Join us in building a Thatched roof Ecovillage!
A project designed to create a paradise “Thatched Roof Village” on the Tango peninsula.Would you like to join us in creating a village that blends the best of the “Old” and the “New”?
**The word “Togenkyo桃源郷” used here as “Paradise”, stems from the ancient Chinese fable written by Tao Yuanming in 421. Discribing a quiet world in the midst of Nature, often depicted with flowering peach trees. “Meaning an unexpectedly fantastic place off the beaten path, usually an unspoiled wilderness of great beauty.”-- Wikipedia
For more view
The Peach Blossom Spring - Wikipedia
About the project
On the Tango peninsula in Kyoto prefecture, a group of 300-year-old mid-Edo period thatched roof houses stands on 6 hectares. Here, we will build a village that embodies what we think of as the lifestyle and way of Life of the future, blending the best of the “Old” and the “New”. Would you like to become a village member?
Below is the crowd funding website in Japanese.
Greetings
Hello, my name is Kei Nakagawa.
In Ikaga village (Kyotango City) on the Tango peninsula in the far northwest of Kyoto prefecture, there are some 300-year-old mid-Edo period thatched roof houses standing on 6 hectares. I moved here in November of 2017 and began working with the land.
I am setting up a Village (Ecovillage) that aims to blend the best of the “Old“ and the “New”, putting into practice a way of life that we need for future generations.
The Village I want to build !
This is a place of which the phrase ”Japan`s beautiful natural landscapes” rings true, a place where one finds oneself slipping back in time. In this special place, rare in Japan, we want to ground our everyday life, integrating the best of “Old” and “New”. We want to do as much as possible ourselves, aiming for a sustainable structure/system we can pass on to the next generation.
We would like to create “Ikaga Paradise,” learning and testing knowledge and skills we will need for the future, creating Life and Culture with our own hands.
Our aim is food and resource sustainability, but that doesn`t mean returning to a primitive way of life. Using new and improved technology such as small-scale wind power and generating electricity with living plants to minimize environmental impact(Information and technology - Plant-e), we plan to make this village a comfortable and creative place to live. Where each individual or family group can lead an independent life, caring for their own fields and gardens, but helping one another when necessary.
That said, we would have community management; cooperating to build on and work with the land. With a step-by-step vision for the village, we could cooperate on different projects; for example, “This month let’s cut the grass in this area”, “next month let`s build a shed over there”, “next let`s plant a community orchard” or “let`s plant lots of flowers so we can keep bees,” etc.
Calling in professionals and the local people to teach the necessary knowledge and life skills in the form of workshops, each time inviting others from both inside and outside the village to learn with us.
Some of the workshops we envision: building sheds; a Goemon bathhouse (traditional iron bathtub heated with wood); roof thatching; mud wall construction; house construction; making stoves; fermenting foods; preserving foods; dyeing; foraging for wild plants; building a toilet; making organic fertilizer, etc.
We would like this village to become a place where people from all walks of life can gather and share Everyday life, finding their inner selves around the evening fire beneath a canopy of stars.
Why I started this project
I wanted to create a place of experience and interaction where not only I, but many others could begin a different way of life, learning and putting knowledge to the test.
I have doubts about the direction of the human race in today's world. It is said that if all people in the world followed a lifestyle that uses up natural resources the way Japanese people do, it would be necessary for the earth to be 2.9 times bigger than it is. This is a negative legacy for the future. The more I learn about sustainable living, the more keenly I feel we are on the edge of a world-wide cultural turning point. However, before we can change the world, we must change ourselves.
We would like to make creating this village an experience of pure, creative inspiration with the aim of living realistically on the Earth.
Accomplishments of this past year
It has been one year and three months since I came to this land and began laying the groundwork, cutting the weeds, tilling gardens and paving the muddy road.
When I first arrived, weeds covered the property to a depth of two meters.
Networking began when about 100 people per month, men and women, young and old, started visiting from all over the country.
In July 2018, I joined the local Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad and began working on the “local”and “governmental” aspects.
After getting to know the local people, I began the monthly “Ikaga Area” newsletter that I distribute from house to house.
The past fifteen months have given me amazing experience: Seeing first-hand the potential, the strength and limitations of one person, the importance of friends, the warmth of people, the responsibility of walking one`s own path, the learning that goes with putting down roots and building something new....
The many challenges and errors, the meetings, farewells, and precious experiences are now my blood and bone. With this insight I would like to really get into building the village this year!
How the funds will be used
Currently we have no bath or proper toilet on this land, but in a practical village these are indispensable. The funds will first be used to build some thatched all-natural buildings with mud walls for the bath and toilet.
The kind of bath and toilet we will build！
In a workshop setting, we will build a half-open air thatched roof building with a full view looking out on nature! The bathtub will be a Choufu style wooden tub. A Wood-heated Partially Open Air Bath! When it`s completed, let’s all enjoy it.
