so many beautiful things. I learned so much and I am so
much better for my time in Tsuji. I can almost not believe that I
arrived in Japan wanting to see Japanese culture and had the luck to
become part of a community and not only see but participate in so much
of Japanese Culture. I have been able to add many things to my life's
experiences including bamboo cutting, house frame building, wild boar
roasting, rice planting and harvesting, joking with old Japanese
farmers, teaching adorable kids, hitchhiking, well water using, shrine
carrying, and many more things. I will never forget my Sasayama
family. I can only hope I can find opportunities such as these as I
travel through more of the world. Thank you Gen, Anna, Midori, and all
my WWOOfer companions. You will always have a dear place in my heart.

2010-12-15T02:39:00.000-08:00

Aidan here, I wrote an entry back in February or March, I have been living here as a part of Nou-en for most of that time.

Living here has taught me new things about farming and Japanese culture, and a lot about myself. I would like to share some of the experiences I have had.

I have seen the project in full swing this year, with many people coming and going, all contributing in some way to the house environment and to the local community in some way.

It is a rare opportunity for people wanting to experience true Japanese culture to do so by working for and alongside local people, but at the same time being a part of each other's journeys as we leave our home and daily life in search for the experiences that will make us grow into wiser and more inspired people.

My perspective on living sustainably has changed since living here. Being economical (ie waste nothing), often means being sustainable, and I have been faced with many challenges that I would not face at home like joining two logs together to make the framework for a house, or make a chicken coop out of a bunch of scraps and how to cook a daikon in seven different ways, leaves and all.

Trying to live a sustainable life here has given us woofers many opportunities to explore all the possibilities of pretty much anything we want to, because we have all day everyday to do so. A couple of weeks ago Gen wanted to celebrate Seth's birthday by having an Inoshishi (wild boar) party. My day that particular day consisted of simply figuring out with Gen how to do a spit roast on the spot, with no electric rotisserie; just a metal pole, wire and strategically placed wooden wedges, hung between two wooden stakes at either end, which did the trick just nicely; taking 20 minute shifts together to turn 'yet another one of Seths engineering feats', a counter balanced handle at the end. To make the day even better, everyone from some of the local farmers we help to the local Buddhist monks came over and helped Seth celebrate his birthday in style.

Experiences like this have made living here a lot of fun whilst trying to provide ourselves with food, sustenance and comfortable surroundings.

For those that have been here before, thank you. Thank you for your input, hard work and creativity. I'm sure everyone, like me, came here wanting these kinds of experiences but not knowing if it would be possible. Thanks to Gen and Anna, we have been a part of a special thing here, I hope this project continues to grow and touch more people like it has me, I think it has a positive effect on everyone who is touched by it.

Arigatou gozaimasu!

Beans

2010-10-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

Lately, the volunteers have spent much time with the local kuromame beans. We have been harvesting, gathering, sorting, selling, eating and talking about beans all day long.

Importantly, we have had an insight into the Sasayama community and the lifestyle of many of the local people. To work alongside farmers, their family and friends as part of the harvest, and to see the pride they have in their produce has been most rewarding.

Autumn

2010-10-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Slowly the seasons are changing in Sasayama, with the afternoon sky slowly moving from peach to violet as night time arrives. The morning fog arrived last week, making the occasional morning worthy of wearing a second layer.

The past few weeks have been busy, both with maintaining the fields at Tsuji and continuing to assist local farmers through Nouen. The famous Sasayama bean harvest has just begun, which will keep our 19 volunteers very busy over the next few weeks as well as a number of local festivals.

The goats have been happily playing in, and eating away the rice field next to Kasugae, whilst Seth, Toby and Aidan work alongside to notch the beams for the new house.

We're just like Bugs Bunny!

2010-10-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks, we have noticed that more and more of our seedlings are falling prey to the dreaded caterpillar, a worthy opponent of the Organic Farmer! We have recently been informed that a blend of crushed carrot leaves and water can be sprayed on the plants as a natural deterrent. Thus far it seems to have made a noticeable difference. We have also been using tobacco water on some of our younger seedlings which seems to be helping.

