Eri Otsu: The "Resilience of Farmers" Shown During the Earthquake

It was 14 years ago that I, who grew up in Tokyo, started farming in Kumamoto. The man I was interested in, who was in the same faculty (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), was the "heir to a farm" from Kumamoto. We happily married one year after graduation. When we both went to graduate school in Germany, people in his hometown were apparently grieving, thinking we would never return.

Unaware of such things, we enjoyed our life studying abroad. In Germany, there was a social recognition that "farmers are beings who create not only food, but also rural landscapes and renewable energy." For me, who knew nothing about agriculture, that seemed like a bright hope. Shortly after returning to Japan, we started farming. That winter, we immediately established the NPO Kyushu Biomass Forum. We began with study groups on "natural energy," which has high potential specifically in rural and mountainous villages. Later, we worked together on a demonstration experiment for power generation using grass (mainly silver grass from the grasslands) as a raw material, a resource characteristic of Aso, but we were unable to turn it into a commercial business.

However, the situation changed completely with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. This was because the importance of natural energy became obvious to everyone. We generated solar power on the roof of our house and usually sold the electricity, but switched to self-consumption during power outages. Neighbors naturally gathered at our house, where electricity was stored during the day and the interior was bright even at night. With firewood in the yard, seasonal vegetables, and rice that could be stored, I felt the strength of a "place where one can survive." Satoyama Energy Co., Ltd. was established the year before last with close friends from my university days. The next goal is to actually supply electricity and heat by making good use of rural resources.

A few years before the Kumamoto earthquake, I became the representative of a national network centered on female farmers. We replaced all the officers with active farmers in their 40s or younger and partially changed the name. The restarted "NPO Inaka no Heroines" (Heroines of the Countryside) is developing activities to promote the charm of farmers and rural villages both domestically and internationally. For example, a fashion show held in a rice field after the harvest. In that project, titled "Wearing the Landscape," we presented the beauty and preciousness of the rural landscape that farmers have protected to society. To preserve such beautiful rural scenery, the existence of farmers is essential. If Japanese farmers can no longer survive because consumers prioritize low prices... the ones who will truly be in trouble when farmers are gone are probably not the farmers themselves.