ピア宮敷
ピア宮敷は、大多喜町に隣接するいすみ市に拠点を持つ福祉施設です。四方を田んぼに囲まれた緑豊かな場所で、入所施設と作業所、カフェを運営。「地域社会に必要とされる施設」をモットーに住民とのつながりを模索しながら、いすみ産の原料を使ったごま油やジャム、はちみつの製造販売、地元の小学校との農業を通じた交流、絵画や木工作品の展示など、独自の取り組みを行ってきました。
そして今回、mitosayaのプロダクトである「STRAW ATRAW」の一部作業をお願いすることに。この自然栽培のライ麦を使った麦わらストロー、原材料となる麦の栽培は順調なのですが、なにせ製品に仕上げる過程が手作業でないとできないため、出荷が追いつかない状況なのです。
作業所のみなさんにお願いしているのは、刈り取って乾燥させ、脱穀した後の麦わらを、雨に濡れないように保管すること。そして3mm以上の太さがある部分を選んで、決まった長さに切り出してもらうことです。3mm以下の細い部分はストローとして使うには難しく、さらにところどころにある節を避けながら長さを確保してもらう必要があるので、1本1本を目で見て、手で切るという作業が必須。商品には2パターンあり、15cmのものと20cmのものを作ってもらっています。
この日は利用者の方が8人、職員の方が3人で作業を行っていました。ひとりひとりができる作業の種類に合わせて2カ所に分かれ、ハサミを使う人、検品をして束ねる人などの役割分担がなされています。太さと長さをチェックするために使っている木製の道具は、なんと職員さんお手製。「STRAW STRAW」の規格に合わせて作ってくれたそうで、効率よく作業ができるのはもちろん、丁寧に作業してくださっているその気持ちまで伝わってくるようなあたたかみも感じます。
また作業所にはビニルハウスもあり、その中で麦わらを保管してもらえるのもありがたい限り。土に直接置くと湿気を吸い込んでしまうため、もともと設置されていたラックを使って地面よりも高いところに積み上げ、雨風からも守ってもらっています。
こういった福祉作業所はそれぞれが単独で仕事を請け負うのがほとんどなのだそうですが、ピア宮敷では今、この常識を覆す画期的な仕組みづくりに挑戦中。近隣の2市2町にある事業所に声をかけ、「STRAW STRAW」の作業を皆で分け合って分担することで、より多くの製品を作る体制を整えてくれているんです。「今後の1日の目標数は1500本！」と、なんとも頼もしい言葉もいただきました。
関わる人たちの思いものせた、手作りの麦のストロー。１本1本異なる自然素材の心地よさが、ドリンクの楽しみを無限に広げてくれます。
関連製品：
STRAW STRAW
Pia Miyashiki is a welfare facility based in Isumi City, adjacent to Otaki Town. Surrounded by rice fields on all sides, the facility operates a residential facility, a workshop, and a café in a lush green area. With the motto of "a facility that is needed by the local community," the facility has been searching for ways to connect with the local residents, and has been engaged in unique activities such as the production and sale of sesame oil, jam, and honey using raw materials produced in Isumi, exchanges with local elementary schools through agriculture, and exhibitions of paintings and woodwork.
This time, we were asked to do some of the work for "STRAW ATRAW", a product of mitosaya. The straw straws are made from naturally grown rye, and although the cultivation of the raw material is going well, the process of making the straw into a finished product requires manual labor, so we are not able to keep up with the shipments.
What we ask the workers to do is to store the straw after it has been cut, dried, and threshed so that it does not get wet in the rain. The thinner parts, less than 3 mm, are difficult to use as straws, and they have to be cut by hand while avoiding knots in some places. There are two product patterns: 15cm and 20cm.
On this day, there were eight users and three staff members working on the project. They are divided into two sections according to the type of work each person can do, and the roles are divided into those who use scissors and those who inspect and bind the pieces. The wooden tools used to check the thickness and length are handmade by the staff. The wooden tools used to check the thickness and length are handmade by the staff, and they were made according to the "Straw Straw" standards, which not only allows them to work efficiently, but also conveys the warmth of their careful work.
There is also a vinyl greenhouse in the workshop, and I am grateful that the straw is stored there. If they were placed directly on the ground, they would absorb moisture, so they are piled up higher than the ground using the racks that were originally installed to protect them from the wind and rain.
It is said that most of these welfare workshops undertake their work independently, but Pia Miyashiki is now taking on the challenge of creating an innovative system that overturns this common practice. However, Pia Miyashiki is now trying to overturn this common sense by creating an innovative system: they are asking other welfare centers in two neighboring cities and two neighboring towns to share the work of "Straw Straw" with them, thereby creating a system to produce more products. The daily target for the future is 1,500 bottles! These are some very encouraging words.
Each straw is handmade with the thoughts and feelings of the people involved, and the comfort of the natural material makes each straw different, expanding the enjoyment of drinks to an infinite extent.
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STRAW STRAW
