PRODUCER SPOTLIGHT: Vegetable Park - Vegetable Park is Everyone's Park
The best way to bring together a community is to offer what you've grown from the soil with your neighbors.
Ayumu and Emi Ueda created Vegetable Park in order to share their love of agriculture and the fresh, seasonal vegetables they grow in Nose, a small town located in the northernmost tip of Osaka.
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Emi first became interested in organic farming while in university. She participated in several farm-stays both in and out of Japan and worked towards a certification at the Japanese Agricultural Organic Standard (JAS). She ultimately decided to quit this path to pursue a more hands-on approach to agriculture. Ayumu, on the other hand, had worked as a driver for a courier company.
The couple faced numerous challenges and failures when they first began farming in Nose given the region's unpredictable climate. But they learned to embrace Mother Nature and to see the beauty in her creations.
They chose to focus on the surprises that came about every season: "This year's daikon is one of the biggest" or "This year's spinach is so sweet".
Vegetable Park now produces 60 different kinds of vegetables per year in addition to herbs, rice and packaged goods (including the brown rice/amazake jam that was featured in our February Nourishing Essentials Care Package). They also offer a weekly deliver service of the five freshest vegetables of the season.
The wide variety of products they produce helps to maintain a rich environment for their soil and all their products are grown without the use of pesticides and chemicals.
The company's philosophy is simple yet deeply important:
- Make things we want to eat: The vegetables they deliver are the same ones they eat everyday. They love to produce and eat a wide variety of vegetables grown without the use of pesticides or chemicals.
- Direct delivery: Their vegetables and packaged goods are delivered directly to their customers by hand, with the feeling of: "I will share with my neighborhood". It is a strong bond that can only be achieved in rural areas, and the real-time conversations and exchanges that occur are their reward.
- Vegetable Park is everyone's park: They want to share more than just the vegetables they grow. They also want you to experience the scenery of Nose in every season and to feel the soil. Vegetable Park is a place where everyone is welcome to come and play. They also host harvesting experiences and various events.
We hope you enjoy these special products that have been grown out of love for Mother Nature!
Company website: http://vegetablepark.com
