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Mony, from Cambodia, came to Japan for 3 months from April to learn about rice farming and poultry farming trials in Japan. He is a leader of cashew nuts in SCY while supporting his family’s rice farming. The three-month training program was set, but what should he learn and what should he leave with? This was my main concern around February.

Japan and Cambodia are contrary as its land. Japan, where 70% of the land is mountainous, and Cambodia, where there are many plains where you can see the sunset on the horizon. Even when it comes to rice cultivation, can we learn from each other? Even if we live in such different topographical characteristics and conditions? The first issue was to teach the know-how of rice farming and poultry farming based on the premise of selling eggs. (SCY is poultry farming with the aim of selling the chickens themselves).

　Secondly, how to improve SCY’s cashew nut productivity. Despite various difficulties, we have planted more than 6,000 trees. We have harvest a certain amount of cashew nuts. We are aiming for a yield of 5-7 tons this year based on general information from Mr. Den, SCY’s maanger.

　On the other hand, in the Kusunoki Village tea garden, which is now in its 16th year of rehabilitation from abandoned cultivation, production has stabilized and the PA has been able to work on more cyclical soil preparation and quality improvement. In addition, looking back at the PA’s visits to farmers of imported nuts and tree-fruiting plants such as prunes and figs, each farmer has asked themselves how they can harness the power of nature.

　They have accumulated detailed information on how to dig the soil so that the tree can absorb water and nutrients on its own. They know how to dig the soil to make roots grow firmly, how to sprinkle solanaceous beans on the soil. Solanaceous beans not only provide nutrients but also keep pests at bay. As cashew nuts grow on trees, there would be something Mony can earn from maintenance of tree and prepare soil for tree to exert their full potential. So I decided to set the second task for Mony learning about soil preparation (composting).

　In the end, Ms. Okutani’s words, “What Den-kun can’t teach you”, gave me a hint. I feel that one of the advantages of Kusunoki Village is that, although it is small, they can make, process and sell its own products. I thought that SCY could become a more self-driven community if we could build a team, enjoy and create added value and take on new challenges, and develop and organize around Mony, rather than just selling what we make ourselves. I decided to make some processed products using materials that could be found in the SCY area.

The project is now moving forward with the know-how of rice cultivation and poultry farming, and soil cultivation, with practice and follow-up, holding weekly MTGs with Ms. Takada and Mr. Imai from Kusunoki Village and their interpreter supporters, It seems that a meaningful exchange of wisdom will be possible in the next 2 months.

In the midst of all this, Mony suddenly decided to go to Amakusa at the beginning of May, and I wondered if there was anything he could learn from Amakusa, even if Mony himself had something to contribute. Personally, I was nervous about it. However, even in Amakusa, Mony’s desire to learn something and bring it back to Cambodia prevailed, and he came back with a new challenge to tackle in Cambodia. That is turf. According to Mr. Den, the use of lawns to create gardens is not very widespread in Cambodia and a market is just beginning to develop. He was very interested and asked for a lot of information. For me, the combination of Cambodia and lawns was an unexpected one, I think I caught a glimpse of how, as the saying goes “Let the beloved youth travel”, giving people the chance to experience different societies and experiences beyond the norm can lead to opportunities for new innovation.

Through the experience of knowing the people you welcome within the scope of common sense, learning from each other, and increasing mutual satisfaction, as well as through the experience that throwing in moves that are different from common sense can create the seeds of new possibilities, I feel that Mony and I, as citizens living in the same society, can confront common challenges and become comrades across national borders. I am thrilled to feel that we can be comrades across national borders who can face common challenges as citizens of the same society. Although there is not a lot that I myself can teach Mony, I will enjoy and deepen my role as a link between people and people, and between people and information, in the remaining one and a half months.