Organic Farming & Rural Areas in Japan

In Japan, the word ‘satoyama’ generally refers to the border zone between the mountain foothills and flat land near to a village. It is a place where people live in harmony with nature, harvesting its bounty but also being stewards of the land.

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I can't believe next year will be my 13th year raising organic vegetables in the mountains of Shiga, Japan.  I came to Japan over 20 years ago to see the world, without a single notion of what was to come.  Having a great love of nature, I spent a lot of time in the mountains north of Kyoto city.  I stumbled upon some fallow fields in a quaint village and the next thing I knew I was following my newfound passion, organic farming.  Each year I grow a little more, a little better, but there are just some hurdles I just can't get past without some help.  That is why I am raising money to construct a prototype of a system to improve farmers' yields and help the environment using renewable energy.  

滋賀で有機野菜を栽培して、来年で１２年になります。２０年以上前に、外国に出たくて来日しました。自然に魅せられて、京都市北部の里山へよく出かけました。思いがけず、美しい村の休耕地と出会い、情熱を持って有機農業を始めました。少しずつ勉強を続け、毎年作物も増やしてきましたが、私だけではどうしようもできない障害にぶつかっています。そのために畑を改良し、再生可能なエネルギーを使って環境を守るシステムの試作品を導入するための資金が必要なのです。

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Nature is vibrant up in the mountains due to the fresh air and clean water.  Farmers have the advantage of a very good base soil and plenty of pollinators to help.  However, every farmer needs soil amendments eventually, something which organic farmers in Japan can struggle with.  Living compost has long been known to keep the soil rich and moist, something Japan had actively done for thousands of years.  The introduction of "conventional" farming in the last century has changed that, however, and now most farmers cannot buy or even make their own compost efficiently.  The system I am building will help to bring back composting, which is not only a wonder for the soil but also the most environmental way to dispose of kitchen waste.  

新鮮な空気を清流によって、里山の自然は活性化します。農家は良質な土壌と送粉者（花粉を運ぶ昆虫、ほ乳類、鳥類など）の恩恵を受けます。徐々に土壌改良剤が必要になってきますが、これが日本における有機農家が悪戦苦闘している点です。生きた堆肥が土壌を湿った豊かなものにすることは知られており、日本でも何千年と使われてきました。しかし、２０世紀に「型にはめる」農業が導入されたことで、この伝統は失われ、今では生きた堆肥は購入すること、また各自が効果的な方法で堆肥を作ることが難しくなってしまいました。私が構築するシステムは堆肥を作れるようにするもので、土壌にとっては良いのはもちろんのこと、最も環境的に良い生ゴミ処理法にもなるのです。

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