Hello. I am Manabe, Director of the Production Department and Manager of the Food Hub Project .
The Food Hub Project is engaged in agricultural and food activities in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture, under the motto "Farm Local, Eat Local." This spring, Shokudo Kamaya and Kamapan & Store successfully celebrated their first anniversary. We are filled with gratitude every day for the support we receive from so many people.
And now, as a first for Food Hub, a crowdfunding challenge has begun. The theme is "Reviving sake that tastes like rice." The sake brewing that had been discontinued in Kamiyama will be revived using rice grown by the group and spring water from the mountain valley. We hope to build this kind of connection with many people, where we "make it together and enjoy it together."
I would like to introduce you to the crowdfunding campaign that has just begun.
To let you know our thoughts
Since launching the Food Hub in Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture, I have been working like crazy every day. Although both myself and the team members on the ground are still far from settling down, we are feeling a definite sense of accomplishment in each area: growing, eating, making, and connecting.
Moving away from the traditional framework of mass production and mass consumption, our activities are based on " connecting small things " and creating a cycle of small-scale production and consumption (where what is made locally is eaten locally). Through food, we hope to connect the "everyday life" that was once common in Japan to the next generation.
As we worked with this idea in mind and interacted with various people, we felt the importance of letting more people know about what we were doing. At the same time, we received more and more messages from various people asking us if we should try crowdfunding, so we decided to try it for the first time with the cooperation of Motion Gallery .
Our goal is not to simply raise funds to make something and then finish it, but to use support to increase the number of people who sympathize with the Food Hub's efforts. Of course, we rely on you for financial support, but at the same time, we also want to connect with people we haven't had contact with before and meet people who share our passion for food.
As the first step, we have decided to undertake a crowdfunding project to create a new sake together, which will be completed next year.
Let's work together to create Kamiyama sake
It's been about 40 years since the last sake brewery in Kamiyama. At our restaurant, Kamaya , we use as much local or neighboring produce as possible, including our own grown rice and vegetables, as well as other ingredients and seasonings. However, our sake was always sourced from other areas.
Food Hub is an agricultural company that focuses on rice, so is it really okay to let sake made from Kamiyama rice disappear? There's no way we can't make the most of the delicious rice and clean local water. So we decided to make it ourselves. And so, last year, the sake-making project began.
Through trial and error, with members who had no experience in sake brewing (for more details on this, please see the crowdfunding page ...there were really too many things to handle, haha), and with the help of many people, the sake shown in the photo above, "Aji no Kamiyama 2017," was completed this spring.
Last month, we held a "First Press Tasting Event" in the town, and the people of the town were more pleased than we expected, which made me very happy. Originally, sake was consumed at gatherings and celebratory events. It really made me realize that sake has the power to connect people. And best of all, it was delicious! Of course, there are many areas to improve for next year, but I think we've been able to give shape to our desire to "make sake that tastes like rice" using local rice and water.
The first pressing tasting event. The locals were all excited and said, "Sake has been revived!" which made me really happy.
And now the real thing begins! Sake brewing for next year will begin again. This time, we are seeking support through crowdfunding, and we hope to share the whole process with many people, from growing the rice (from planting to harvesting), making koji, polishing the rice, brewing the sake, pressing, and finally finishing.
What kind of return are you interested in?
Speaking of crowdfunding, one thing that comes to mind is the returns (what you get back from those who support you). We have a variety of courses available, including the Food Hub Supporter Course (3,000 yen), a course that lets you taste this year's sake, "The Taste of Kamiyama 2017," which we introduced earlier, a mail-order course that lets you enjoy ingredients from the Food Hub, and experience-based courses such as various events and tours.
Here are some of the experiential courses available:
- Invitation to the event "Local Food Night in Tokyo"
- A one-day tour to visit food and tableware makers associated with the Food Hub
- Let's grow rice together (planting/harvesting) and make sake together
- Serious Food Hub Overseas Study Tour
- Locally produced food in your town (cooking events) etc.
In addition to this, we also have sponsorship courses where your name will be displayed at Shokudo Kamaya. (There is also a course where I will come to you with some Japanese sake and we will drink and talk to each other...I'm serious, lol)
Please support us!
This is Food Hub's first crowdfunding campaign, so we're a bit hectic and not really sure what to do, but we'll be challenging for our target amount of 2 million yen over the next few days until July 11th.
I would be very grateful if you could support us.
For details about crowdfunding and to apply for support, please see the Motion Gallery page . (I know this is a long and passionate post, but I'm so overwhelmed with emotion...) I want to help grow this project together with as many people as possible.
Locally made local sake. Let's drink it together!
(You will be redirected to the Motion Gallery site)