This particular remedy has an upside for both the plant (less caterpillars) and the WWOOFers (better night vision), in order to keep the carrot concoction in good supply, we need to eat carrots every night! It still amazes us how many different meals can be cooked with the same ingredients, from soup to stew to stir-fry, there is no end to the versatility of our beloved carrot.

Here at Tsuji we are constantly looking for natural remedies for common problems. We are learning more and more each day about ways to sustain ourselves without the need for non-organic solutions. Sometimes it can be quite a challenge maintaining our lifestyle, but when you have so many great people living under one roof, there's always something interesting to talk about.

If you haven't planned to yet, book your flight, get on a bus, or make your way here on a tractor if you must, and when you knock on the door and you want to come in, say these three words after you've been dropped off by Gen... What's up Doc!

Nic

mochi making

2010-09-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Habe-san had all the WWOOFers over for mochi making and a barbecue to celebrate the first day of autumn. Habe-san lives up the road from Tsuji house and they were the first Nou En farmers we helped out last year. We still work for them often and in return they have made us part of their family. I think that most WWOOFers who get to know them come to think of them as grandparents, they are that welcoming and generous.

So for those of you who don't know, mochi is pounded rice paste made from special glutinous rice. The rice is steamed, placed into a hollowed out stump, and whacked a hundred times or so with a big hammer until it becomes smooth and taffy-like. As you can see in the video, it's a two person job. It can become a wrapping for anko (sweetened bean paste) to make Japanese sweets, or it can be left to cool in various shapes. Then it can be toasted until it's puffy and melty inside and put into soup, or seasoned with a little sweetened soy sauce. It's totally bland but strangely addictive.

Nou En Camp Video

2010-09-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

Nou En Recipe #1: Shiso Pesto

2010-09-01T04:30:00.000-07:00

Many people who come here have never heard of Shiso (perilla frutescens). It's a versatile herb, showing up often in sushi, salads, and as a garnish, and you see it all over Japan. It's about 10 yen per leaf at the grocery store so the bill adds up quickly if you want to use it in any quantity. It's a vigorous, somewhat weedy member of the mint family (it will re-seed and come back with a vengeance next year) with a flavor that combines mint and basil with hints of anise, clove and maybe even cumin.

Last year, there were lots of little baby shiso seedlings popping up everywhere and someone decided to plant a row of it. The little plants quickly grew into bushes. A few hundred leaves turned into thousands. They flapped in the wind. We wondered what to do with it all.

Not wanting to see a good thing go to waste, I stripped all the leaves off one of the plants and made a batch of pesto, replacing the basil with shiso. To my surprise, nobody complained at lunch, and actually most people really liked it. So shiso became a new staple. We made batch after batch and ate it all through the year... and here we are now, finishing up our last bag right as we're harvesting this year's shiso.

This is a good example of of how growing your own food and eating locally can challenge you to be more creative in the kitchen. This, combined with the sheer number of WWOOFers passing through, each bringing in different approaches to the same ingredients, means that I am always on my toes and constantly learning. I like learning how to deal with large amounts of one ingredient (I'm thinking back on how we ate turnips every meal for quite a while last winter) just as I like learning how to cope without ingredients I'm accustomed to using because they're not in season or not available in Japan.

Shiso Pesto

a few cups green shiso leaves
a handful of nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, cashews, or whatever you've got)
a few peeled garlic cloves
half a cup or so parmesan cheese
olive oil (add enough to make it a nice smooth consistency)
salt to taste

Blend everything in a blender. Serve over pasta.

p.s. This year the recipe has devolved quite a bit-- we've nixed the nuts, cheese, and olive oil (I know, it hurts!) because they aren't locally made and they're somewhat expensive. Not as good as the original but it still does the job.

Camp Tsuji

2010-08-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

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.

Barefoot Building

2010-08-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-08-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

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

Photos from Sara, Spring 2010

2010-08-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-08-16T23:19:00.000-07:00

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.