The toilet will be built with all natural materials. Thinned lumber and mud walls with a thatched roof will make it a functional loo with charm. The toilet itself will be connected to the septic tank, so it will have running water. Eventually we plan on building a composting toilet.
** As workshop instructors, we will be inviting leading professionals in the field.
Mr Kousuke Miki
Master carpenter of Tajima thatched roofing. A master craftsman with not only traditional Japanese, but European techniques under his belt. The only man in Japan who makes framed straw art.
Mr Hidetoshi Miyazaki
A master carpenter who knows many ancient mortise and tenon crafting methods. He has built the highest tree-house in Japan. Using a transportable sawmill, he can make trees into lumber on the spot.
Mr Yoshihiko Yamanouchi
Owner of “Jupiterian Hills”, a special haven located at the foot of the sacred mountain, Daisen, built from all natural on-hand materials. The furniture and the buildings made from these materials remind us to return to nature.
This is a first class group of instructors!
We would next like to use the funds for a “Land restoration” program that will improve the flow of the water and energy(Chi) of the land, connecting lines (waterways) with dots (lakes and reservoirs), allowing water, wind and Chi (Life Energy) to flow, helping the microorganisms of the soil, and thus helping depleted land to regenerate. This restoration will in turn overflow into the surrounding land.
Funding will be necessary for fuller development of this 6 hectares of land, maintaining and renovating these 300-year-old thatched roof houses, and building up the village for the future generation.
In the event that any funds are left over, we will use it for re-thatching the roofs, generating electricity from living plants, making small wind generators, digging a well and developing other alternative energy sources, as well as for buying the materials and tools necessary for setting up a village.
Thatched roof houses must be re-thatched once every 15 to 20 years. When we rely on professionals for the job of re-thatching and collecting materials, the total cost is 15 to 20 million yen. Even though we will secure the materials ourselves and gather people for a workshop to try and keep the cost as low as possible, maintaining the roof will be costly.
Would you like to become a village member?
The term Village Member can have many definitions, those of us who actually live and work in the village, those who live their lives as before but come to visit the village once a month or once a year, etc. There are many possibilities.
To those who support us through funding, we give an Ikaga Paradise Village membership. Those who have this membership can come visit the village any time they like.
When you come, let`s work on this village together! We can work hard, eat together, talk together, just sharing daily life. We would be happy if you would make this place your second home.
More than building a village by oneself, working with others makes so much more possible. And its`s fun! Become a member of Ikaga Paradise, and let’s enjoy building this village together!
What happens when you become an Ikaga Paradise Village member?
To those who have helped to fund us, we present an “Ikaga Paradise Village membership card”.
When you become a village member:
・You can come to visit Ikaga Paradise any time (please contact)! Lets work on the village together!
Experience the everyday in a special time-space; live in 300-year-old thatched roof houses, heat the bath in a half-open air thatched roof bathhouse and cook dinner over the fire, drink coffee reflecting the stars of a clear night sky....
・Join our Facebook group limited to only Ikaga Paradise members. There we will keep you posted on the latest developments and of the monthly progress of the village, next month’s plans and events such as workshops that will be taking place at the village.
Also, we would be happy if this could become a stage for village members to come together and exchange ideas about what they would like to do, and what would be nice to have in the village.
For those who don`t have a Facebook account, we will contact you by email.
・You can stay in a 300-year-old house (we ask for a minimal fee of 3,000 yen per night for maintenance).
・You can meet and talk with many people from all walks of life. Below is a list of just a few of those who have come to visit.
・Join one-day workshops free of charge.
**Village membership must be renewed each year. During each renewal we ask a fee of 5,000 yen. This will be used for village maintenance and development.
Benefits
**The below Benefits can only be given to those in Japan. For overseas supporters, Benefits will be sent to you upon your arrival in Japan.
(1. Village membership.
(2. Ikaga Paradise postcards.
(3. Villager T-shirt. Ikaga Paradise Village members` uniform! We are planning to make a shirt design that you can wear anywhere you go.
An Idea of what the village membership and T-shirt will look like.
(4. Stay at Ikaga Paradise free of charge for ( ) days. You can stay in one of Japan`s Important Cultural Properties!
(5. Participate in various Life skills / knowledge workshops free of charge.
**Life skills/knowledge workshops include: Shed construction, thatching, mud wall construction, building construction, smithing, stove construction, fermenting foods, preserving foods, dyeing, foraging, building a toilet, making organic compost, and many other things that are useful and empowering.
(6. All-you-can-eat homemade Pizza! (Upon arrival)
(7. A vegetable and rice set grown in Ikaga.
(8. A vegetable, rice and miso set grown and made in Ikaga.
(9. A vegetable, rice, miso and dried persimmon set grown and made in Ikaga.
