Meiji University (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) Faculty of Agriculture is calling for fundraising by crowdfunding to make gifts using materials from Nishimeya Village, Aomori Prefecture.

Located in the southwestern part of Aomori Prefecture, the village is located at the foot of the Shirakami Mountains, a world natural heritage site where the world's largest beech forest remains. Shirakami Mountains was registered as a natural heritage site along with Yakushima in 1993 and is one of four Japanese natural heritage sites. The village has abundant foodstuffs and agricultural products that make use of untouched natural bounties such as wild vegetables, apples, and rice, but the municipality in the prefecture has a minimum population of 1500, and the aging rate has advanced to less than 40%, leading to a shortage of young workers. There is an urgent need to solve such problems.

Seminar students led by Mr. Yasuhiro Honjo, a full-time lecturer at the university, regularly stayed in 2012 to support farmers and conduct surveys, and started exchanges and workshops with the residents of the village. In addition to helping snow shovels, participating in festivals, and taking other PR video shoots, the gift-making project was born out of the desire to "make a lively village." Yuki Murasawa, a third year student at the seminar. He shared ideas with him, "Is there anything I can do by myself?"

The gift is said to be a generous amount of ingredients from the Shirakami Mountains. “I want to involve not only the village but also the area around the Shirakami Mountains, which has the same issues,” says Mr. Murasawa. It also incorporates seafood algae in the coastal area that contains a lot of river water flowing from the Shirakami Mountains, and says, "I want many people to know the charm of the Shirakami Mountains and Nishimeya Village through gifts that will be made from now on."

The target amount is 520,000 yen. Funds can be raised from 10,000 yen, and applicants will be provided with a completed gift. The application period is until September 3rd.