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HP Top > 日誌Top > ベン/ Ben Campbell > Letter to Hugh Courtney

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2009/02/05
Letter to Hugh Courtney
[ベン/ Ben CampbellComment(3)]


Dear Hugh,
You asked me to give you a report on my first year with biodynamics in Japan.There is some exciting news about a Biodynamic Asociation being started here.Denis Pillaud and his wife Yoshiko have been farming biodynamically for over 25 years.Probably not many people know of them.I met them at a workshop in September we gave in our village.


Takeshi Han-ura and his wife Michiyo have started the Hokkaido Biodynamic Association(H.B.A.) but were not registered officially.They have been having Denis give lectures on Dr. Rudolf Steiner's agriculture course for a long time and also had workshops on prep making.When i first got here in Feb 2008 we lived with Takeshi and Michiyo on a biodynamic farm in Iwamizawa.The farmer there was growing onions,potatoes,rice,wheat,and some other vegetables biodynamicaly but did not make his own preps and did not have cows.Takeshi and Konomi were apprentices there with him.Takeshi has been there long enough to get land from him and now has a cow. Konomi had not yet.So Takeshi has built a house and is now farming biodynamically.With the workshop given by Denis on how to make preps he is using those preps on his farm. At the end of Febuary Takeshi,Michiyo,Konomi,and I were invited to go to Obihiro to give a workshop to a group of organic farmers familiar to Ito-san,the owner of an organic buyers company.He buys organic produce and has organic farms in the Tokachi area of Hokkaido one of which we currently reside.Takeshi talked about the preps,Konomi talked about the rythums of the cosmos and I talked about my experience on Jeff Poppens CSA farm and what is a CSA.After the workshop Ito-san asked Konomi and I if we would be interested in helping him with the organic and biodynamic movement with him here..We said yes but we would like to live here in the Tokachi area to do it.The Tokachi area is some of the best agricultural land on the Hokkaido island and all of Japan.He gave us a choice of three farms to choose from.We chose the Sarabetsu village farm because of the energy we felt and the natural surrondings.Population about 3400 people.It was an abandoned farm with no house, three small barns on 18 hectares and a spring.We are real close to the Hidaka mountains there.Any futher west from our farm is straight up in the moutains.All wild and natural.He said we can use two of the barns and let us use 4 hectares for pasture and rented us other places to make hay.So we bought a portable house that was used as a construction jobsite office,about 20'x20'.I have since built attaching greenhouses to the east and south sides.This one we bought is extra insulated.We added a water heater,indoor sink and an oil heater and woodstove.I built an outdoor shower and toilet.Once we got settled in we started fenceing the pasture and bought two jersey heifers.A freind gave us our first organic round bale of hay.We also inherited 35 silky chickens and a greenhouse for them..We started thinking about collecting herbs for making our own preps.First it was dandelion.We were asking everyone for cowhorns to no avail.The laws are different here for slaughtering animals because of the mad cow disease.So we found a factory that processed and inspected sick and dead cows for dog food and other stuff.We were able to collect cow hooves,mesentary,skulls,and intestines from the most healthy of the cows there.We started making all our own preps according to the signs of the zodiac.We collected all the herbs by the signs too.We could not find valerian,although it does grow wild here.,so we planted some and will use it next year. Some of the stinging nettle here is over six feet high and the leaves are as big as my hand.We have made barrel compost pits and used preps from J.P.I. and some Konomi and Takeshi made.In seperate pits of course.I have written about our prep making in our homepage for more details.They have everything to make the preps with here as they do anywhere else.Only cowhorns are very hard to find.So we are using the cowhooves.And silica quartz is hard to find too.Luckily we brought some ground quartz with us from Maude Davis's farm in Arkansas.Hopefully within the next few years we can use organic cow parts.There are some organic beef and dariy farms here,so we may have to follow the cows to the slaughter house and go through a lot of paper work to do it.
As for the biodynamic movement we tried to tell everyone what we are doing here.We started a webpage and made business cards and pamplets.We had a summer soltice party and roasted a half pig to introduce ourselves and explain to them about biodynamics at our farm.It rained the whole time,not many people came.So we tried again to explain ourselves at a fall workshop.We rented a camp ground for this event.Most of the people who came were at our first workshop in Feburary.Only a few new people.Maybe 35 people alltogether.Denis Pilaud came and talked to us about lecture 8 of the agriculture course by Dr.Rudolf Steiner and we talked about cows.A three day affair.We thought it was very successful.We(Takeshi,Denis,Konomi,and I)talked about organizing an association.So for the Winter soltice event we decided to talk about the demeter standards and how to organize a legitamate biodynamic association.We call it the Biodynamic Agriculture Association of Japan.(B.A.A.J.)We elected Takeshi chief administrator.He is our leader.He will merge H.B.A. with B.A.A.J.Denis is too busy to handle all the work.Ito-san is financeing the registeration fees.We are sending letters to all biodynamic farmers and interested organic farmers that we know of, to tell them about our plans of registering and will they contribute and support our movement.We will have a meeting soon as we get their response.There were 20 people at this workshop but all are serious about this movement and will do whatever it takes to see it through.I cannot speak japanese yet,but i have a translator and konomi while i'm learning.I can only give suggestions and make the preps as i have been taught.This is my first year of making preps on my own.Konomi has made preps before but some did not turn out right,but together we hope to have made some good ones.We will know this spring when we dig them up.
We have sectioned off a 210'x120' plot in our pasture for a CSA garden for 40 half shares and 10 whole shares.We plan to recruit members at some of the organic and environmental events until the first harvest.We have the support of some other organic farmers to help us with some of the fall planted crops ie garlic,strawberries, asparagus, etc.We will offer eggs from our silky chickens,butter and other dairy products from our cows and bread from an oven i have yet to build.We will sell at the local farmers market and Ito-san's cafe too.My first year here has been a busy one and so far very productive.I have been studying all the books i bought from J.P.I.and the Rudolf Steiner College bookstore.I am an apprentice who is teaching himself with only a few workshops and some experience on a biodynamic csa farm with Jeff Poppen in Tennesee.I'm 51 years old now but I've decided to devote the rest of my life to the biodynamic movement after the workshop at J.P.I. in April 2007.I sold my masonry contracting business and most all of my material possesions,got out of debt and moved to Jeff's farm in August 2007.I met Konomi at J.P.I.'s fall workshop in October 2007.She came and worked with Jeff too.We fell in love,married and we moved to Japan to help with biodynamic movement here.I think it's not too late to start.


