Cycle of the Ecosystem
The air is clear and fresh in the quiet valley, and in summer, fireflies dance in the air. Mondo farm is surrounded by mountains in Fukutomicho, Kamo-gun. ”Without live soil, vibrant plants will not grow…”
This is the philosophy of Mondo Farm, and their role model are the rivers and forests. In the wild, plants grow dense in forests and rivers without relying on chemical fertilizers or pesticides. With this in mind, they believed that perhaps agriculture could also succeed by abiding the laws of nature.
In the completely natural rice fields of Mondo Farm, everything made in the rice field: rice hull, straw, rice bran, are all returned to the soil. Shortage of nutrients is covered by organic fertilizers (MOA certified). Weeding relies on ducks and paper mulch. They create rice in a natural environment, without the use of soil conditioners.
To Challenge and Interact
Besides making rice, they sell ”junmai ginjo sake” and ”miso” made from their cultivated rice, popular among their customers.
Mondo Farm also is a civic interactive farm. They conduct annual events such as ”summer rice field experiencing events” ”autumn rice field experiencing events” and allot citizens with farmland where they can experience farming on their own.
For those who think, ”I want to try but have no knowledge of farming..”, they offer farming classes at ”Sharano Kigakusha” and offer a year’s schooling about farming. Try their farm tours and farming experiences and just enjoy yourselves. If you are interested, we recommend you try challenging something new.