Some of our recent projects include:

-preparing the soil and planting fall vegetables.

-cob house construction (foundation is finished, now working on the log frame).

-various food preservation projects: venison jerky, vegetable dehydration, pickles, freezing, and canning.

-weed whacking and weeding.

-making a chicken run for the Tsuji field (the chicks are loving it!)

-threshing the wheat. Next rainy day we'll begin winnowing it.

-volunteering for local farmers-- weeding, weed whacking, black bean maintenance, etc.

-holding 2 summer camps, one at Tsuji for local kids with autism, and one here at Kasugae for students from our English school.

-breaking our record for the number of WWOOFers staying at Tsuji (21).

Outside of work hours, activities include:

-baking bread and made 60 pizzas in our wood burning oven.

-WWOOFer hitchhiking race to Amanohashidate.

-venison yakiniku and pizza party before going to the Dekansho Festival.

-hiking.

-swimming in the river near Tsuji house.

-trip to Miyama to have a picnic and swim in the river.

-kendo lessons.

-acupuncture workshop.

-tea ceremony.

-japanese study.

-field trip to an organic vegetable farm in Ichijima.

Harvesting

2010-07-12T23:41:00.001-07:00

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.

2010-07-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

My stay at Tsuji house was what I was looking to experience in Japan.

It was really inspiring to live with fifteen other people from all over the world, to share food and stories and work. When I arrived I thought to myself, I can learn or make or do anything I desire here. Being able to work with the farmers, to sit in their kitchen or go to their field made this a very special part of my trip to Japan.

The mountains surrounding

The frogs sing chorus of rising intensity.

Beardog is Buddha.

Jeremiah Riehl

May 9, 2010

update

2010-06-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

by Anna

I know, it's been a while since I've posted anything here. We've been SO busy this spring getting all the summer veggies in the ground, starting up the community garden, weeding (of course), helping out some local farmers, and dealing with some wacky weather and abismal drainage in our big fields (swimming, anyone?). And I just had a baby.

All excuses aside, I took a few pictures of my backyard the other day and thought I would share them.

This is some kind of Italian wheat that Gen got me for my birthday last year. Maybe it's farro?

This is one of a handful of peaches on our baby peach tree. Isn't it precious?

We're raising a small flock of akadori chickens. They're a local breed raised for meat that grow really large. They're still chicks and we're struggling to keep them safe-- we lost one to disease, one to the dog, and five to a weasel who, oddly, struck in broad daylight.

The bread oven. We usually make a lot of bread but haven't been for the past few weeks since it needs a bit of repair work done on the inside. We've got to fix it soon-- I want to have a pizza party.

A japanese forest crab. I couldn't believe it when I first saw these little guys crawling around on the forest floor. Japan is full of surprises.

Welcome Mio!

2010-06-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

by Seth Paul

In the last two weeks we have planted black beans in several fields, collected ume from a temple in Kyoto, harvested our yellow onions, and welcomed a new member to the Nishimura family; the latter being the most exciting, unexpected, and happy incident to occur.

Little Mio Nishimura entered the world a little earlier than we had expected, about one month earlier than expected. I personally don’t know many of the details of the event but the labor started on a very memorable day for me at very least. At 3PM I heard the crack of thunder to the East. This was the first thunder I had heard in Japan and I was uncertain if this was in fact thunder. Thirty minutes later the answer came in torrential rains, the likes of which I have rarely seen. It was as though a small ocean had been enjoying an afternoon nap in a cloud on this beautiful day and after waking was hurrying back home to its fish, ships, and beaches. This ocean seemed to have liked his nap because the same incident occurred for the two following days. Perhaps Mother Nature felt she had to do a little cleaning for Mio before she arrived. She is a little sweet heart and all her wwoofer “Aunts and Uncles” look forward to spoiling her with exorbitant amounts of attention.

potato planting.... finally!

