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Since May 2021, SEEDS Asia has worked together with the Naganuma District Community Council and its Disaster Recovery Planning Committee, particularly its Community Recovery Subcommittee in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The core of our joint activities was the “Apples for Disaster Recovery and Community Development,” developing an apple-shaped tri-colored cards to collect voices of district residents. Our efforts have resulted in 408 cards that described the beauty of their hometown, challenges faced after the flood in 2019, and their hopes for the future. The cards served as a tool to visualize opinions of all generations.

An idea born out of the cards was the “Ringo-shan (combining ringo, “apple” in Japanese, and “go-shan”, a dialect in Nagano meaning “expert/teacher”) as a mechanism where local residents with skills and knowledge can register as instructors, while other residents who are keen to learn about such skills and knowledge can apply for private lessons. This mechanism was proposed to respond to a number of opinions by the residents requesting for opportunities to gather in the midst of the pandemic as well as the aftermath of the flood disaster, as Ringo-shan will provide both spaces to interact, and create a network of people with leadership in the community.

The cards have been reviewed among the Community Recovery Subcommittee and SEEDS Asia. There are three colors of the apple-shaped cards: pink for charms of the district; green for challenges faced; and yellow for hopes, for residents to fill in with their opinions. Now, these cards form a tree visualizing precious opinions of community members.

A whole-district discussion about this output would have been ideal, but due to COVID-19, a small-scale online session was organized instead. In the session, detailed opinions in relation to the collected cards were exchanged including historical values of the Naganuma castle (which now no longer exists) and visits paid by a nationwide famous poet Issa Kobayashi in the district, and the warm upbringing environment in the neighborhood for families with kids. One person mentioned “Intergenerational reciprocity that exists in the community kept our life going, even at the evacuation center when the flood occurred,” and “It was an indispensable value that the Naganuma neighborhood offered, so that our kids were able to spend safe and stable days in the very harsh environment after the disaster.” This kind of experience contributes to making up one’s mind to continue living in Naganuma: community bonding could be key to sustaining the depopulating district.

The discussion also covered the challenges the community faced – including a lack of space for community-gathering or playgrounds. This in turn indicates that the community could rebrand its value as a place that can build back better from a tragic disaster, and which offers places for play, joy and amusement with abundant nature, in the future. Inviting the younger generation to the district is an important strategy to revitalize it.

This discussion helped us envision a more concrete image of what we want the district to look like, utilizing the “Apples for Disaster Recovery and Community Development.” The opinions collected through the cards will be incorporated in a map illustration named “RE-DISCOVER NAGANUMAP.” These outputs will be shared with the District Community Council who will take over disaster recovery activities in fiscal year 2022.