Children diving into rivers and running through forests.

Adults tending to fields and woodlands, gathering around open fires, and sharing meals.

Time spent in nature reminds us of things that become hard to see in our busy daily lives. It brings forward those quiet, deep questions: "Is this the way I truly want to live?" "What do I really want to do?" "What matters most to me?" And "How do I want to connect with other people and nature?"

For 30 years, Earthmanship has created spaces in nature where people can learn, feel, and reconnect with themselves.

To ensure that financial barriers do not prevent people from joining us, and to create a sustainable environment for our dedicated staff, we are launching a campaign to welcome 50 new monthly supporters. With a gift starting from just 300 yen (2 USD) a month, you can become a partner in nurturing a future where nature and people thrive together.

Reconnecting with Our Roots: You Are Valuable Just as You Are

We believe that every single human life is deeply precious and irreplaceable, regardless of what one can or cannot achieve.

Instead of gaining or losing confidence by comparing ourselves to others, we can connect with the vast presence of nature and realize that we are sustained by a grand web of life. Embracing both our strengths and our flaws helps us celebrate our own lives and builds the resilience to live fully.

To foster this growth, hands-on experiences in nature are essential:

• Being thrilled by the chill of a fresh river
• Discovering something fascinating in the deep woods
• Touching the soil and learning exactly where our food comes from
• Preparing and sharing meals with others in a community

Through these experiences, people reclaim their natural senses. Rather than being handed a "correct answer" by someone else, they learn to think for themselves, make their own choices, and express themselves in their own words. Earthmanship aspires to be a lifelong sanctuary for everyone on this planet to nurture their roots and inner core.

A Child’s Story: A Small Yet Profound Change

During one of our camps, there was a child who struggled deeply with intense emotions and would often experience overwhelming outbursts. On the final day, as her emotions began to escalate again, a staff member gently guided her down to the river.

The moment she dipped her feet into the cold water, the tension stored inside her seemed to wash away, and her expression gradually softened. Nature did not lecture her or give her a direct answer. Instead, the river quietly provided the exact time and space she needed to sit with her feelings. On the way home, this child—who had barely interacted with anyone outside of her older sister during the camp—was laughing and chatting cheerfully with children her own age as they walked down the mountain.

A single moment spent in nature can sustain a person for the rest of their life. Earthmanship is dedicated to protecting the spaces where these transformations happen.

Adults’ Stories："Reclaiming Something Essential"

"I felt unsteady, like something major was missing from my life. Then I realized that in the circle of everything I was doing, I myself was missing. I had completely neglected my own well-being, and realizing that has been a profound gift."

This was shared by an adult participant in one of our programs.

People come to Earthmanship with all kinds of personal questions, struggles and aspirations—those who find it hard to rely on others, those struggling with self-acceptance, those trying to balance meaningful connection with personal independence, or those who want to have an exciting time, want to learn, want to take a short break, or simply want to relax.

When we work together to care for the fields and forests—watching blocked waters flow again, feeling a fresh breeze sweep through, and noticing the vibrant wildlife around us—the tangled knots within our own minds begin to unravel. It grants us a broader, clearer perspective on life.

Participants often return to their daily lives with words like these:

• "I finally truly understand that we all have an innate power to grow and heal."
• "Just being here and opening up my five senses feels incredibly wonderful."
• "Surrendering myself to the river—a force so much bigger than me—allowed me to glide forward effortlessly. I think I’ve discovered a more flexible, graceful way of living by trusting a power beyond my own."
• "During these two days, it felt like all my tension melted away, and I was sleepy the whole time. I’m rarely this sleepy during the day, but it was exactly what I needed. I feel like I've reclaimed something deeply essential."

For children to grow up happy, adults must first live happily and authentically. Earthmanship deeply values giving adults the time and space to reconnect with their own life force.

Lifelong Learning Programs: From Children to Adults

Earthmanship offers a diverse range of programs tailored to different generations and themes:

Kids' "Nobi-Nobi" (Free-Spirited) Camp

An open-ended camp with no fixed schedule, designed for students from 2nd grade through high school. Children decide for themselves how to play and what to explore. By playing in rivers, exploring forests, chopping firewood, cooking, and cleaning, they develop independent thinking, self-trust, and deep empathy for their peers.

The School of Holistic Learning

A program for high school students and adults to explore the deep connections between society and nature through hands-on experience rather than textbooks. Centered around themes like agriculture, food, forestry, the body, poetry, and culture. Instructors, staff, and participants live and eat under one roof. Every moment—including cooking and community living—is part of the learning journey.

Chigusa Momotane (a thousand grasses and a hundred seeds): The Satoyama Stewardship Circle

A program for all ages focused on caring for fields, rice paddies, and forests based on the principles of natural farming. Our fields thrive with diverse wildlife, and the woodlands we tend are bright, airy, and welcoming. By experiencing the rich biodiversity of the Satoyama (traditional village landscapes) preserved through human care, and by sharing the harvest, participants physically embody the profound connection between humans and nature.

