Fallen cherry trees reborn as new products

Fallen cherry trees reborn as new products

Clock, pens, chopsticks, and straps made from fallen Taiwan cherry trees.


February 2, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

In cooperation with the Yuimun Craft Shop, the Motobu Municipal Office has created chopsticks, pens, and straps from the wood from Taiwan cherry trees near Mt. Yaedake that were blown over in last year’s typhoons. They will use of the proceeds to buy and plant new cherry trees. The craft items will be sold at the 35th Motobu Yaedake Cherry Blossom Festival on February 2 and 3, and then at the Motobu Municipal Office after the festival.

In 1963, except for the very summit, Mt. Yaedake was returned to Okinawa from the United States, and since then, the municipal office has planted cherry trees there. The person at the municipal office who is in charge of the project said “We started this from an idea that allowed those trees to be reborn as new products, instead of just disposing of the damaged or fallen trees that we have taken such good care of. We want to use the proceeds to plant new trees and so connect the fallen cherry trees’ life to the next lot of trees.”

Keita Nagamine, who works at the craft shop said, “The wood did not dry so easily so it was difficult to work with, but its aromas and solidness is very good. We want to take good care of the wood from these trees.” They seek to make the best use possible of the wood from the trees by making multi-purpose straps (mostly for attaching to mobile phones) by using the remaining materials from which they made chopsticks. Chopsticks sell for 1000 yen, clocks for 2400 yen, and pens and straps for 500 yen, inclusive of tax.

Please call 0980 (47) 2700, the Motobu Commerce-and-Industry Sightseeing Division for more information.

(English translation by T&CT, Hitomi Shinzato and Mark Ealey)

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