Roger OngSouthwest of Takamatsu City in Kagawa Prefecture is the Ayagawa town. Nearing meguru Zero Waste Cafe, you can see the distant urban sprawl under a blue sky. The cafe’s location offers its unique flavor of scenery to its guests.
We meet Toyo Miyoshi, owner and inspiring figure of meguru, which offers several sustainable services to promote an eco-lifestyle and sustainable living. Miyoshi is also currently a member of the Town Council of Ayagawa Town.
He is a forward-thinking leader, envisioning a self-sufficient local government that can be a model for other local governments to mimic. One essential method is to study the past wisdom available in Japanese history, especially the relationship between community and nature, that is forgotten and will require recovery.
Toyo Miyoshi and meguru
meguru consists of four aspects. The zero waste cafe provides organic food that shares the zero-waste concept. It also has an organic farm, partly providing meguru zero waste cafe’s menu. There is also a guesthouse that focuses on sustainability. Last but not least, music events, which marked the beginnings of meguru.
Miyoshi had an early start when compared to his peers. He learned about the importance of circularity in economies and is familiar with environmental policy. Therefore, he is acutely aware of the priorities of sustainability towards nature. He also has experience in the ethical fashion business, owning a line of clothes that uses sustainable materials (such as hemp and organic cotton) and natural dyeing techniques. Years later, he started meguru.
“My grandfather had a metal casting factory, which we renovated into an event and music space. I also inherited my grandmother’s home. These two became places of belonging where our children traveled back and forth. We then expanded the idea and started the cafe.”
One can see the effort meguru Zero Waste Cafe puts towards sustainability. These include buying directly from local farmers for ingredients (thus supporting local economy and reducing transport emissions,) reducing food waste by turning them into feed for animals, and installing a compost toilet. There is even upcycling, as waste materials from a previous fire accident are kept for use (like bonfires).
meguru’s form of Zero Waste: Start from small changes
“We want to promote an awareness about waste, but that is not our final target; it is creating a virtuous cycle of positivity.”
Miyoshi wants to create an enduring and resilient philosophy through zero waste, which will stand unchanged against the battering of time.
“Physical materials will change. Plastics may have a long lifespan, but they eventually degrade and break down. Radioactive plutonium may have a long half-life, but it eventually decays. Even garbage we throw away will also eventually change in form. However, philosophy doesn’t change.”
And meguru’s Zero Waste Cafe’s core philosophy is to accept changes and make things better. Miyoshi hopes to inspire all customers to begin thinking about waste and the environment. The cafe becomes an opportunity for everyone to take small, environmental actions.
“We can create good circulation away from bad circulation from small changes. For example, picking up garbage to recycle. Imagine the impact if everyone on this planet picks up one garbage. That’s more than 7 billion garbage picked and recycled. We can create positivity that leads to many virtuous cycles of environmental action. No one is perfect, but we can all make small changes.”
Zero waste leads us back to nature
“If we look at ourselves from outer space, human beings are a part of nature.”
Miyoshi echoed what we really need to hear again: that we are a part of nature, not a separate identity from it. He shared how he witnessed the gaping difference firsthand in his time in an Africa village, where economic development was prioritized over the environment and people’s welfare.
“The village I stayed in had a small population of 2,000. It didn’t have quick access to convenient amenities like water and electricity, but the village was self-sufficient. Unfortunately, a gold mine was later discovered in the vicinity, leading to mining activities. The sound of nature was replaced by heavy vehicles. Musical instruments were replaced by mobile devices. The village was happier before the discovery of gold.”
We know that development for materialistic purposes harms nature and society. We are akin to the living organisms that live into our bodies, a part of a whole. Imagine one group of organisms starts taking over our body, not for the benefit of other organisms or the whole body, but for its own survival. We’d call them a virus.
We need to be more than a devastating virus. Our mindsets need to shift from “man versus nature” or “man controlling nature” to “man as a part of nature.” Miyoshi suggests that one way to reconnect with nature is through zero waste, because there is no such thing as “waste” in nature’s ecosystem. We can take a step to put positivity into our lives against the negativity that exists.
“Negativity will always be around us, but we should choose to take the positive side. Through it, we improve ourselves and develop our soul.”
Matsuri as the embodiment of art, nature and community
“In modern society, the end goal for many seems to be earning more for early retirement. This is different from ancient Japanese society, where people dedicated themselves to nature. They seek to improve themselves continually.”
To Miyoshi, he thinks the role of a politician should be to lead the citizens towards ecology. The Japanese word “matsuri” exemplifies this perfectly.
Matsuri, or Japanese festivals, often conjure the image of red lanterns, friendly food stalls owners, games, and smiling families and couples. They are joyful celebrations by locals for the local community, which also reflects how cherished they are in Japanese culture. (Of course, we’ve seen happier times pre-coronavirus period.) Miyoshi reminds us that entertainment from festivals is but a fragment of a whole.
“The Japanese word for ‘festival’ is ‘matsuri.’ Tracing the word’s origin to yamato kotoba (native ancient Japanese language), we find not one but three meanings in matsuri. One is ‘festival,’ which we are most familiar with today, filled with entertainment through visuals and sounds. The second is ‘offering.’ Festivals in Japan are often an act of appreciation for the gods. The third is ‘governance,’ which is a form of a governing body (i.e. today’s government) that organizes matsuri for the benefit of the people.
“Therefore, holding a matsuri embodies these three inseparable concepts. The organizer needed to be the artist, the shaman and the leader of the people at the same time.”
The implication is important for modern civilization, especially under the lens of the global climate crisis. Ancient Japan can be the role model of the alignment of community, nature and art. We want leaders who can make decisions based on the benefit of nature and community, while cherishing the flourishing of culture. This is a far cry from today’s politics based on wealth and power, and we need new leaders who can prioritize nature’s and the community’s collective needs today.
meguru is the start of a connection for a sustainable community
The beloved Djembe that Miyoshi plays is quite symbolic. It represents a tool to connect people, creating an opportunity for people to gather, sing, and dance. You might even say it’s a sacred ritual about community bonding than entertainment through singing and dancing.
This is why the meguru’s music events are popular. Beyond a performance for entertainment, it is a platform where connections are created. And that is the starting point of meguru, a foundation of a community that starts with the right step towards a sustainable community and, eventually, a sustainable city.
Feel free to visit meguru Zero Waste cafe when you find yourself in Kagawa Prefecture. Perhaps the zero waste philosophy here can inspire you to continue bettering yourself and the environment!
