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Back to Work!
It is Finally Business as Usual


“Don’t forget Tohoku!” We are still alive!” is the message we want to deliver. Mr.Kondo says.

It is almost five months now since the massive earthquake devastated Japan. The panic that followed is now gone without a trace, and the cities are slowly going back to business as usual apart from the inconvenience of the various measures applied to conserve energy. Even in the most hard hit areas,  food and supplies are more than sufficient as infrastructure is being rebuilt to support the daily lives of the residents, bringing back some cheerfulness. While there is no real end in sight regarding the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, the Tohoku region is quietly moving forward as job creation is beginning as part of efforts to reconstruct the livelihoods of the residents in the affected areas.

Cotton Ball Lights Up Hope

Let white cotton balls become beacons of light - that was the wish behind the drive to commence cotton farming in Tohoku. The endeavor aims to create long term employment for the people whose farms were devastated by the tsunami resulting from the earthquake by planting crops on what used to be rice farms before the disaster. By August, the yellow cotton flowers are in bloom and harvest time is not too far away. by Sumiko Wakasa

■ Don’t abandon Tohoku

“Are you all going to just abandon Tohoku? We want you to cooperate with us to realize recovery.” Two months after the earthquake on May 10, from the podium at a seminar where many people from the textile and fashion industry gathered, Kondo Kenichi, Board Member of #TAISHOBOSEKI Industries, Ltd., called out to the audience.

Japan has a long history of recovering from salt damage by growing cotton, so Kondo was confident that this project would succeed. The project is the brainchild of Kondo and legwear SPA, Tabio Corporation’s Naomasa Ochi Chairman. The two have a history of working together to revive the creation of “Japanese cotton,” which is currently nonexistent in industrial quantities.

When the salt concentration level in the soil exceeds 0.2%, it is impossible to grow rice on it, but cotton can grow on soil with 0.5% to 0.6% salt concentration. By utilizing this idea, the two hoped to salvage farmers who are unable to grow rice due to the damage done by the tsunami.

The first person to raise his hand in response to Kondo’s call for help was Keisuke Era of kurkku, a company owned by musician Takeshi Kobayashi. Era quickly took action by inquiring with the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations and went to Sendai to meet with farmers of the eastern part of Sendai city, who were significantly affected by the tsunami. The damages to the farms were not uniform and they did not have a complete consensus, but five farmers from the Arahama area where not just the waste water system but also the irrigation canals were devastated came together to create a cooperative, and they commenced test farming on 1.2 hectares of farmland.

■ We are still alive!

Though it is still agriculture, to the rice farmers cotton farming was “an uncharted area of an alien field,” says Yoshinori Akasaka, head of the cooperative. They lost their houses and all their equipment, but the farmers decided to take on the challenge because they could not bear to see 200 hectares of land go to waste and because they hoped that their efforts would help brighten the outlook for other victims of the disaster. Cotton farming also began in nearby Natori city as well. Sendai is the northern most location where cotton can be made and it will not be easy, but gradually, there is an increase in the number of farmers endorsing the project.

Cotton seeds are provided to such farms and TAISHOBOSEKI buys up the cotton crop to spin them. The spun yarn is used to create commercial products and will eventually reach consumers. There are now more than 20 apparel manufacturers and retailers who have agreed to participate in this “Tohoku Cotton Project.”

It is anticipated that 1,600kg of cotton will be harvested in October 2011. As the demand to commercialize the output is higher than anticipated, TAISHOBOSEKI plans to blend the said cotton with other organic cotton to create approximately 20 tons of yarn.

It is anticipated that 1,600kg of cotton will be harvested in October 2011. As the demand to commercialize the output is higher than anticipated, TAISHOBOSEKI plans to blend the said cotton with other organic cotton to create approximately 20 tons of yarn.

Actual product sales are expected to commence in January 2012. Kondo says, “At one year since the earthquake, on March 11, we want to be able to present a reasonable volume of products. ‘Don’t forget Tohoku! We are still alive!’ is the message we want to deliver.” If this movement spreads further, in the near future, it may no longer be a dream to imagine that when one takes a plane to or from Sendai Airport, one will see a sea of white cotton fields that spread far and wide like a huge white rug.

Kondo has procured organic fibres from around the world to use as raw materials to spin them into yarns in Japan and to open the door for them to be used to create a vast range of products. His principle is “to work for the betterment of the world and to assist people” and he has to date contributed to creating employment in Africa and Southeast Asia.

After the Great Earthquake, he launched the cotton farming project in response to some of the requests he received from the farmers in Fukushima prefecture where the nuclear power plant is located. The farmers were not just affected by the tsunami, but as there is no clear end in sight to the radioactivity problem, it seemed like the farmers had no choice but “to let the farmland be idle for the remainder of the year.” However, Kondo spoke with such farmers and reassured them that “this will absolutely work,” and distributed cotton seeds. He even promised to buy the crop at three to four times the market value.

There are flowers blooming on three hectares of cotton farms. The farm in Minamisoma city, close to the nuclear power plant, is very near to a primary school, so the neighboring residents were very happy with the project as well. “While the surrounding environment brought on a gloomy outlook, I was confident this will help bring hope to live on for the people in the area,” says Kondo. As soon as the cotton can be harvested, the idea is that they will be tested for radioactivity so that the yarn can guarantee safety and security.

TAISHOBOSEKI is a Japanese manufacturer offering denim to many famous brands in Europe.

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