2010-03-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

We got our way (for once!) with the weather and spent this morning digging out trenches, planting potatoes, and doling out manure and rice hulls for each little potato. All in all we planted 20 kilograms each of Kita Akari and May Queen which will be ready to harvest in early summer. We also had a little time before lunch to plant some carrots, beets, daikon radish, spinach, small Japanese leeks, and a trio of rosemary plants.

These are supports for our pea plants which we made from our fruit tree prunings.

This is our wheat. Some of it is growing lush and beautiful because we added lots of manure when we planted it last fall. The rest of it is lagging a bit, but hopefully with the regular addition of the compost tea we've started making it will catch up soon.

Aidan and Kenya gathered some wild edibles from the banks surrounding the field: a mysterious, sour, delicious and abundant salad green that we love but rice farmers hate, plus some tangles of nobiru, which are sweet wild Japanese spring onions. They made a dressing of kumquat and vinegar which we enjoyed with curry udon and venison liver sausage just as the rain started to fall-- perfect timing!

off day activity (not for the squeamish)

2010-03-28T05:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had a much needed break from the rain, but the ground was still too wet to do potato planting so we all had the day off. Blessed with nice weather, some of us took a bike ride into town to do some sightseeing, some went to help a friend in the process of constructing his own restaurant and then to a Japanese calligraphy exhibit, while Kenya and I stayed at the house to kill and butcher one of our older hens. Here she is being plucked:

It was Kenya's first time killing a chicken, and my second time, but thanks to these great directions we were able to do the job relatively easily even though we didn't really know what we were doing. When it came to gutting the hen, we referred back to the website quite a bit and got some guts on my keyboard in the process.

We learned how to take off the feet and the head, pull out the crop, cut off the tail, make a cut to take out the guts and then how to cut out the vent and rinse out the cavity.

We found all sorts of treasures inside. Guts, of course, but also countless unlaid eggs ranging in from normal egg size (with a very soft shell) to the size of a pinhead. The smaller eggs actually have no white around them and look like miniature egg yolks. Fascinating.

Because she was a tough old bird we decided to boil her (plus the feet) to make broth. Tonight we used it to make chicken and sourdough-herb dumplings that I adapted from this recipe.

rainy day(s)

2010-03-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

Sasayama is rainy, so sometimes instead of working in the fields we have to entertain ourselves by cleaning the house or shelling black beans or sorting merchandise for our upcoming flea market next month. This week we've been thwarting cabin fever by cleaning, organizing and redecorating the kids room of our English School. It's amazing to see people's creativity, especially when at the start of the day a person says they have no artistic talent and by the end of the day they are confidently coloring and arranging things on the wall and enjoying themselves. We had fun, but hopefully we'll have decent weather tomorrow so we can go ahead and plant potatoes. Here's a peek at some of the things we made:

workday 3-22-10

2010-03-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

Last year, Gen acquired two big fields right by the Nou-en project house. One of them is slated to become a community garden and the other we're using to grow our own crops. We've got onions, wheat, strawberries, peas in the ground and now a scattering of turnip, komatsuna, mizuna, and shungiku (chrysanthemum greens). Today we got lots of work done: picking out rocks from the community garden field, weeding, building trellises for the peas to grow on, planting seeds, dropping off a truckload of horse manure, and setting up a water tank by the field to brew compost tea. Tomorrow, if it's not rainy, we'll plant potatoes, ginger, and taro root.

Nou-en meeting ~ thoughts from Aidan

2010-03-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready to start up Nou-en again after the winter break. People have moved in to Tsuji house and are gearing up to assist neighborhood farmers starting in April. A few weeks ago we held a gathering of all the farmers we helped last season to talk about last year and how we can better work together this year. It was the first time we've held a meeting like this, with all the farmers involved.

One of our wwoofers, Aidan from Tasmania, attended the meeting and had these thoughts to share about his experience so far:

We live in interesting times, with machines as our hands and our food and friends coming from all four corners of the Earth. Maybe, whether by choice, or through necessity, we will all be affected by the principle of Nou-en.

How can we really put a money value on things?

Communities have changed from when people pooled resources. Infrastructure and methods have changed, and the environment and perceptions have been altered to suit the big corporations. Changes to food production and the environment have allowed us to rapidly re-direct our own place in the world, but at what cost?

