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Welcome to
Peace and Permaculture Dojo
The Peace and Permaculture Dojo is an educational center in
HOLISTIC HANDMADE LIVING,
ECOLOGICAL REGENERATION,
NONVIOLENCE
in Isumi City, two hours by train from Tokyo and Narita Int'l Airport.
Founded in 2016 on an old traditional Japanese homestead (1 hectare),
it consists of a thatched roof omoya (mother-house) that is believed to be over 150 years old,
sub-tropical and temperate forest garden, organic gardens,
tiny houses, compost toilets, and various experiments and unlimited unfinished projects.
Dojo 道場 means a place to practice the “dao”(path).
Our main focus is on SIMPLE DAILY LIVING:
chopping wood, cooking with bamboo and wood, taking care of compost toilets,
cutting grass, growing food, fixing things, and building new structures.
We also practice observing our inner-experience,
learning more about ourselves, and "checking-in" with each other.
We regularly welcome volunteer staff (work-exchange),
offer workshops and retreats (permaculture, daichi no saisei earth regeneration,
nonviolent communication, mindfulness, social change, youth gatherings, family gatherings, etc),
and offer private permaculture tours and personalized experiential sessions.
Areas we are experimenting and practicing
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living in service of all life
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zen and mindful living (inspired by the Plum Village community)
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Japanese and Western permaculture
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energy independence (we heat and cook 99% with local wood and bamboo)
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大地の再生 daichi no saisei (earth regeneration)
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NVC nonviolent communication
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integral nonviolence (inspired by the Gandhian Iceberg and Joanna Macy's work)
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healing of trauma and depression (inspired by our own life struggles)
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holistic education (inspired by the ecoversity movement)
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raising children as a village
Visit us
We offer tours and one day experiences for people who are interested in our site and what we do!
Feel free to contact us via email for visiting requests.
●Tour
We will show you around our property and give lectures on how we design our system and livings.
Duration : 1.5 - 2 hours
Fee : sliding scale* from ¥10000-¥30000 per group
(*you are welcome to decide how much to pay within the range)
●One Day Experience
You can experience the works and practices we do in daily basis in addition to the tour.
Duration : From 10am to 4 pm
Fee : sliding scale* from ¥20000-30000 per group
(*you are welcome to decide how much to pay within the range)
Lunch : bring your own or dojo vegan lunch (¥1000 per person)
●One Day Experience + Earth Oven Pizza Party
You can experience a homemade earth oven pizza (one of the symbolic features of permaculture!) party night besides the works and practices we do in daily basis. Tour included.
Duration : From 10am to 8 pm
Fee : ¥50000 (up to 10 people) per group, ¥5000 for each additional person
Lunch : bring your own or dojo vegan lunch (¥1000 per person)
NOTE: Please come by a group of around 10 people. We ask that you pay ¥50000 as a deposit when you apply because we are spending a lot of energy on preparations.
●Short Stay Experience
You are welcome to join our daily life for a few days and experience the works and practices with us. A brief orientation included.
Duration : 3-5 days (weekdays only)
Fee : sliding scale* from ¥15000-30000 per person
(*you are welcome to decide how much to pay within the range)
NOTE: The management team might not be so available to spend much time together. You may need to be / do something by yourself or with a volunteer staff (if there is).
●Semi-long Stay Experience
You are welcome to join our daily life for a few weeks and experience the works and practices with us. A brief orientation included.
Duration : 1-4 weeks
Fee : sliding scale* from ¥15000-30000 per person per week
(*you are welcome to decide how much to pay within the range)
NOTE: The management team might not be so available to spend much time together. You may need to be / do something by yourself or with a volunteer staff (if there is).
●Private Retreat
This will be a special two day stay at the dojo where you can deepen your learning. You will have a rich time to spend with the management team. The experience throughout your stay will be designed according to your needs. Tour included. Families with kids are welcome!
Duration : 1 night 2 days. Starting from 10am on the first day to 4pm on the second day.
Fee : sliding scale* from ¥35000-50000
(*you are welcome to decide how much to pay within the range)
NOTE: If you want to come as a big group, let us know so we can coordinate around fees and stuff.
●Long Stay as a Volunteer Staff
We invite people who are interested in helping us manage this place together.
Duration : 2 months minimum
Period : whenever there's an availability (feel free to check with us!)
Condition: This works like WWOOFing and work exchange. We provide food (vegetarian) and accommodation (small cabin or tent of your own), and we ask for about 6 hours 5 days a week of help with our work.
Flow of Recruitment: Application → zoom/onsite interview → formal decision
Who we are looking for:
People who can commit to the living at the dojo during their stay : In order to have a deep experience and learning during your stay, we recommend that you come when you have enough space to focus on the living and work at the dojo.
People who enjoy communal living : people who can cooperate and collaborate with others
People who can work initiatively
People who are healthy: Our agricultural lifestyle requires physical fitness. Mental fitness is also necessary because, you will be living and working with multiple people.
People who are flexible: it is important that you are flexible and adaptable since the work involves multiple people and direction might change.
People who want to learn practically
*we recommend that volunteer staff to stay for about two months, as we want you to get used to the life at the dojo (which takes at least one month) and start practicing on their own initiative. If it is difficult for you to adjust your schedule, we would like you to to stay for at least one month. If it will be less than one month, please apply for the "Living Experience (semi-long stay experience)".
Contact us for more information!
Kai and Misako who run the dojo are bilingual, so we are happy to offer English tours!
We have been primarily focused on supporting and training our fellow Japanese, but from 2023, we are hoping to invite those of you from around the world.
We highly recommend coming with as few expectations as possible for a more joyful experience. That is our general attitude for life in general.
NOTE: Please refrain from visiting us without contacting us in advance because this is also our private home besides opening as an educational center.
Contact
Feel free to contact us!
peaceandpermaculturedojo(a)protonmail.com (Misako)
We do not have wifi, so our internet work time is quite limited. Please re-contact us if you do not get a reply in a week.
We are also a small team with a lot of roles, so we may not be able to accommodate everyone at the moment.