By Nanami Nakagawa | Youth Venture Program Leader
Hello from Japan!
We hope you are all doing very well. We at Ashoka Japan have been busying around with our young changemakers; over the course of 6 years, what started off as a small initiative to empower young people to make changes in their communities in Tohoku where the Tsunami hit, has expanded to all areas of Japan. Our youth venture network now embraces over 89 teams which amount to a total of over 350 young changemakers! For this, we would like to express our biggest appreciation to you.
Here we would like to introduce one of our Youth Venturers, Yuuki, who is working on improving the farming in Fukushima after the triple disaster in 2011.
Yuuki
A place where farmers shine, created by high school students
In the summer of my second year of high school, I visited a farmers market during a travel program to the US. I strongly felt that I want to organize a market like that in my own hometown, so I quit my club at school and started the ‘FM-Futaba Project’.
I felt that it was really important that people eat locally produced vegetables so I wanted to raise awareness of the local agriculture by getting directly involved with the farmers.
At first, I went to the place where farmers sell their vegetables directly to hear from them about agriculture and the work of farmers. Hearing the farmers talk about their work with so much liveliness and joy made us smile. At the marketplace, the rumour that “Yuki wants to become a farmer” spread and soon the locals lent some fields to us. As I watched our own crops grow, my affection grew and I could not stop thinking that vegetables are cute! (Hahahaha... especially the spinach!!).
In August 2017, I was able to finally open a farmers market by making use of the experience and network that I have made during the past year. However, there is still a long way to go and many problems that surround the farmers in Fukushima. I want to solve each one of them carefully with my team and create a place where farmers can shine.
We hope to continue to support more changemakers like Yuuki!
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