With the resources we still have, and with the technology we have, there is great potential to explore the knowledge of our peers and forefathers.

Japan has the potential to feed itself if and when the 'ship' turns upside down. By fostering a lifestyle based on local and seasonal food, we can remove the life support system that keeps most of us alive.

It was motivating to attend a meeting for Nou-en with over 20 attendees, mostly local farmers, mostly over 50 years old. All that experience willingly being shared is definitely a step in the right direction.

We can all learn if we listen, and we can do anything if we try.

"...there are two types of people (paths)...the older ones, who understood everything, but did nothing with it, and the younger ones, who understood only partially or not at all, but immediately put suggestions into practice. We obviously trod the younger path in the agricultural movement, we did all our learning in the hard school of experience." (Rudolph Steiner).

2009-11-29T04:59:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name’s Emily Thornber and I’m a medical student from Oxford, England. I came WWOOFing in Sasayama to learn Japanese and to learn about Japanese culture, but I got so much more than that with the Nouen project. The goal to bring more young people into Sasayama is an admirable one, but it was the chance to meet lots of Japanese farmers that made the project truly amazing for me. They’re such hardworking people, but they’re also really fun and friendly – I think I even met my ideal Japanese parents! I had so much to learn from them that was really interesting, and I even learned a bit about myself, such as the fact that I love weeding rice fields! The project was an amazing opportunity to make lots of fantastic friends, and I think it’s safe to say that I’ve left a bit of my heart in Sasayama and will always be thinking of its black bean fields – thanks for everything guys!

More Nou-En testimonials

2009-09-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

in this photo: Silvia and Theresa

I was in Sasayama for one month. And now I’m going to leave. It actually makes me pretty sad, because Tsuji house and Sasayama feel a bit like my home already. It was really interesting to live and work with so many different people, even if it wasn’t always easy. I especially enjoyed working with the Japanese farmers, and being able to help them at least a little bit with their fields. All the farmers I met here are really nice, hard working people and it was a great experience to take part in their daily life and working process. Even if it was only for a short time I think the time I was here has taught me a lot about Japan and its citizens, I think in a much closer and more direct way than I would have when I would have been just a tourist staying in hotels.

--Theresa from Austria

I really enjoyed being part of this project. Although the work was sometimes tough because of the heat, in the end when you see that you did a good job and could help the farmers, you know that it was worth it. Work is also a bit easier when the farmers care for you like they do here in Sasayama, always providing us with snacks and cool drinks.

Another thing I appreciated was the possibility to go to matsuris (festivals) and going on different trips together, and also to have the freedom to take 2 days off to visit the city.

Living here together with so many people from all over the world was a totally new and great experience for me. It’s interesting to hear everyone’s own personal story. In the last 4 weeks that I’ve been here, we had a lot of fun and I really grew fond of all the people around me here. Tsuji house feels like my second home and I already know that I’ll miss my life here that I got so used to.

Thank you for everything.

--Silvia from Austria

in this photo: Bradley and Darío

Far away from any big city, surrounded by rice fields and mountains is where you can find the farm, a great experience shared with amazing people! I have been there, in the farm, for almost 2 weeks, and it has been incredible!

I have almost all my muscles aching, even some I didnt know I had, because of the hard work, I have many scratches in my legs and arms made when we were weeding and some itching mosquito bites as well. But it's worth it! The people there are incredible, it's like a working camp, doing organic farming, helping some old farmers, and sharing many many things like cooking, good meals, fun, local festivals, some treks, trips to the mountain lakes and much more :)

Its been probably the best time I've had in Japan, and I've been already almost 2 months there!

