February 9, 2020 Miso Making Event

An event to make miso using pesticide-free soybeans grown in your own field

As we have reached capacity, we are no longer accepting applications.

The 2020 event

Summary of Applications

At Satoyama Club Minuma, an organic farmer in Ogawa-machi, Saitama Prefecture, gives us a variety of soybeans called “Aoyama indigenous soybeans” and we grow them without agricultural chemicals in our own field in Higashi-Urawa. We use these soybeans to make our own miso every February. We are looking for people who are interested in participating in the farming and miso making process before (and after) making this miso.

The significance of this event

Miso is a fermented food that is attracting attention for its health benefits, but the miso we seek at the supermarket today is a mass-produced product made from soybeans sprayed with agricultural chemicals and filled with preservatives. In such an era, we at Satoyama Club Minuma have been trying to make miso, an essential food for the Japanese diet, by using safe and secure soybeans grown by ourselves without pesticides. We would like to invite anyone who agrees with our approach and would like to participate in the process of growing soybeans and other agricultural products to join us in this event.

The process of making miso/ Necessary agricultural work

Making miso from soybeans requires a lot of agricultural work. The main tasks alone require the following:

1. Sowing soybeans (early to mid-July) 2. weeding 3. pile-driving 4. Spraying wood vinegar for insect control 5. Soybean harvest (late November) 6. Removing beans from the pods (mid-December) 7. Bean sorting (mid to late January) 8. Making miso (February 9, 2020)

This year we have already finished up to 4, but after 5, the process of turning the beans into miso will take more time and effort. When the miso is finished and I look back on the process of making miso, I think, ‘I made homemade miso!’ It’s an essential job to be able to experience the sense of fulfillment that comes with making miso, and to be proud of your family and friends. We are looking for people who want to make safe and delicious homemade miso.

Conditions of recruitment

Applicants who agree to the following conditions are welcome to apply.

1. We have a farming day every Saturday, but if you are willing to join us as often as possible on this day. (These conditions are the most important.)
2. People who are interested in farm work other than harvesting soybeans and making miso, and like farming (we grow rice, wheat, soybeans, vegetables, and fruit trees).
3. Annual membership fee of Satoyama Club Minuma is payable as a regular member. The membership fee is collected every 6 months and is 15,000 yen per person for 6 months (18,000 yen for family members – free for children). However, the membership fee is free for the first month after you join the farm work (4 times work) as it is a trial period.

Other matters to keep in mind

1. If we receive a large number of applicants, we may not be able to accommodate some of them.
2. You can apply from any stage of the soybean harvest (late November) to the miso making process (February 9, 2020) as mentioned above.
3. The exact date, time, location, and other details of the miso making event are as follows.

Miso making event date/time/cost

When: Sunday, February 9, 2020, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Venue: Saitama City Plaza East 3rd Floor Kitchen Studio

Participation fee： 5,000 yen

1. The weight of the finished product to take home is about 3.7kg.
2. Making miso with pesticide-free rice grown in our club.
3. Rice koji cultivated by our club and planted with koji mold is used to make miso.
4. Members of the club worked hard on the following farm tasks before harvesting the soybeans for miso.
   (sowing seeds, weeding, spraying repellents, removing the soybeans from their pods, and sorting the beans)

How to apply

Applications are now closed.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please contact the Club.

Mail Form

Nearest station: JR Musashino Line Higashi-Urawa Station, Clubhouse: 3 minutes walk from the station, Paddies and fields: 12 minutes walk from the station

Clubhouse