Ginza×CSR・CSV Vol.23 Ginza Sayegusa

I want to deliver the real thing

• – In 2014, you started the Sayegusa Green Magic nature experience camp program for children.
• As one of the activities using the 1% for Green project that I just mentioned, I thought we could create an experience-based program that gives children who have few chances to be in nature an opportunity to experience true nature. With Sakae village in Nagano prefecture as the field, we worked together with an outdoors specialist NPO that is active in the local area to develop a camp program called Sayegusa Green Magic that lets children experience a rich natural environment and learn about Satoyama (rural mountain woodland community) living from older men and women. Since 2014, we have held it twice a year in summer and winter, for a total of four sessions so far. Thanks to everyone’s support, many children come back again, and a growing number are participating in every session. This year’s winter session filled up in no time. In the future, we would like to hold sessions more frequently and find a field where even more children can participate.
• – Why did you make the program for children only, rather than parents and children?
• We are confident that we can use our past experiences to provide a safe and worry-free environment. By deliberately providing an interactive place for only children, I wanted to offer a special opportunity for both children and their parents. There were even some parents who were amazed because their child who could not eat vegetables before began eating them as soon as starting their time living in a kid-only community in the field. In addition to experiencing nature directly, developing the ability to create new forms of play in the forest and participate in group action during the younger years leads to the development of independence, creativity, and cooperativeness, which are great bonuses for a child’s growth.
• – Why did you choose Sakae village in Nagano prefecture as the field?
• Sakae village was destroyed in the earthquake in North Nagano prefecture that occurred on March 12, the day after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The Kotaki district that is one small settlement in Sakae village was closed to the outside until then, and there was one person who was working to open it up to revive the area. My meeting that person was the main catalyst. Sakae village, and Kotaki in particular, retains the original landscape of Japan and is a place where you can experience true Satoyama living. I sensed similarity with the passion of Sayegusa that emphasizes “the real thing.” Many of the people who visited this place through Sayegusa became fans of Kotaki and developed a bond with the local area. Starting this year, we will also being holding hands-on programs for parents and children to try rice planting and harvesting.
  In doing this, my plan is to enable parents and their children to experience the joy and sense of fulfillment of working together in the natural environment.

• – You are also participating in the rebranding and sale of rice from Sakae village and the Kotaki region.
• In order to contribute to reconstruction of this area that has a target of the Satoyama still remaining after 300 years, I thought that perhaps we could support its activities for production of rice that is the most highly valued in this area, utilizing our marketing expertise.
  In 2014, we helped rebrand a rare variety of Koshihikari rice called Kotaki rice as a brand of world-class rice from Japan. We sold it as year-end gifts packed into wine bottles, and they were such a hit that we sold 1,000 bottles in a week.
  In 2015, we launched the Kotaki Rice & Future brand (http://kotakirice.jp), and we have since begun full scale marketing activities.

• – What has the response of your employees to CSR activities been like?
• What surprised me the most was that job applicants almost always ask about the Green Project in their employment interview, and this pleases me greatly.
  
  While understanding about our initiatives has permeated well throughout our company compared to the beginning, I feel that I want each person to start CSR activities within their own hearts. What I am currently considering is building a system at the shops for reusing children’s clothing. As clothing from Sayegusa lasts a long time, many customers hand down clothing to family members or relatives. However, there are fewer and fewer chances to do this as the birth rate continues to decline. For example, if we could create a system in which the shops accepted children’s clothing that is no longer needed so that it can be reused many times before being returned to the earth, we would not only reduce the environmental load, but also create a chance for our staff to deal with CSR on a daily basis in their regular job.