--Darío from Barcelona, Spain

A note from Andy

2009-09-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Andy came to us after finishing an English teaching stint in Osaka and hails from North Carolina, USA. He brought with him a talent for musical improvisation as well as a keen observational sense. Thanks, Andy, for all your encouragement and insight into how to improve the project. These are his comments:

The world needs more of this! Community building from the ground up.I'm always happy to find people who believe in the need forresponsible, sustainable, chemical-free farming, but I was amazed tosee this project going one step further by focusing on an entirefarming community in need of support. Furthermore, by bringingtogether people from all around the world and Japan via WWOOF to help,the Nishimuras are dispersing social seeds which will no doubt lead tosimilar projects elsewhere. I also deeply admired the Nishimuras'philosophy of reciprocity; there's something very heart-warming aboutworking for free, and letting the people we help decide how to showtheir gratitude without money. And of course I love eating food grownand produced by people I've met.

To improve the project I suggest finding ways to improve communicationand planning, which should reduce stress and increase efficiency. Byplanning work schedules further ahead and keeping all the volunteersmore informed about them, especially the new volunteers, people maywaste less time, as well as feel and be more useful. If each personknows everything that needs to be done for the day and how to do it,the confidence of individual volunteers should be improved, makingthem less reliant on receiving constant orders and instruction.Compiling a handbook with general rules, information about how tocarry out basic farming-related tasks, maps of the area, thephilosophy of the project, what a typical work day should look like,etc. to show new arrivals might be helpful. I also suggest a buddysystem wherein a new volunteer is paired with a more experiencedvolunteer, or improving the team system already in place.

Despite my minor suggestions, I think the project is heading in the right direction and will accomplish great things. I hope to be a partof something similar back home. I wish everyone the best of luck!

(Somewhat) Recent Happenings at Nou-En

2009-08-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

So, it's been too long since we've posted any photos or given an update on what's going on with the project. It's September and locals are already harvesting rice, the figs are finally ripe and the seemingly infinite supply of cucumbers has dwindled. My pictures go back 2 months, so here's a look at how we spent the summer. Sorry for the delay.

(in this photo: Louis Sutton)

No, he's not mowing the lawn, he's using an old, rusty rice-field-weeder. It has a wheel with spikes on it that churns up the weeds and deposits them into a tray. It may save you your back, but it will give you terrible blisters. Notice he's not using any gloves.

(in this photo, from left: Ozawa-san, Emily Thornber, and Yuriko)

See, hands work just as well, and are maybe more fun. Squelching around in sticky mud brings out the kid in all of us. We spent many days hand-weeding Ozawa-san's rice field.

(in this photo, from left: Sylvia and Theresa, two Austrian wwoofers)

Ozawa-san has many fields, something like twelve in all, but not all of them are organic, because it's impractical for one person to maintain. Ozawa-san agreed to keep a number of them organic if we agreed to help with the upkeep. In May we planted from seed this huge field of black soybeans, which is Tamba-Sasayama's specialty crop. We're looking forward to the harvest in October.

(in this photo, from left: Nicholas Broman, Andy Savoy, Momoko, Midori Nishimura, and Meredith Strandquist)

In August we took a break from weeding to do our 2nd annual Ecotopia camp, where everyone spends a week camping out in the woods, giving workshops and learning how to work together and live a little bit differently. At least that's how it's supposed to happen, but this summer we were dealt a freakishly long rainy season, so EVERYTHING we've tried to outside has gotten rained out. So we just had the "camp" inside. We were split into two houses, so we didn't get to experience the same community vibe, but we still had a good time and learned a lot. Andy gave us a workshop on improvisation and rhythm and made a bunch of cool percussion instruments out of garbage. Gen and Yuuko worked on building a smokehouse to preserve all the wild boar and deer that we hunt. Ideas for a sweat lodge/sauna were tossed around, and Louis and Lawson made a forge and have since made a couple of knives.

(in this photo, from left: Mary Strandquist, Nicholas Broman and Andy Savoy)

We did get to spend one night in the forest. We lugged a bunch of supplies to the site, enough for 25 people to camp for three nights, only to lug it out again the next day when we were inundated by torrential rains. Bummer.

At least we got one good night around the campfire.

And we got to take long-exposure photos of burning sticks and an iPhone.

