一般財団法人　連帯　東北・西南　RENTAI　TOHOKU-SEINAN

Shinko Ryu and Syed Tahir, Rentai Tohoku Collaborating with Kesennuma Social Welfare Council, Rentai Tohoku is holding a curry party in the common room of the temporary housing at Shishiori Junior High School on the 27th August (Sat.). We are hoping to provide residents of temporary housings and evacuation centers an opportunity to share a meal and enjoy each other's company. As we believe that it is important for evacuees to find what they can themselves as a process of reconstructing their lives, we would like to ask our participants to prepare rice and we will provide delicious Pakistani curry.

We are expecting to welcome about 400 guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urato Umi-no-ko Recovery Project of Katsura Island in Urato Islands, which we have frequently introduced in volunteers' reports on this website, was proudly granted as an incorporated body on the 11th July. The project that aims at collecting funds for the reconstruction of oyster and seaweed farms heavily damaged by the earthquake, originally started in early April, based on the idea of Yoshimasa Koizumi, an oyster farmer of Katsura Island. The project raises funds in 10,000 yen lump sums, which are spent to restore the farms and purchase tools washed away by the tsunami. The funders are to receive sea products harvested from the restored farms. The project received an intense public reaction from both home and abroad, the number of funders reached 12,000 at the first offer and the money collected was 175 million yen. As the project was approved as an incorporated body, the fishermen of Urato Islands have been able to create the framework to appropriately manage funds to continue their activities. The administrative board of the incorporated body consists of three leaders of the local fisheries corporative, a university professor and the board chairperson of Rentai Tohoku. Currently, Urato Project manages and runs funds with an aim to recover fisheries in Urato Islands and give back the resulting products to the funders. The recovery efforts at farms on Katsura Island steadily progresses with a help of volunteers from Rentai Tohoku and there is a prospect to achieve a certain amount of harvest this year.

by Iino, Staff, Rentai Tohoku

As announced in the article on the 28th July, the exhibition of a wooden temporary house was presented by Sumita-town and a general foundation, more trees, at Roppongi Hills Arena and I visited the site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could smell the aroma of Kesen cedars from the distance I was taking photographs.
Four Kesen carpenters who arrived the day before and some carpenters in Tokyo built the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The house made of Kesen cedar timbers provides good thermal insulation, and eventually, when it ends its service and is knocked down, the timbers will be used as fuel. As a merit of local production for local consumption, the building cost is only 3 million yen per house.
The event "Tohoku Marche and Food Stalls" took place at the same time and was run by volunteers from Sumita-town.

The exhibition was filled with vitality and humane spirit of people of Sumita-town proud themselves in Japan's best forestry business and more trees staff who are working together toward reconstruction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wooden temporary housings in Sumita-town are being built by the wise decision made by Mayor Tada, and LIFE311 has set a goal to provide 300 million yen as a fund. LIFE311 (more trees) is accepting contributions to "build even more temporary housings and help reconstruction of disaster areas"(Mayor Tada).

 

[About donations] LIFE311(Support Project for afflicted areas of the Pacific coast by Tohoku Earthquake) by more trees

http://life311.more-trees.org/

 

 

 

(Mr. K, Age 49, Tokyo)

This time I helped with tying nets for seaweed cultivation, cutting ropes to make nets and making loops. When cutting ropes to make nets for seaweed, I chatted with young fishermen. According to them, there was a meeting at Shiogama where they discussed if fishing rights should be sold to business entities. Apparently, most fishermen were strongly against the idea. One of the reasons was that they had seen a capital investor who obtained fishing rights fail in business and retreat leaving local fishermen with debts. Another fisherman worried that if a salary system was introduced and fishermen wouldn't be able to earn according to how hard they worked, their motivation to culture good quality seaweed might decrease.

by Nagayama, Staff, Rentai Tohoku

 

The latest event related to Tohoku disaster relief activities has been announced.

 

LIFE311, a support project for afflicted areas of the Pacific coast by Tohoku Earthquake, is going to organize an exhibition of a wooden temporary housing at Roppongi Hills Arena from 29^th (Fri) to 31^st(Sun) July, 2011. LIFE311 has been building wooden temporary housings using local timbers from affected areas.

The reporter visited a building site in Sumida-machi, Kesen-gun, Iwate, and met staff members of more trees and local carpenters. They told the reporter that more funds were needed to build houses.

If you have some spare time over the weekend, why don't you drop in on the exhibition and experience the warm atmosphere of the temporary house built by skilful Kesen carpenters.

 

[Event details]

more trees - Get to Know Trees, Get to Know Forests. ～See What it's like inside wood temporary housing ～http://www.roppongihills.com/events/2011/07/arn_moretrees.html

 

[Event Organizer]

LIFE311(Support Project for afflicted areas of the Pacific coast by Tohoku Earthquake) by more trees

http://life311.more-trees.org/en