The Origin of the Name "Chigusa Momotane"

Welcoming and honoring a thousand grasses as our predecessors, we sow and pass down a hundred seeds to connect rich soil and landscapes to the future. It was named with the hope of becoming a place for mutual learning to achieve this.

We also host nature experiences in the Okutama region, educational lectures, film screenings, and community dialogues.

Stepping Into the Next 30 Years: Reconnecting Cities and Satoyama

As we mark our 30th anniversary, we are not only sustaining our established educational spaces but also launching a new initiative to bridge urban communities with traditional rural landscapes (Satoyama).

Cities and Satoyama are not separate worlds. The health of rural water, soil, and forests directly impacts the food and lives of city dwellers.

By tending fields and forests in Yamanashi, we preserve ancestral seeds, traditional skills, and cultural heritage for the next generation. We want to give urban residents the opportunity to become active guardians of nature. Rather than humans simply exploiting nature, we aim to restore a relationship of mutual support. We are committed to nurturing this vision over the long term.

Why Participation Fees Alone Are Not Enough

Operating safely and meaningfully in nature requires a vast amount of work behind the scenes, far beyond the days when programs run.

We must clear brush, maintain trails, tend fields and forests, repair tools, and care for traditional old houses (Kominka) and storehouses to keep them welcoming and safe. Rigorous advance safety checks of our outdoor sites are essential.

Furthermore, mentoring the staff who facilitate these experiences requires a significant investment of time. It takes years to cultivate the ability to read the subtle changes in nature, to notice delicate emotional shifts in participants, and to look at the whole ecosystem rather than just immediate events. There is also the administrative work required to operate as a certified non-profit organization (NPO).

To keep participation fees as affordable as possible, we have long relied heavily on volunteer work. However, relying solely on the extraordinary goodwill and overextension of individuals is not sustainable. Conversely, raising participation fees significantly would exclude those facing financial hardships.

We want to keep our activities accessible to participants and sustainable for our staff. To achieve this balance, we need a community of supporters who can provide stable, monthly financial backing alongside our program revenues.

How Your Support Makes a Difference

Your monthly donations will be primarily used for:

• Purchasing and repairing program equipment
• Maintaining and managing our activity sites (fields, forests, rivers, and traditional houses)
• Training and mentoring our educational staff
• Covering personnel costs for organization management, program planning, preparation, participant care, and on-site operations

Examples of what your collective monthly support can achieve:

• 15,000 JPY (100 USD) / month helps us purchase and maintain vital safety gear like first-aid kits, life jackets, and outdoor equipment for children.
• 30,000 JPY (200 USD) / month covers land maintenance costs, including clearing brush, repairing tools, and purchasing essential materials for our fields in Okutama and Yamanashi.
• 50,000 JPY (335 USD) / month funds ongoing training and field experience for our staff, helping them deepen their skills as nature educators.
• 100,000 JPY (670 USD) / month sustains the core staff members who handle everything from organizational management and program planning to post-program reflections.

If 50 people contribute just 1,000 JPY (7 USD) a month, it creates a steady annual fund of 600,000 JPY (4,200 USD). Small, consistent monthly gifts combine to form a powerful foundation that keeps this vital work alive.

What It Means to Be a Monthly Supporter

Your support protects far more than buildings and equipment. You are safeguarding:

• Safe spaces where children can lose track of time playing freely in nature
• Moments that help individuals face their true feelings and build self-trust
• Opportunities for adults to step away from daily routines and realign their connection with themselves, nature, and society
• A harmonious, mutually supportive relationship between urban and rural communities

Becoming a monthly supporter means actively co-nourishing a space where these profound transformations can happen every single month. Even in months when you cannot join us in person, your continuous support ensures that the next program and the next meaningful encounter can take place.

Please Join Us from 300 Yen (2 USD) a Month

We are looking for 50 founding monthly supporters for this next chapter. You can choose any amount starting from 300 JPY (2 USD) per month. We would be deeply grateful for a sustainable contribution that feels comfortable for you over the long term.

Whether you have participated in our programs before, have cheered us on from afar, or are discovering Earthmanship for the very first time today—we invite you to help us carry this space forward. Please join us in helping every individual cultivate the strength to live authentically in harmony with nature for the next 30 years.

(Note: If you prefer an annual giving option, you can also join us as a Supporting Member starting from 3,000 JPY （20 USD) per share per year.)

A Message from Our Representative

"When Earthmanship first began, we started with a single, tiny step from nothing, holding onto a vision that our efforts would eventually ripple outward across Japan and the world.

Even the grandest rivers flowing from mountains to the ocean begin as a single, tiny droplet at the source.

That single drop, carrying the clear energy of life, quietly gathers with others from all directions, forming small ripples, streams, and eventually a powerful, unstoppable current.

Human society is no different. Our individual wishes and actions may look like tiny, isolated dots from high above, but when we connect, we form a magnificent and powerful flow.

Let us come together to nurture a great, joyful current of life that carries all of our shared dreams."

Jun Okada

Representative Director,

Certified NPO Earthmanship