Hanawa

1. Summary: The empowerment of the local festival together with locals in the region facing the
depopulation and aging.
2. Background: Organized together with KOBOSHA, a local NPO for community planning, since 1996. We will
join the summer festival called ‘TORO NAGASHI’ that is a memorial service for an ancestor by
making a lantern and floating it down a river. We will make large TORO (2 x 2 meters) for the
festival in this workcamp. We aim to mobilize the area with workcamps. Through workcamps,
the local community will be much more activated, redeveloping pride for their community and
revival FUKUSHIMA!
3. Work. We will mainly help and join the festival by making four big lanterns ‘TORO’ (2 x 2 meters) and
hundreds of small lanterns together with local students. You can design your own large ‘TORO’
in this festival. It will be physically challenging work.
4. Accommodation: Local Commuty bulding, very simple life style. Volunteer stay a Japanese style room. Share
room. Meals will be cooked by volunteers by turns. Sleeing bag is necessary.
5. Study theme: Activate the isolated community with suffer from depopulation through the festival and good
practices in your country
6. Other activities: Home stay, sports, exchange parties, etc.
7. Location: Small town in the southern part of Fukushima. 100km far from Fukushima nuclear power plant
and the level of radioactivity is 0.06 mSv/h that is far from dangerous!
8. Terminal: Tokyo (5 hours from Tokyo by bus. You need to arrive at Narita airport by 07:30 on first day and
can leave there after 20:00 on last day.)
9. Requirement: Interest in Japanese culture, making big lanterns (‘TORO’) and working with locals!
10. Participation fee: No fee
11. Language: English (Japanese is also welcomed!)
12. Other None