SDGs Online Roundtable Discussion (Vol. 10)] (2021.10.28)

On Thursday, October 28, we held the 10th SDGs Online Roundtable Meeting, inviting as a guest speaker Mr. Okude, Representative of Honmamon Inc. who is newly engaged in activities to “nurture the ability to survive in the future” in the nature-rich Nishi Awakura Village in Okayama Prefecture.
Students in the fourth year of elementary school through the third year of junior high school commute to elementary and junior high schools in Nishiawakura Village and live together with their team and staff for one year. Depending on the age of the students, they learn how to plant rice, grow vegetables, make miso, thin out trees, chop firewood, and handle fish and chickens, etc. This is an initiative to awaken their true selves and nurture their ability to survive in the future through experiences in nature. On this day, we were in the middle of a pre-experience event for students, and we were able to hear directly from the elementary and junior high school students who were visiting for the experience.
Mr. Okude has already been involved in the “Inaka Juku” activities in Kyoto, and he told us that it is very important to “believe in the potential of each child, not to judge, not to compare, to praise, and to leave things to them. We feel the same way about the words he uses to the children. Thank you very much to Mr. Okude and the 27 participants.