Herbal Hospital and Ecovillage in Thailand

Visited a hospital that concentrates on herbal medicine, and it's accompanying herbal medicine museum. We then visited the ecovillage that grows many of the herbs for the hospital.

Neil Willman

August 17-24, visited Neil Willmann of Daruma Farm in Thailand.

Neil and his water baffallo

Neil and his wife, Su, also run a spa, Vimaya. I met Neil at the International Ecovillage Conference in Tokyo this past May. He'd like me to help teach a Permaculture course at his farm next spring.

小さい削ろう会

August 14th, attended 小さい削ろう会 in Enzan, Yamanashi-Prefecture. Over the course of a week, two teams of carpenters, one Japanese and one from Europe, each built a small structure using only hand tools

東京油田

August third, visited Tokyo Yuden, a company that collects used cooking oil in the Tokyo area and produces biodiesel.

小麦の脱穀

Threshed 30kg of winter wheat.

Takekomai (竹小舞) and Earthen Plastering

July 11th attended a takekomai (竹小舞) and earthen plastering workshop in Fujino, Kangawa.

Takekomai and earthen plaster

Architect Takahiro Yamada next to wood fiber insulation

Mr. Konuma (小沼親方), ninja plaster

Paul Starr's "Lancaster Sweet Corn" in Tokyo JAPAN!

My buddy Paul Starr from Butler, Pennsylvania, gave me these seeds some years ago. I'm finally gettin' around to grown'em out. (actually in Fujisawa, about an hour from Tokyo.)

Asian Rural Institute (アジア学院)

The evening of July 4^th stayed at the Asian Rural Institute (アジア学院) in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. Asian Rural Institute trains young leaders from Asia and Africa in organic agriculture, rural planning, and leadership.

Wheat harvest

July 4^th visited Tochigi, famous for its Kura (蔵), storehouses. Tochigi is also renown for its tile roofs. Old tiles used as pavers. Most of the hemp production in Japan is cultivated in Tochigi prefecture. The floor of this hallway is one, single board. Can you imagine the size of the tree?

Cordwood bridge

Miso Barrels

小さな削ろう会

June 26 and 27, traveled to Enzan (塩山) in Yamanashi Prefecture to help with the preparations of Chiisana-Kezurou-Kai (小さな削ろう会). Chiisana-Kezurou-Kai is an event being held August 8-15. Two groups of carpenters, one from Japan and one from Germany, will each build a timber frame structure using only hand tools. Deer meat

和の家「櫻井」

June 16 attended a Japan Minka Revival Association (日本民家再生協会) International Division meeting held at a beautifully renovated Japanese folk house called Wa-no-ie “Sakurai” (和の家「櫻井」). Wa-no-ie “Sakurai” hosts a day care for children and elderly and also a number of other events. This November, the Japan Minka Revival Association’s International Division is cohosting an event at Wa-no-ie “Sakurai”. The theme is building with earth.

Matsuzaki (松崎)

June 13 visited Matsuzaki (松崎) on the Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島). Matsuzaki is famous for tiled earthen walls, known as Namako-kabe (なまこ壁). It is also the birthplace of Chohachi (長八) (1815-1889), Japan’s most famous Kote-e (鏝絵) artist. Kote-e are colored reliefs made using trowels.

土佐漆喰

June 7-9 traveled to Hokkaido to help Noda-san, a professional plasterer from Urakawa, Hokkaido, with the finish coat of Tosa-shikkui (土佐漆喰) on the walls of Square One, Toby and Maiko's straw bale house near Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Noda-san also call up Horiguchi-san, a young but experienced plasterer from Kyoto.　

民家学校

June 5-6 attended the Minka (民家) course sponsored by the Japan Minka Revival Association (日本民家再生協会). "Minka" means folk house in Japanese. On Saturday, we helped with the renovation of a minka in Yamanashi Prefecture. Last fall I helped with the rethatching and making the bamboo base for the earthen plaster walls. This time we plastered the finish coat with Keisodo (珪藻土), a plaster described in a previous posting. On Sunday, we visited several renovated Minkas in the morning. Structure of thatch roof. Irori (囲炉裏), charcole pit. Silk worms. In the afternoon, we attened a lecture given by Amamiya-san (雨宮氏), a carpenter who uses traditional tools and refrains from using power tools as much as possible. Shed built by Amamiya-san.

までいな家

May 13 traveled to Iita-mura (飯舘村) with Itonaga-sensei. As explained in a previous post, Iitate received a government grant to build a model eco-home. Last December we built the west wall of a detached studio using straw bales. The home utilizes a number of environmental and experimental features. The hygrothermal environment of the home is being monitored and the data is displayed real-time by computer. Japanese Cypress bathtub

民家学校

In March I joined the Japan Minka Revitalization Association (日本民家再生協会). This year I'll attend classes once a month in different areas of Japan regarding Japanese folk homes. There are roughly 36 people in the class. On May 9, I attended my first class in Saitama Prefecture.One part of the class involved drawing a floor plan and interior elevation of the home we're surveying.

日本民家園

May 8 attended a tour of the Japanese Folk Home Muesum (日本民家園) in Kawasaki, Kanagawa.
Repairing thatch roof
Structure of thatch roof
Straw rope work
土間(doma) = earthen floor stabilized with lime and 苦汁(nigari), a byproduct of salt production

Lime Plaster

May 1 attended a earthen plastering class taught at a trade school in Tokyo taught by Ueno-san and Tanaka-san. May 6 attended a lime plastering workshop taught by Yawata-Oyakata (八幡親方).

Ingredients

消石灰(hydrate lime)　 20kg

つのまた糊(seaweed glue powder)　 475g

麻すさ(hemp fibers)　 400g

水(water) 適量(appropriate amount)

１．500グラムの麻すさを水につける(soak hemp fibers in water)

２．20キロの消石灰と約500グラムのつのまた糊をから合わせる（乾いている状態で混ぜる）(mix the hydrate lime and glue powder dry)

３．適量の水を足す(mix and add water as needed)

４．麻すさを千切って、消石灰に足す。(break up the clumps of hemp fiber and add to lime)

５．完全に混ぜたら、塗れます。(plaster)

Three things I love about plastering. (1) It's practical and useful. (2) It's an art. And (3), it physical.