Agricultural trainee, Akita Momiyama #1

This time, let us introduce Mr. Akita Momiyama!

Those of you who participated in Niigata Volunteering should be familiar with him already, but even if you have not visited Iketani, make sure you read this entry about Mr. Momiyama, as he is somebody who has worked extensively with JEN.

As an agricultural trainee, Mr. Momiyama is staying in Iketani since October 2008 until March 2011. What drew Mr. Momiyama, (born and raised in Shonan) to agriculture?

Momiyama: I was born and raised in a big city, so I have always been interested in nature and farming-centered lifestyle. Traveling and mountain climbing and reading essays of Michio Hoshino, an animal photographer, and books by Tsuneichi Miyamoto, a folklore scholar, had eventually led me to ‘agriculture’.

JEN: I see… So did you choose to study agriculture at university too?

Momiyama: I was passionate about agriculture, and certainly intended to study it extensively. However, I ended up devoting 4 years to a school festival committee. 

JEN: You must have made unforgettable memories. What did you do after graduation?

Momiyama: After graduation, I spent on year focusing on farming and studying at Nippon Nogyo Jissen Gakuen, http://www.nnjg04.com/ in Ibaraki Prefecture for a year and worked as an assistant and officer in this farm. After experiencing what it is like to study agriculture, I came to feel the necessity of practical experience and background in an agricultural field and decided to go on training.

JEN: Let’s call it a day. Next time, we will offer an article about how Mr. Momiyama got to Iketani and what he wants to learn from the training.

Do not miss the next entry!