Konohana Family

Konohana Family is an agriculture-based community at the foot of Mt. Fuji where about 100 non blood-related people live as one big family.

## Food Aspect of Self-Sufficiency

We produce about 99% of our food except sugar, salt, oil and some spices.

We are vegetarian who eat eggs and dairy products. We produce miso and soy sauce, which are traditional fermented foods in Japan from the ingredients such as soy beans, wheat, and rice malt (Kouji)

## Other Aspects of Self-Sufficiency

There aren't many things that are fundamentally dependent on the outside.

**Cosmetics**

We make facial lotions, creams and hand cream with Aloe, Yuzu (Japanese small citron fruits) that we grow, and bee’s wax which is by-product of our beekeeping. We purchase glycerin and ethanol for the outside sources

**Clothes**

As for clothes, we hold "boutique" once a month to display the clothes that are given to us from our external friends, acquaintances, family, customers, supporters, and other individual member of the community who no longer need them, so that we can obtain necessary things for free. However, we buy underwear

**Transportation**

We move by car, bicycle, or on foot. When we use cars, we try to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by car-sharing. 2A car may be originally owned by a member or purchased from outside. We use vehicles as necessary things to produce crops when we consider production efficiency.

**Construction**

Some materials are purchased from outside, but when demolishing an old buildings, we basically save materials and reuse them as much as possible

**Energy**

Some materials are purchased from outside, but when demolishing an old buildings, we basically save materials and reuse them as much as possible

**Miscellaneous**

In any cases, the burden to environment is reduced by sharing activities in our daily life rather than doing things individually. What causes the burden on the environment is our self-centered mind.

In 2007, we conducted “the ecological footprint survey”. The result was, if everyone lived like the Konohana Family did, we only need 0.8 earth. Our lives are rich both materially and spiritually. Please see photos posted on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/konohanafamily/

## Work/Life Balance

In any cases, the burden to environment is reduced by sharing activities in our daily life rather than doing things individually. What causes the burden on the environment is our self-centered mind.

In 2007, we conducted “the ecological footprint survey”. The result was, if everyone lived like the Konohana Family did, we only need 0.8 earth. Our lives are rich both materially and spiritually. Please see photos posted on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/konohanafamily/

## Piece of Advice and/or Inspiration

A message from Jiiji, the founder of Konohana Family and also the spiritual pillar of the community.

*What is indispensable for the survival of a community is that the people who participate in the community gather together under a common purpose, demonstrate their individuality, and collaborate towards an expanded common purpose.*

*If we broaden our viewpoints, we all live in a community called Earth. We need to live our lives in terms of an individual purpose, but before fullfilling this purpose, we need to achieve a role as a member of the Earth’s ecosystem. In this way, the order of the whole is maintained and both individual and community life and the ecosystem are respected.*

*Modern human activities, however, deviate greatly from this original purpose and do not respect our ecosystem. Individuals assert their rights under a banner of democracy, and believe they can live with far more than they need (their needs). As a result of this continual expansion of desires, the world has reached a state of extreme confusion.*

*Now, our era is undergoing major changes. We need to shift to a new value system that can replace Western materialism which has been so prominent in the 19th and the 20th centuries.*

*For these reasons I would like to suggest that from now on, we humans acknowledge that we are part of life on Earth, and that we need to create a country of excellence (KUNI) based on the spirit of harmony in the cycle of life that we originally had. Intrinsically, a country (KUNI) suggests that freedom has been established. This will be an opportunity to renew and awaken the spirits of people in today’s modern world who are bound by retraining mechanisms and systems, who have also have become trapped in past ties, and developed ego forces that hinder their precious mission today. In the modern era, we are facing a big shift. We need to change our ways of thinking and acting and create a new society.*

*Furthermore, the time has come when the contradictions and state of the Earth have become extremely confused by runaway technologies that prioritize science and physics above human as life. Today we need to  change our spirit which has been greatly impacted by negative forces and contaminated by money, materialism and technologies that have resulted in environmental problems on the Earth. We need to return to the original values that  acknowledge how we and our planet shine as part of the miracle of the universe. Such efforts will restore the current state of the Earth, and above all restore our original human dignity. This will help us to see the role that the Earth plays in the universe.*

*There are many questions. What is our human purpose in life ?*

*How should we live and how should we prepare to die? Today in the modern world we have adopted a civilization that is desperate to pursue material riches, and as a result, we have lost our basic spiritual essence. Today we need to take pride in being born a human and return to respecting and protecting the Earth’s ecosystem.*

*For those of us who live in the 21st century, we need to live with a great awareness that the Earth is us, all the people on this planet and that we have a responsibility to safeguard our home.*

*I cannot stop wishing that  this important message and spirit are spread throughout our planet.*