Roger OngWhat does the term “Sharing Economy” mean to you?
The term “sharing economy” often conjures up the examples of Uber and Airbnb. But these companies always seem to have something missing for me.
In hindsight, these companies did not fulfil its contract with social good. Its disruption to traditional methods of consumption revealed a dissatisfied crowd to a status quo. Instead, these companies became the new status quo, facilitating our consumption at an accelerated rate.
Remember when sharing economy was the “next trendy thing”, and every company wanted to be on the bandwagon? The problem, however, is how these companies was just riding a trend train. Only a few were about building a global community of change, reducing irresponsible consumption or changing consumption mindsets.
Weren’t we promised something bigger than consumption in a more convenient way? Isn’t there something more valuable we can hand down to future generations than a new form of capitalism?
3 women in Japan defining their brand of sharing economy
As it turns out, the answer I was looking for was coming from within Japan. The Shikoku Share Summit 2019 was a 3 day event held in Tokushima, where change makers from around Japan gathered to push for the agenda of a sharing economy. I was one of the lucky participants to hear, meet and learn from the tens of forerunners in their game.
And among the speakers, I got to speak to three inspiring ladies who are shaping the future of sharing economies in Japan. These ladies are starting to reform the definition of sharing to go beyond what we assume can be.
Mineko Enomoto: Sharing Economy and Skills
In a comfy corner of Awa City lies the newly built Tabi no Tochu, which means “On the Way” in English. It may not seem like a huge establishment, and more like a private residence. However, it offers one of the most unique services: a guest house for the elderly and the disabled!
Very often a person gives up traveling when he or she grows old or gains a disability. This is because mobility becomes an obstacle, and accessibility is not always available in many areas in Japan. Furthermore, it can be difficult to find someone to accompany on the trip outside the family. Lacking a caregiver can dissuade one from traveling.
Recognizing this problem, Mineko Enomoto came up with the unique idea of the welfare guest house, Tabi no Tochu. This is where anyone with mobility issues could rent out a room for a holiday or getaway, and to those with skills and interests to care for people in need. Enomoto shared her vision with five other health professionals. They shared her concern and vision because they wanted to do something about an unaddressed problem. There was a lack of manpower to provide care for the elders and the disabled in this aspect of travel. The six of them then became the lovingly named 6 Rangers, representing icons of change and building Tabi no Tochu from scratch.
And Tabi no Tochu is well received! Visitors came from different parts of Japan, including Kumamoto and Saitama. There are a lot of caregivers going to stay at Tabi no Tochu too, because they also understood there was a missing need that was not being addressed. Unknowingly, it evolved into a place where different people could share their caregiving skills while on a holiday at Tabi no Tochu.
Enomoto believes that the word “caregiving” also contains the connotation of “making friends”, since friends care for each other. This is evident in Tabi no Tochu. What truly shines here is not that there is a welfare lodging for disabled and elderly. Rather, it’s how Enomoto realizes the needs of people who wants to give, letting Tabi no Tochu be a linchpin of a community where anyone can share their skills while bringing joy to other.
[Website] Tabi no Tochu Facebook PageRina Nagaoka: Sharing Economy and Travel
Depopulation is a major concern in Japan, as people migrate to bigger cities for accessibility, convenience and opportunities. However, this exodus to big cities might be facing fatigue. More and more city dwellers yearn to discover the beauty of the countryside, to connect with the rural areas. Rina Nagaoka offers a solution for this group of people with Otetsutabi.
Otetsutabi offers a service that allows such people to do so. It lets users travel to rural areas, while offering opportunities to help at establishments, like breweries or ryokans. Since depopulation is a concern for many of the rural areas, many of the businesses therefore face manpower shortage.
On the other hand, Otetsutabi users want to have a relationship with the rural areas. A casual vacation to the rural areas is fine, but may be limiting in discoveries. Instead, through Otetsutabi, vacationers get an in-depth experience to help locals. Moreover, some areas offer free accommodation and/or local transportation. By sharing their time, these users receive an invaluable experience that surpasses any other travel plans.
So we see that it is a win-win situation between rural regions and city citizens. But it really is more than that. Otetsutabi creates something more important: relationships between the two parties. Nagaoka believes that by building a strong, personal bond, they will come to each others’ aid when the time requires them of it.
One of Nagaoka’s goals is to make “opportunities in traveling” a common theme. Traveling to rural areas might seem lacking on interesting aspects, Otetsutabi can change that mindset. It allows users to share their time and skills, which translate into personal relationships. Even though Nagaoka founded Otetsutabi in 2018, it may already be changing Japan for the better.
[Website] Otetsutabi homepageMayumi Ihara: Sharing Economy and the Environment
Imagine you have a medium-sized home garden that you proudly open to the public. Due to its magnificence, you draw a daily crowd of 1,500 that make their way to visit your garden. The traffic demand is so large that the city hall has prepared two shuttle buses to run the path to your home.
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Mayumi Ihara is the owner of Awa Open Garden, located in Awa City in Tokushima. Her garden features over 50 varieties of vegetables, either planted personally or through educational events related to healthy eating or awareness of city revitalization and more. Vegetables and fruits that are ripe for the picking are served to guests in a cozy wooden hut she has built. Not only does it serve as a place to eat, sit and rest, she also features local produce and products, making them available for purchase.
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By the way, Ihara is also the representative for the Awa Mirai Souseisha (Awa Future Creation Organization), promoting awareness on sustainable practices such as ethical consumption and support for local produce. Her love for Awa City drives her desire to revitalize its depopulation problem. Ihara understands that in order to do so, she needed to draw out the attraction of Awa City. She would also need to create a network of people to tackle city revitalization.
Her weapon of choice? A sharing economy! To be exact, Ihara taps on the idle resources of the city to create a city revitalization network. Her garden was the most accessible candidate, which she has wielded to great success. She has not only allowed others to access it, she allows others to participate in its creation too.
We mentioned that there are educational events, and one of them involves children learning about the basics of gardening and harvesting. Not only does it expose the children to a skill and hobby, it instils the feeling of creation and nurture. The experience is doubly wonderful for the children too. They subsequently take responsibility to sell their harvest at a local supermarket, where the highly supportive community bought everything.
Ihara’s garden is not the only idle resource that she intends to leverage on. Her next project targets the benches across the city, hoping to turn these amenities into art, and thus an attraction. More development on this coming up in the future. No doubt Ihara will continue to use the “hidden resources” to create value for her city.
What true Sharing Economies should be like
What does the term “Sharing Economy” mean to you?
To me, it’s not about monetary gains, about creating the next big thing, or about hedonistic consumption. Sharing economies bear the spirit of sharing, and that means caring for our fellow human beings. It is a tool that can contribute to social good, and that is where the excitement of sharing economies still exists for me.
The sharing economies we have looked at today might not be the kinds we are used to. Therefore it challenges us to think what idle resources are available around us, tangible or not. And if these resources are available, then we can start exploring if these can solve any current problems.
Interestingly, Ihara, Enomoto and Nagaoka did not set out to create a sharing economy. Instead, they set out to solve a problem. Sharing economy was just a tool they use to drive social good in their own communities. They designed systems that based off finding solutions, which attracted a community that shared the same beliefs.
