Rice Grant Project Helps Students Make Another Home with Farmers

Shougakumai Co. (shogaku-mai means "scholarship with rice" in Japanese), a Japanese company that plans and organizes events, and sells food online, launched the Shogakumai Project in October 2010 in order to build relationships between students and farmers for a better future. The project awards student scholarships, not with money, but with rice that farmers provide free of charge to support the students' daily diet. In return, students are expected to offer assistance to rice farmers and participate in local events.

The project connects farmers who are genuinely committed to growing rice with students who will create the future, and helps them build a relationship based on mutual understanding. The project encourages students to establish family-like relationships with sponsor farmers, so that they will purchase food from the farmers on a long-term basis and visit their farms. The project also provides students with opportunities to understand the importance of rice as a soul food for Japanese people.