Seed Savers' Network for Japanese Cotton

Cotton is an essential material for clothing, a basic human need. Japan has indigenous varieties of cotton plants, some of which have been cultivated for up to 1200 years, and was completely self-sufficient in cotton until the middle of the Meiji Era (which lasted from 1858 to 1912). Until the 1940s, there were over 200 local varieties of Japanese cotton plants, suited to different purposes and adapted to local climates. Most of these have been wiped out by cheap foreign cotton imports, and today only about 30 strains survive.

The Seed Savers' Network for Japanese Cotton was established in the spring of 2001, with about 30 volunteers nationwide. The objectives of the network are to protect local cotton varieties from extinction and to hand down the Japanese cotton culture and traditions to the next generation. The network's office is at the Kamogawa Japanese Cotton Farm in Chiba, Japan.

Volunteers support the network's activities in two ways. One way is to help to grow cotton seeds on farms and distribute the harvested seeds. The other is to help with fundraising.

The Kamogawa Japanese Cotton Farm organizes workshops on how to grow Japanese cotton, harvest and spin it into a thread with an Indian spinning wheel called the "charkha," and weave clothes out of the thread. Through these activities the farm aims to protect Japanese indigenous cotton and promote its use in daily life.



Posted: 2003/12/06 01:09:01 PM
Japanese version