#46 Weekend Farming, Starting to Dig a Well. The Challenge of Opening a Water Vein (Part 1)
It has been nine years since I started weekend farming. No fertilizers, no pesticides, and I only work on the weekends.
While I feel that the vegetable yield is low for the amount of effort put in, I have encountered many valuable experiences here that I could not have had anywhere else.
Above all, the very fact that I am cultivating what I and my family eat with my own hands alongside friends is my greatest asset. At the same time, I have keenly felt the reality that "complete self-sufficiency is incredibly difficult" and "working silently in the fields alone is quite lonely and tough."
However, some things have changed over these nine years. I used to have a habit of overthinking whether something was possible or not before starting. But now,
Let's just try it first. If I fail, I can think of a solution then.
I have naturally come to think this way, and the circle of ingenuity is expanding. That spirit of "let's just try it" led to this "well-digging" project.
The Ghibli world and the reality without water
Through a stroke of luck, I became involved in activities to reclaim "abandoned farmland" near my home.
It is a place that feels like wandering into a Ghibli movie, even though it is only a 10-minute walk from the village. It is a mysterious space where there are dense thickets so thick that cell phone signals sometimes cut out, while at the same time, you can see airplanes taking off and landing at the nearby airport flying by at a very low altitude.
Despite being such an attractive place, it had one major drawback.
There is no water source nearby.
Everyone else working in the fields in the neighborhood seemed to be carrying water from far away in buckets. However, considering the varieties we are growing and the intense summer heat to come, there is definitely a limit to carrying water by bucket.
After discussing it with my friends, the conclusion was simple.
Alright, let's dig a well and secure a water source.
A "godsend" start
Having said that, can a well really be dug that easily? What tools should I use?
Just as that anxiety crossed my mind, a miracle happened. It turned out that one of my farming friends already owned the specialized tools for digging a well on their own plot.
It was truly a godsend!
We borrowed the tools immediately and were fully prepared. With half-doubts about whether things would really go so smoothly, we finally reached the first day of work.
First, using a shovel, we dug a hole about 1 meter deep, enough for an adult to stand in completely. From there, our borrowed secret weapon (a tool) made its appearance. Working in sync, the two of us walked in circles around the hole, digging even deeper.
And then...
Slowly but surely, muddy water began to pool!
It wasn't clean water that could be used for vegetables yet. Even so, the moment water welled up from deep underground, I felt an indescribable sense of excitement. It vividly brought back the feeling of being a child, absorbed in digging tunnels in a sandbox until I was covered in mud.
The joy of finding water, and the next hurdle
Our joy at finding water was short-lived. This was where the real challenge began. To turn this into an ideal water source, we still need to dig much deeper.
Furthermore, one issue after another that needs to be considered keeps popping into my head.
How do we store the water that wells up?
How do we purify the muddy water?
How do we regularly irrigate the field with the stored water?
But these are also things I only realized because I actually took action. It made me realize once again how incredible Japan's infrastructure is, where clean water comes out just by turning a tap at a local park.
Our well-digging and water-securing challenge has only just begun.
[Next Episode Preview] Farming, Well-Digging, and Nine Star Ki
Actually, this well-digging project is not just fun as manual labor; it is also deeply connected to a form of 'learning' for me. That is the world of 'Nine Star Ki'.
Farming is the very cycle of the natural five elements: tilling the 'earth,' bathing in the 'fire' of the sun, and circulating 'water.' And this time, the act of piercing the earth with my own hands to awaken a dormant water source feels like it will bring about a very interesting 'change in energy' from the perspective of Ki.
Will we be able to safely deliver the blessed water to our vegetables? And what is the 'energy of earth and water' that this well-digging will bring?
I would like to record the progress of this well-digging little by little from here on out.