(Eco and Rocco, photo by Anne Marijn Koppen)

But worse than the rain was our goat Eco getting sick. This is a photo from when she was healthier. We noticed her acting more stubborn than normal and that her balance was a bit off, and then one morning she couldn't stand up. The vet came and told us she had filariosis, a potentially lethal infection from a parasitic nematode. They colonize in the spine and affect the nervous system, so her mobility became seriously impaired. We really thought we were going to lose her, and for four days we had to feed her by hand until she was strong enough to stand up on her own. Nearly a month after first showing symptoms, she's still weak and can't hold her head up, but she made it!

(in this photo: Momoko and Mary Strandquist)

During the Dekansho Festival, which attracts around 30,000 visitors to Sasayama to eat chicken on a stick, drink lots of beer and do something called the obon-dance on the grounds of Sasayama castle, we held our first flea market in the parking lot of LABO English School with the hopes of raising money for Nou-En. We invited donations from the school's students and gathered quite a lot of merchandise-- clothing, books and toys, as well as some of Ozawa-san's organic vegetables and local tomato jam and salsa from the landlord of the Nou-En house. Kinari Glass, the company a few meters down the road from the house, set up a booth to sell their beautiful glass beads.

(in this photo, from left: Theresa, Yuuko, Sylvia, Meredith Strandquist, Andy Savoy, and Yuka Fujii)

A mainstay of Japanese festivals is a game where, for a small fee, you try to catch goldfish or tiny turtles using paper net. We filled a baby pool with water and then dumped in a bunch of donated cherry tomatoes. Maybe it's not as exciting as catching a living thing, but the kids had fun. I think the record was something like 42 tomatoes. The kid had great technique-- he used the rim of the plastic net to flip the tomatoes into the bowl.

(in this photo: Yoshi, Hiro, Eddie, and Rocky)

We set up a stage on top of the sandbox to feature some local musicians. Yuichi, one of our students at LABO, did beatboxing, and Eddie sang r&b.

Our flea market managed to raise some money for the project and we've decided to continue it and make it a bi-monthly event. Our next one will be held on September 20th. Little by little we want to increase the number of vendors to create a thriving market featuring local products.

-posted by Anna

A note from Chris

2009-08-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

This is Chris, from England, a Nou-En participant who stayed with us for five weeks this summer. He worked really hard to get this project off the ground and we miss him a lot. This is what he had to say about his experience:

Sasayama's great, and the Nou-En project was a really good way to experience both farming and Japan for the first time. Helping local farmers made the work we were doing feel very rewarding. Not that weeding black bean fields isn't rewarding in its own right - there's something really satisfying about changing a row of sad looking black beans, drowning in a sea of weeds, into a row of happy looking plants standing proud in the soil. Doing that with 8 other young people so the Obaa-san (who's just brought you a basket full of cakes and drinks) doesn't have to break her back doing it by herself makes it even better.

Weeding rice paddies barefoot is also really good fun - it's like playing in the mud as a child, but instead of being scolded by your parents you get more cakes and snacks, and sometimes fruit and vegetables or a 30kg bag of the best tasting rice you've ever had to take home. It all seems like a pretty good deal to me!

The work done through the project appears to be genuinely acknowledged and appreciated by the people of Tsuji. We were invited to a couple of community events and I was lucky enough to be allowed to take part in a festival, carrying the Dashi (Festival cart) to and from a nearby Shrine. These are all experiences I doubt I would have had anywhere else and am really grateful for them.

The people I've met WWOOFing in Sasayama, both villagers and fellow WWOOFers, from different countries and backgrounds to myself, and are all brilliant people. I'm truly thankful I had the chance to live and work with them all for the 5 weeks I've stayed here. That all this was in the stunning fields and valleys around Tsuji makes it all the more memorable.

