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FOLENS Seminar (FOLENS Farm Activity) March 2013: Sustainable Agriculture – Visit to Fujino Permaculture Center Japan (PCCJ)
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An old farm house used as an office of Fujino Permaculture Center Japan (PCCJ) |
Lecture by Mr. Kiyokazu Shidara of PCCJ |
Walking through a bamboo grove to the farm |
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Visiting a permaculture farm - very different from conventional farms |
A “chicken tractor” to fertilize soil shifting a chicken cage |
Farm soil covered with weeds – permaculture style |
To reflect on our FOLENS farm activities during the first year and to plan our activities for the next season, ten FOLENS students with two faculty members visited Fujino Permaculture Center Japan (PCCJ). PCCJ, located about an hour away by car from the TUAT campus, is headed by Mr. Kiyokazu Shidara, known as one of the leading permaculturists in Japan. After listening to his lecture on the concept of permaculture as a way of living in an old cozy farm house that serves as a PCCJ office, we walked through a bamboo grove to the PCCJ farm. The students were first puzzled with the appearance of the farm totally different from conventional farms in Japan – there was no ridge, soil was covered with weeds, and a variety of crops were growing among them. But as Mr. Shidara guided them to put their fingers in the soil, they were surprised to find how soft it was. His explanation about the meanings of each factor in the farm such as weeds, the design of beds, a “chicken tractor”, and a hut also delighted the participants. While walking in the farm, some of the participants raised a question on the feasibility of permaculture farming as agriculture. According to Mr. Shidara’s explanation and his way of living, we understood that premaculture is not a favorable way of farming if to produce a large quantity of particular crops, however, it is a way of sustainable living to harmonize aspects of life with nature, and farming is part of various activities within such life. This visit gave us a precious opportunity to think once again the meaning of “sustainable farming”(SN)
| Date | March 22, 2013 10:00-16:00 |
| Place | Fujino Permaculture Center Japan |
| Participants | 10 students, 2 faculty members (Furihata, Ninomiya-Lim |