Konomi has been in involved with Dr. Steiner's work since after her music teaching job in july 1994 when she was introduced to one of Dr steiner's books.She taught music for eight years at a high school and elementry school.After that is when Konomi met Yuko Omura,then a teacher at Rudolf Steiner College.Yuko Omura came to Tokyo to recruit students.Konomi moved to Sacramento to study anthroposophy with her.Yuko Omura had been planning to start an anthroposopichal communityThey found a place in Date city Japan and called it Hibiki no-mura.Konomi finished her two years at Rudolf Steiner College and her and her sister became two of the first of five starting members of this community.They help build the Hibiki no-mura community from the ground up.They started a kindergarden school,started making crafts for a mail order business and started a biodynamic csa garden,etc. This was the first anthroposophical community in Japan.She started making biodynamic preparations by herself from the gardening class by Harald Hoven at the Rudolf Steiner college and Denis Pillaud's workshops from Takeshi's Hokkaido Biodynamic Association.In the spring of 2007 she went to Iwamizawa to become an apprentice on a biodynamic farm.In October she went to J.P.I. for the workshop where i met her.So she has more experience with Dr. Steiner's work than i do.So i hope people dont get the wrong impression, I am not the one to start this movement.It has been going on for some time now and it is just a coincidence it is becomeing legitamate now that i'm here.Denis,Takeshi,and Konomi are the ones who deserve the credit.Ito-san deserves recognition too.He is doing a lot for the movement while still maintaining a large corporation.There are maybe 10 or 15 other biodynamic farmers here too that i have not met yet and look forward to meeting them very much that are doing their part unknown to us.We want to make the preps for them and other future biodynamic farmers in Japan and throughout all of Asia.We want to thank you for teaching us at your workshops and to let you know the seeds you have sown through us are sprouting.We love where we are at.We love what we are doing.And we love who we are with.We came here with very little money and everything we are doing is coming out of our pockets.We had to work partime jobs to get through the first year. We are hoping the csa garden,brickoven and prep sales will support us in the future.Donations now would be greatly appreciated.As fast as the organic and biodynamic csa movement is growing in the U.S.A. it wont be long before it starts here.So when the people will want the preps we will have them ready to sell and educate them on how to use them.That afterall is our mission here.Like Dr. Rudolf Steiner said "to make the benefits of our biodynamic preparations available to the largest possible areas over the entire earth,so that the earth may be healed and the nutritive quality of its produce improved in every respect".
We call our farm sophiafarmjp.The ou is spirit man and earth in Japanese.We want to set an example of a biodynamic farm and garden by sticking to the Demeter standards as much as possible.Hopefully we can be or help someelse to be Demeter certified and bring The demeter certification program here.Our farm is going to be an educational tool too.It will take several years to get to this stage but we are both willing to do it.When i told you that i have an up hill battle you told me not to worry everything will work out and it has so far.You were right.Since i have been involved with biodynamics everything has been laid out for me as if the spiritual beings knew our intentions for the earth and humanity.The harder one works the luckier one gets.If you decide to print this in your newsletter i would like to address your readers and let them know about the Japanese biodynamic movement.Please support the biodynamic movement here with us or there in the USA.Contact J.P.I. or us for how to help.Our address is:
sophiafarmjp
nishi 10-2 minami 4 sen
aza kounan,Sarabetsu village
Hokkaido,Japan,089-1541
Ben tel # 090-6698-3734
Konomi tel # 090-5959-3660

Seikousha BD Farm
837-9 Minoricho Iwamizawa, Hokkaido 068-0016 Japan
Takeshi & Michiyo Han'ura tel&fax0126-32-5765
email han-ura@mx2.nisiq.net

"POURQUOIPAS" Domaine Agricole et Culturel
3906 Kawayo Minamiasomura, asogun Kumamoto 869-1404 Japan
Denis Pilliaud & Yoshiko Kano tel0967-67-2479 fax0967-67-2534
email pokkowapa@hotmail.com



[ベン/ Ben CampbellComment(3)]

Edited by ベン/ Ben Campbell 2009/02/05 11:40:33
Last Modified 2009/02/05 11:47:58

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コメント(Comment)


Hi Babe, Wow what a n article you have written and it clearly shows your love for what you and Konomi are doing. Good job. Love Mom

投稿者(Contributor):mom|2009/02/16 00:16:53


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