a few thoughts, from the field~~~

2009-07-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder what the farmers we work with are thinking when we show up to help them with their day's work. Initially, it must be a pretty strange idea for them. One day a mixed bag of young Japanese and foreigners starts fixing up an old house in your village. Next thing you know, they've moved in and word is spreading that they're offering free agricultural help. Free? Really? That can't be right.
And it isn't. Unless you consider friendship, cultural exchange, acceptance into a community, home cooked meals and wisdom worthless. In today's world, what I'm talking about is a lot harder to come by than money.
I have so much respect for the farmers that have accepted our help so far. Sometimes I think it's harder to accept other people's help than it is to give it-- the emotions involved in receiving something are decidedly more complex than those you have when giving something. Maybe it makes you feel a bit vulnerable or guilty or indebted. I'm grateful to them for getting past that and taking the risk of going somewhat against the grain, which is a big step in any society but especially here in Japan.Take a look at the picture below:

That's Yuriko. She's in a big field of black soybeans cultivated by a lady named Oonishi-san who lives in the next village over. Try to imagine how it would feel to maintain this field (and quite a few others) by yourself as a 70-year-old. Everyone's different, but I think I'd feel a bit overwhelmed and lonely.

We were happy to help out. Pulling up the big weeds, hoeing in the smaller ones and piling up the soil around the young black bean plants was easy and fun with 8 people helping out. When you're doing work with your friends, tasks you might otherwise consider drudgery turns into something to look forward to.

This is Gen, the brains(?) behind the project, with Oonishi-san. At the end of the day, after eliminating every last speck of a weed from her fields, she seemed delighted. She said with a big smile on her face how proud she was of how clean her fields looked.We were glad to oblige. I think we all look forward to going back to her place, especially after she brought out a basket of gleaming, sleek purple eggplants and told us she'd fry up a big batch of tempura for us to take home for dinner. She packed us a really nice basket chock full of rice balls, a richly flavorful dish of stewed green peppers, and a humongous pile of eggplant, green bean and mixed vegetable tempura with homemade dipping sauce.
This is the current crew, minus a couple of faces.

~~~posted by Anna~~~!

Field Trip to Saihouji

2009-07-07T19:41:00.001-07:00

Recently we took advantage of one of our nice days off to visit the scenic village of Saihouji, in
Kyoto Prefecture. The drive took us high up into the mountains and beyond any reminders of the outside world. From the village all that could be seen were mountains cascading away from a foreground of steeply terraced rice fields.

While visiting Saihouji we learned that the village

consists of only 36 people, however we were surprised to hear that the average age is some where in the mid-forties. This is in large part due to the work of Tomozou-san, a local young man who returned home to Saihouji after finishing school and traveling briefly. Starting with Tomozou-san's father, his family has been hard at work encouraging young people to move to the village and continue the way of life that is closely tied to the mountians through the changing work of the seasons and the daily demands of mountain life. They have established a temporary housing and work arrangement to provide interested people with a footing while they build or renovate their own house in the village and get established as farmers.

The dominant economy of Saihouji seems to be egg production. Three farmers keep laying hens on a commercial scale, which means that this small mountain village of 36 people is also home to some 6,000 chickens. In addition to providing reliable daily income the chickens produce an abundance of manure, which in turn provides both direct and indirect resources to sell either as organic fertilizer or in the form of organic vegetables.

To thank Tomozou-san for taking time away from his fields and other work to show us around, as well as generously giving us a flat of fresh eggs, we decided to all chip in and help him harvest and process his onion crop. With our collective 16 hands working together we were able to do in a few hours what would have taken Tomozou-san and his mother two days to finish.

Our trip to Saihouji was a great way to spend a day enjoying the beauty of the mountains, but more importantly we were able to network with another group of motivated people doing work that coincides with the Nou En philosophy. We were all able to get inspiration and ideas from one another and to top it off we were able to help out with a bit of field work in exchange for some good healthy food.

2009-07-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

We've been busy here at Nou En. In the past month or so we have secured a traditional Japanese house (or is it two?) to clean, fix and live in. Because the house hasn't been occupied for over eight years there was a lot of work to do. We've so far managed to clean most of the house and move in.

We've also had our first group of WWOOFers come and some have already gone, so we've been making good friends and hopefully inspiring people.

2009-07-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

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/main/)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.