Hello, I'm Sugie, a member of the production department who joined Monosus in April.
There are several reasons why I joined Monosus, but one of them was because I had a strong interest in the " Food hub Project (FHP)". I had always had a strong desire to go to Kamiyama and Kamaya, and I was able to make that happen during the Golden Week holidays.
Although we post information on a daily basis on the FHP website, there are many things you can't know unless you go to the site. And we didn't just go there, we wanted to experience things close to the daily lives of the staff and help them out. That wish came true, and we were able to take a step further.
Following on from yesterday , here is the second part of my report on what I experienced, heard, and thought in Kamiyama and Kamaya! I will report on helping out at the FHP farm.
The field is a place of learning
I decided to help out in the fields for two days.
All you have to do is thin out the carrots (2 per spot) to just 1, and pull out the surrounding weeds. All by hand.
I was lucky to have someone to help me on both days. On the first day, I had an artist from the United States, Jeannine Shinoda. She had stayed at the Kamiyama artist-in-residence program in the past.
Jeannine is very fast at thinning and weeding! When I asked her if she works in the fields in America, the conversation turned to American agriculture, and she told me that there is an urban farm initiative in Detroit. Since I only had the image of Detroit as an industrial area, I was so surprised that I asked "Really?", so I decided to look into it after the work. Then I found a TED talk about how "urban agriculture is changing Detroit."
There is a Japanese translation, so if you are interested, please take a look. Thank you, Jeannine, for giving me the opportunity to learn something new!
On the second day, we went with the Matsumoto family and their friend's family from the agricultural team. With five adults and four children, the field felt like a park. Keijiro (the friend's son), who is an avid reader of illustrated reference books, said it was also a place where he encountered real insects and plants. When he found something, he would compare it with his memory and tell me, who was very ignorant, "I wonder if that's ____."
A caterpillar? I've never seen one this big before.
There were many ladybugs on carrot leaves. They are said to be beneficial insects because they eat aphids, which are harmful insects.
Normally, this would be a task that would be done in silence, but when we do it together, we chat and learn new things, and our hands get moving. It's just so much fun, and before we know it, it's dusk every day.
Enjoy the freshly picked produce
Just before leaving after working with the Matsumoto family and their friend's family, Matsumoto's wife invited me to come over for dinner. "Yes!!!" I replied immediately. While the dinner was being prepared, Ema-chan (Mr. Matsumoto's daughter) played outside, panting and not wanting to lose to her high energy. At that time, she said, "That field over there is my grandma's!" (She said she had just moved here in April, but I wondered if she had relatives nearby?) I asked her later, and she told me that she wasn't her own grandmother, but a neighbor, so they had more opportunities to talk to her, and before I knew it, she had started calling her grandma. As someone whose grandparents' houses were more than half a day's drive away, I honestly felt very envious that she could interact with people from her parents' generation nearby, regardless of whether they were related by blood or not.
Meanwhile, the meal was ready! The menu for that day was curry rice. I knew it was a bit childish, but I was so eager to compete with Ema-chan that I ended up asking for a second helping. It was so delicious that I couldn't resist...lol
The side dishes are in the back. From the left, butterhead lettuce, snap peas, carrots, and green carrots. The colors are so vivid...
By the way, the vegetables lined up in the middle of the dining table were all grown in FHP's fields. The carrots and snap peas were served raw, and they were incredibly sweet. Even though I had a second helping, I found myself munching them down like it was a snack (but that was a separate stomach). The "crunch" sound you hear when you put them in your mouth seems to resonate better the fresher they are.
Also, carrot leaves (also called carrot greens)! This was my first time trying them, but they tasted like chrysanthemum, and were delicious. If they weren't fresh, I don't think you'd have many opportunities to try them.
It was a wonderful dinner where I was deeply touched by the luxury of being able to eat my fill of freshly picked vegetables and the warmth of the Matsumoto family. Thank you very much!
Are farmers hyper creators?
This time, I was able to help with one of the processes leading up to the harvest. However, getting to that stage is only possible thanks to the work that precedes it.
Mr. Daito from the agricultural team also shared the following story.
"I calculate which crops to put in which fields, how much to put in, and when to put them in, then I draw up an annual schedule and manage what needs to be done on each day."
"Even if we use the same variety, we think about staggering the planting times to distribute the yield."
"We're thinking about where to plant them, taking into consideration the machine's entrance and harvest timing."
I was once again surprised by the amount of thought that was given and how detailed it was.
In addition, we have to get along well with things that we cannot control, such as the weather and climate. On another day, I had a chance to talk with a member of the Satoyama Association , and the sky that day was a little windy with clouds moving rapidly. "The clouds are moving towards the mountains at a rapid speed, so the weather is going to get bad. It might rain." The night after we had this conversation, it rained. I have lived in Kamiyama for many years and I watch the sky, so I can predict the weather. After hearing such a passage, I began to think that agriculture is a very noble job that can only be done by fully utilizing not only the mind and body, but also the five senses. I would almost say that I am a hyper creator.
However, no matter how much time and effort you put into your work, once your produce is on the market, there are very few opportunities for producers to know what happens to it. This is why I was reminded once again how wonderful the FHP system and cycle is.
The fruits of the wisdom of those involved in agriculture add color and nutrition to our dinner tables. This experience made me feel even more grateful to be able to enjoy these fruits. Thank you to everyone on the agricultural team!
After my experience at FHP
In fact, I had the opportunity to help out with a few other things related to FHP besides the ones I reported on. It's frustrating that I can't write about them all here, but I think it was a very valuable experience to be exposed to the work and passion of the key players who are working every day to create a new circulation system.
What I learned during my stay here is still just a small part of it. I think I might be able to see a different side of it as the seasons change. That's how much I want to keep an eye on FHP's activities in the future.
SUGIE Natsuki