Why there are thatched roof houses in Ikaga
Miraculously, the three old thatched roof houses are just as they were in the mid-Edo period.
During Japan`s rapid economic growth period, many of Japan`s traditional buildings were replaced by modern structures and in some places demolished to make way for dams. If things continue in this fashion, Japan`s traditions will be lost; so thought people in Kyoto`s real estate company, Kyoto`s leading construction companies, and various scholars who banded together a few decades ago to dismantle, transport and reconstruct traditional buildings for preservation.
Thanks to these dedicated people three buildings were moved and reconstructed over a long period of time. The original plan was for eight houses to be relocated but time slipped away; by the time three buildings were finished, the economic bubble popped, the project leader`s health failed and this project was abandoned.
It has been six years since the real estate company made a gift of the property to a local NPO organization that has left it basically untouched. I would like to bring this land back to life, honoring the work and dedication of those people who tried so hard to preserve it.
Access
[Public transport]
・Take the Kyoto Tango Railway and get off at Kyotango-omiya station.
・Take the Tango Kairyu Koutu Highway Bus: Get off at Omiya Road Park.
From Osaka station, Osaka airport or Kyoto station, the 3 hour bus ride costs 3,000 yen one-way. For more details please view below.
https://www.tankai.jp/kousoku/
・There is a night bus from Tokyo station to Amanohashidate costing 6,600~7,600 yen one-way. Get off at Amanohashidate station.
From any of the above points of arrival, we will pick you up for a fee of 500 yen for both ways. (It takes about 15 min.)
[By car:]
7 min from Kyoto Juukando Highway, Kyotango Omiya IC.
The address is: Ikaga, Omiyacho, Kyotango-shi, Kyoto. 100 m before Komachi Park, turn left onto a farm road. We are located at the top of the hill.
Foreseeable risks and challenges
Even if we cannot reach our target, we will try to collect enough funds to finish the bathhouse and toilet by finding sponsorship or by some other method.
We will make the most of these funds, keep our vision in mind, work hard on the jobs before us and get as much as possible done.
Finally
Thank you for taking the time to read this far!
Our “Village development” is a huge project! I think it is important for as many people as possible to get involved in this creation process.
If this could become a second home to many people from different walks of life, if we could help one another find our individual paths, we would be very happy.
We are looking forward to your joining us in this Village development project.
Let’s build this village together!
Thank you!
Choose a Benefit
To support view the site below.
motion-gallery.net
Benesits will be shown at the top right hand side of the website. For those viewing from cellphones,Benefits will be shown at the bottom.
3,000 yen
Village Membership Card
・Issue an Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in June 2019.
5,000 yen
Paradise Postcards
・Issue an Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
・Get 5 Paradise cards
To be delivered in June 2019
10,000 yen
Village T-shirt and One Free Overnight Stay Course
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・One free stay overnight
・Free participation for one Life skills/knowledge workshop
・Issue an Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in June 2019
12,000 yen
Ikaga Grown Vegetables, Rice and T-shirt Set
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・Vegetable and rice set grown in Ikaga
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in September 2019
20,000 yen
All-You-Can-Eat Home-made Pizza, T-shirt & 2 Free Overnight Stays Course
・All-you-can-eat home-made, kiln baked Pizza (Upon arrival)
・Two free stays overnight
・Free participation for two Life skills/knowledge workshop days
・Ikaga Paradice Village T-shirt
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in June 2019
22,000 yen
Ikaga Grown and Made Vegetables, Rice & Miso Set
・Vegetables, rice and miso grown and made in Ikaga
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in September 2019
30,000 yen
3 Free Overnight Stays Course
・All-you-can-eat home-made, kiln baked Pizza (Upon arrival)
・Three free stays overnight
・Free participation in 3 Life skills/knowledge workshop days
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in June 2019
32,000 yen
Ikaga Grown Vegetable, Rice, Miso & Dried Persimmon Set
・Ikaga grown and made vegetables, rice, miso and dried persimmons set
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in November 2019
50,000 yen
A Full Paradise Experience Course
・1 week’s worth of free stays overnight
・All-you-can-eat homemade, kiln baked Pizza (Upon arrival)
・Free participation in 5 Life skills/knowledge workshop days
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in June 2019
100,000 yen
A Very Full Paradise Experience Course
・2 week worth of free stays overnight
・Free participation in 10 Life skills/knowledge workshop days
・All-you-can-eat homemade, kiln baked Pizza (Upon arrival)
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in June 2019
200,000 yen
Paradise Half Residency Course
・1 month worth of free stays overnight
・Free participation in 20 Life skills/knowledge workshop days
・All-you-can-eat homemade, kiln baked Pizza (Upon arrival)
・Ikaga Paradise Village T-shirt
・Ikaga Paradise Village membership card
To be delivered in June 2019
