Crops Cultivated in Home Gardens in North Mainland Okinawa : A Case Study of Ada Hamlet in Kunigami Village

A typical home garden in Ada hamlet falls into one of the following categories: a garden inside a residence, a garden inside an empty house, or a garden on reclaimed land. Crops cultivated in the first two garden types are generally grown for self-consumption, while crops grown Oil reclaimed land are often used for self-sufficiency and for sale. The majority of Ada hamlet residents cultivate crops to take care of land inherited from their ancestors. In such instances, any vegetable surplus is shared among relatives and neighbors. In this study, 16 households did not have a home garden, but they received vegetables from neighbors. Only 17 households grew crops inside their residence, and approximately 80% of all households in Ada hamlet used less than 20% of their residence area for a home garden. Approximately 41 empty houses- nearly all empty houses in the hamlet-were used as home gardens. One vacant residence was maintained and managed by all of the residents in order to sustain their hamlet. A total of 48 types of crops, including four types of starchy root vegetables, three types of beans, 16 types of leafy vegetables, three types of root and tuberous vegetables, and nine types of industrial plants, were found in the home gardens. Of these, 23(48%) were traditional crops. Crops cultivated in summer consisted mostly of traditional leafy vegetables and fruit vegetables, while other leafy vegetables, as well as root and tuberous vegetables, were cultivated in winter. Crop transplantation was mostly conducted from March to May, and from September to November. In winter, crops were cultivated in seedbeds and harvested after three months. This cultivation knowledge was obtained from the elders who are familiar with crop plantation. Reflective of this knowledge, vegetables that don't attract insects were planted. Pesticides are not used on Ada hamlet home gardens. The survey of home gardens inside residences and empty houses found that vegetables were planted in multistory to effectively use solar energy and to allow crops sensitive to strong sunshine to adapt to harsh summer weather. In winter, gardens were divided into small sections to accommodate as many vegetable types as possible. In summary, Ada hamlet home gardens serve four purposes: (1)to transfer traditional vegetable cultivation knowledge from generation to generation; (2)to provide emergency food supplies; (3)to provide safe, pesticide-free food; and (4)to maintain and manage land in empty houses across the hamlet. It is often said that today's era of food safety and security is chaotic. The fact that so many lives entirely depend on food sources outside their communities poses a great concern for human survival. We believe it is important for individuals and communities to acquire skills to produce enough food to support themselves- not only to improve food security, but also to regenerate regional communities and to improve the well being of humanity as a whole