Sumida Ward Health and Welfare Department,
Welfare Division for Persons with Disabilities

1. Introduction

Sumida Ward is located in the eastern part of Tokyo. This area is blessed with abundant watersides such as the Sumida River and is a place with a rich downtown atmosphere where history, culture, and traditions can be felt. It is also the birthplace of modern industry in Japan and is a "manufacturing town" where small and medium-sized companies with excellent technological capabilities are concentrated. In this environment, Suminowa is promoted by this ward, and local creators support in manufacturing (product development, market development, etc.) for facilities with individuals with disabilities who make independently produced products in the ward. The project uses high-quality scraps such as paper, leather, and cloth provided by local factories to create attractive self-produced products from what was originally discarded. Also, we named the cooperation in Sumida Ward “Suminowa” which means “Circle of Sumida”.

2. Background of Suminowa

There are about 20 facilities for individuals with disabilities in the ward. Each of which is engaged in the production and sales of self-produced products along with contract processing, but with the aim of improving the wages and motivation of users by securing sales channels, in the 22nd year of the Heisei period (2010), the Sumida Ward Welfare Workshop Network “Kai” was created and started the joint sales with a movable wagon called “Sky Wagon.” However, that alone did not easily lead to an increase in wages, and new product development was an issue. On the other hand, at that time, creators living and working in the ward created a citizen network called "Sumida Creators Club," and efforts to contribute to the community with their own profession have begun. A project to solve these developmental problems started in the 26th year of the Heisei period (2014).

3. Efforts of Suminowa

The initiative, which started as a support project for new product development, is set up so the creators took their time learning about the facilities they want to support. They also analyzed the characteristics of each facility and users of those facilities as well as the current status and possibilities of existing products. In this process, ideas for incorporating scraps from local factories to reduce raw material costs and tools that are easy for users to use were created. Some new products were developed while repeating workshops, such as a cable holder cut out by stamping cowhide and a petit envelope stamped with various urethane chips on the bottom of disposable Chinese-style spoons. The project name Suminowa was also born at the same time. Sales of existing products also increased with sophisticated design by a professional designer. After that, in 2018, we started developing and selling novelty products by the make-to-order production system, which was popular for event distributions, but the number of orders decreased sharply due to the decrease in events because of the Corona outbreak. On the contrary, the 50th-anniversary commemorative goods "BRAVO towel" [Photo 2] of the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, which is active locally, was born. The towel is a big hit because one can show praise to the Orchestra by raising the towel instead of raising one’s voice in the midst of the Corona pandemic, and the users who loved to draw pictures who were involved in the production were very pleased that his dream was realized.

In addition, the pictures drawn by the users are used for tea boxes in a local café, wall paintings for smoking areas, and gift boxes for tourism association in collaboration with the “MinnaHokusai(Everyone is Hokusai)” project of the Sumida Ward Tourism Association, which provides welfare for individuals with disabilities through artistic activities.

photo1(Left): A cable holder cut out by stamping cowhide and a petit envelope stamped with a urethane chip on the bottom of a Chinese-style spoon

Photo 2 (Right): New Japan Philharmonic 50th Anniversary Goods "BRAVO towel"

4. Future Suminowa

Suminowa, in collaboration with the local community, is not only producing attractive products but also beginning to contribute to sales by utilizing created art. Improving wages is an important issue, but it is not the only goal. We also would like to uncover and bind together the attractiveness of individuals with disabilities, facilities, and regions and extend the circle as an activity leading to the fulfilling life and joy of these people and the vitality of the region.