Natsuki Maeda
NPO SEED, Kyoto Petit pas

The specified non-profit organization SEED Kyoto started its activities in Kyoto in 2011 under the philosophy of "doing everything possible to work hand in hand to help people recover from eating disorders." The Kyo-Kumihimo initiative introduced here began with the thoughts of Ms. A (name not disclosed), who regularly attends Petit pas, a type B support center for continuous employment, operated by SEED Kyoto.

Petit pas is working with the desire to support women with eating disorders and other mental illnesses so that they can step into society with peace of mind and live in their own way. Since the state of emergency was declared due to the spread of the coronavirus, the services of Petit pas became accessible from home. As a result, Ms. A started to use it more frequently and worked on higher-level tasks as well. She also said to the staff “I want to become more involved with the aim of employment. I’m interested in the traditional industrial field.” This was how the Kyo-Kumihimo initiative began.

When the staff found out about a traditional industrial event sponsored by Kyoto city, a staff member invited Ms. A to participate together. When Ms. A saw the demonstration of Kyo-Kumihimo there, she was fascinated by its beauty, and at the same time, she was interested in Kumihomo. When Petit pas told Shoen Kumihimo, who was demonstrating, that Ms. A wanted a tour, they gladly accepted the request and gave her an opportunity to see their products, listen to the craftsmen’s stories, and observe their work processes and workplace. Through the tour, she became even more interested in being involved in the production of Kumihimo at this particular workplace. For this reason, Petit pas consulted with Shoen Kumihimo about a Kyo-Kumihimo experience for employment and applied for the Kyoto City’s Denfuku Collaboration Support Program for Fostering Bearers of Traditional Industries, which allows her to assist with the training. The experience started in July 2021. After going through the entire process of making products using Kumihimo, she received training at the workshop and at home.

When she started, she worked at a high pace because it was fun, and after a month or two, she started to get tired. Even so, through trial and error in order to get herself in shape, and by reflecting on the experience with the staff at the office and the experience manager, she gradually found the right pace where she wasn’t working too hard. A few months later, she started working on product creation, and by the end of March 2022, when the program ended, she was able to master various techniques, including those with a high degree of difficulty.

In April of the following year, an agreement was reached between Ms. A, who had a strong desire to continue working at this company, and Shoen Kumihimo, which recognized her enthusiasm, strong feelings, efforts, and skills. As a result, she started working there as a part-timer. While facing the challenges that everyone experiences in their first year as a member of society, such as having a tendency to work too hard when they first get a job, she is steadily expanding her range of activities through interacting at work and speaking at meetings, etc. Petit pas also has opportunities to encounter Kyo-Kumihimo through the connection with Shoen Kumihimo and has been able to gradually create new products by receiving guidance on how to tie Kyo-Kumihimo.

As a staff member, I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity. Shoen Kumihimo also conveyed some kind words, saying, “In this day and age when the number of people who continue to do simple handmade work diligently is decreasing, we feel that it is difficult to preserve traditional crafts, but through this project, we strongly felt the possibility of new challenges.”

Since the office is located in historical Kyoto, there are many opportunities to encounter traditional industries, and some users of Petit pas are interested. Until now, we had the impression that the threshold was high, but through this initiative, I learned that new possibilities will be created if welfare institutions and traditional institutions, and traditional industries work together. The relationship continues to this day, with Shoen Kumihimo offering us in-house jobs and giving us advice when we are considering new products at Petit pas. I would like to continue working hand in hand with welfare and traditional industries to create job satisfaction for users and encourage those who are interested in Kyoto's traditional industries to have the opportunity to become leaders.