[Machi wo Gakusha] Utilizing People's Capabilities
Community Development Company: Machi wo Gakusha LLC
In 2014 (Heisei 26), I established a voluntary community development company called "Machi wo Gakusha LLC" with some classmates. As the name suggests, it means "a learning house for enjoying the town."
This was born from the desire to create a local economic cycle by "utilizing people's capabilities," as I often felt that while Kawanishi City has an abundance of citizen talent with various skills and high potential, it was not being utilized much, especially by the local government.
Just at that time, having collaborated with the local public transportation provider, Nose Electric Railway Co., Ltd., for the "Higashitani-zumu" event since 2012, we received an offer to handle work that had previously been outsourced to Hankyu-affiliated advertising agencies. We established the corporation to serve as a recipient for this work.
The first job came from the local railway company
Our first job was commissioned by the Nose Electric Railway, which has been beloved by the locals for many years. On March 16, 2013 (Sunday), 12 years ago, the area around Cable Kurokawa Station and Lift Myoken-san Station was reopened as "Myoken no Mori" to mark the 100th anniversary of the Nose Electric Railway! We were tasked with creating all the advertising materials for it.
Since our motto is "utilizing people's capabilities," we decided to try making everything with citizens!
The image model is Ryoko Shinohara!?
When promoting the Myoken no Mori BBQ Terrace, the concept from the Nose Electric Railway at the time was a "BBQ site you can go to in high heels," and the women who fit that image were Ryoko Shinohara and Miki Imai. First, we recruited models from residents along the Nose Electric Railway line. Citizen models who called themselves Ryoko Shinohara and Miki Imai gathered, and we headed to Myoken no Mori by cable car!
We tried doing everything with citizens
In addition, the shooting crew were citizens, the editing and design were done by citizens, and the printing was done by citizens; it became an all-citizen project team.
For the first year, the photographer was Mr. I-da, who was in the city's public relations division at the time, and for the second year, we asked Ms. F-moto, an energetic camera girl who organizes mom events inside and outside the city.
The design was done by Mr. A-tani, who had just started his own design office, the printing was done by Mr. T-kawa, who runs a design office in the city, and the shooting crew consisted of members of the "Machi wa Carnival!! Project (commonly known as Machi-Pro)," a group that plans and operates the citizen event "Kawanishi Oto-Akari."
Payment for models and shooting crew was provided in kind
The compensation for the models and shooting crew who participated in the shoot was not cash, but payment in kind. We all enjoyed the most expensive menu at the Myoken no Mori BBQ Terrace, featuring "Nose Kuroge Wagyu" and "Aso Aka-ushi" beef as the main ingredients, while chatting and having a great time.
The fact that they are happy to participate even for this kind of payment is the real thrill of utilizing citizen skills.