日本語   The Engawa is a hallway that runs along the south side  of traditional homes to completely open the home. It allows light into the house, air flow, and a place to sit and enjoy the view.

See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

The lovely people at the new farm have 60 head of sheep who are completely free ranged.  They are not used for meat nor wool, but rather for training sheep dog hobbyists on weekends! Eva loves her new home.  All 60 of her new family came over to greet her and touch noses the day she arrived. She actually jumped in the air with joy a few times.   So Reuben’s final gift to of thanks to her for all her years of companionship was to get her such a nice little patch of heaven.  Now we just have to worry about those poor little city dogs who are going to try and corner her….

More House    details at     http://earthembassy.org/shojikoeng/

Bears were hunted nearly to extinction in Japan and still remain a rare sight.  But even when you dont see them, they may be watching you.  This claw mark was in a tree about 200m above one our cabins at Lake Saiko.    Glad the bears are still there, but hoping they do see me first, and give me a wide berth.

The center room of the newly finished Shojiko house has 150 year old 2ft wide floor boards surrounding a traditional horikotatsu fireplace.  Perfect for sitting around drinking sake and roasting kuri and yakiniku with friends.  The home is offered with a collection of rare and beautiful antiques from Meji and Edo period Japan.   The house is currently for sale, with a 2,000,000 yen discount for families who enroll in the local schools.

See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

New pictures of the finished room coming soon…..

The living room in the High Village House has a new floor of 100% Japanese Cedar with electrical heating installed.  Really cozy, especially when you are watching the snow fall out the windows in the village.    The house is currently for sale and we are offering a 2,000,000 yen discount for families who enroll in the local schools.      See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

More details on the house here….   

Shojiko High Village House

日本語

We also will be working with their blending master this year to develop a few new flavors for our line of Mt Fuji Natural Teas.  Check back with us in the summer for new tastes and herbal medicinal teas!!!

And as a special treat, we pulled out a special special recipe.  Strawberry pizza with bananas and Jake’s special chai yogurt sauce.  In a few years when this is a world wide standard, it will just be a rumor that it actually started in our kitchen.   (available by special request in June when our berries are in season)

He was one of the original founders of the  Earth Embassy way back in 2000 and saw it through the good times and the bad.  Rueben appeared on Japanese TV numerous times, starting with a cameo on MTV and eventually having his own 30minute New Years Special that was seen by 6 million viewers.  None of it went to his head and remained humble and sweet all of his long years.

Rueben made friends from around the world, and always ran over to greet new visitors. He was happy in his field with his girl Eva until his last day and died peacefully in his sleep.   He will be dearly missed.

I was checking out a new piece of land next to our mint field, thinking of cutting back the wild brush and planting in the spring.  But the wild roses growing there seem not to want to go without a fight.  If we do plant it, I think we will leave those rose bushes for the birds to feed on and content ourselves with a few rose hips in fall.

For those of you using Facebook, I suggest you check out the Farmville game. It is simple but addicting, plow your fields, plant some crops, harvest, sell and make money to buy more seeds, cheap pink flamingos, etc.  The coolest feature for me is that you can visit friend’s farms and see what they are planting.  It gives you a big insight into their character.  Alex who is currently out of work (in real life) has planted cash crops from egde to edge. Yoko has 2 boys (in real life) and lots of playthings spread around the farm.  Janel likes to win (in real life) and her farm is huge with an enormous plantation house in the middle.  Mine is permaculture based of course….

Yes, its just another game, but we have actually had visitor come to our farm on Mt Fuji all the way from Singapore because their son had gotten interested in farming through playing Farmville!  The huge popularity of this game is evidence that we humans are all farmers at heart.  The numbers as of Dec, 2009…. “69 million active users are using FarmVille alone, that’s more users than Twitter.”

I think this is a trend we shouldnt ignore. What if we set up a bunch of real mini farms with web-cams attached for people to plant their own crops and be able to watch them grow for real online?  We could build the farms next to the orphanages we support in Africa and the Philippines and have the kids maintain the crops!  If we got 1/10th of 1% of the Farmville  players to pay $10 to rent a lot and plant their own seeds, that’s $69,000 to start a little farm somewhere.  Then again that is 6900 webcams we need to set-up…..

Any ideas?  Let me know if anyone wants to talk about starting something….jreiner@earthembassy.org

Ronnie Sseruyange is a young Ugandan adult who began life on the streets at age seven and has survived that harsh existence. Self-educated and now considered by many to be the “Chairman of the Street Kids”, Ronnie is deeply committed to helping the most needy of Kampala’s street children, and serves as an advocate, counselor, overseer and protector for them. Because he himself has been there and knows their life, he has gained the trust and admiration of the children he seeks to help.

Ronnie and his assistants (also former street children) meet weekly with groups of children, trying to serve 40 at a time. The children share their problems and concerns, and receive counseling and guidance to help regain a sense of self-esteem and belonging. At the same time, it is intended for them also to receive a haircut, bath, meal, and recreation, plus basic medical care. The counseling includes advice about avoiding drugs, staying safe, and protecting themselves from attacks by police and others. Those most needy also receive a jacket or shirt as funds allow.