CRAZYTANK News vol.216／Toward a service in which people think of each other and help each other - A Case Study of the 保けん野菜（Hoken Vegetable） Business -
CRAZYTANK News started in July 2020 and has been a weekly newsletter of about 2,000 to 3,000 words, providing information on "CRAZYTANK's current situation“. We are very grateful for the feedback we have received from our subscribers. However, due to feedback from subscribers, we have decided to make it available in NOTE for a fee starting in late October 2021. In addition, we have decided to start offering the service free of charge on a trial basis from October 2023.
This is the place where each week we will tell you about what we are doing and what we are thinking. CRAZYTANK always values to be a "party that continues to take on challenges" as we look toward the future. We hope that we can be a catalyst and a driving force for you to take on the challenges of our changing society. Please drop by whenever you feel like it.
CRAZYTANK News vol.216
Although the summer heat continues in September, we can feel the season is definitely changing with the cooler morning and evening air and the sky feeling higher in the sky.
Please take care of yourselves as the seasons change.
Now, in this week's newsletter...
We have recently changed our subscription to 保けん野菜（the Hoken Vegetable） Service to a “referral-only” system. I would like to write about the social changes behind this change, our predictions for the future, and the state we would like to create with our services.
Please read on.
Toward a service in which people think of each other and help each other - A Case Study of the 保けん野菜（Hoken Vegetable） Business-
In the 保けん野菜（“Hoken Vegetables”） business, in which CRAZYTANK is involved as an advisor and which is operated by Michikusa LLC, from the beginning of the service development two years ago,
“In a few years, vegetables will no longer be available in supermarkets.
We had predicted the future of this business.
In anticipation of that future, we are continuing to build 保けん野菜（the Hoken Vegetable） Service as a platform for both farmers (producers) and customers (consumers) to make efforts and cooperate with each other from their respective standpoints.
The above future predictions were never intended to inadvertently create a sense of anxiety, but rather were calm predictions of what would happen when various pieces of information were assembled.
And of course, even if the outcome did not turn out as predicted, we believed that the preparation for it would not be in vain, but rather valuable.
Then, most recently, there was the issue of the rice fiasco, which is fresh in everyone's minds.
This time it happened in rice, but we are further reinforcing the idea that each of us needs to be prepared for such disturbances to occur in the future in other foodstuffs, such as vegetables, so that we can survive in our own lives.
At 保けん野菜（Hoken Vegetables）, we have recently decided to make service subscriptions “referral only”.
In the course of our service operations to date, we have once again come to believe that “intangible values” such as interaction among subscribers within the service and the relationship of trust between producers and subscribers underpin the [fundamental] part that we emphasize as a service.
For example, there are the “Ousowake（share vegetables with others）” system and the “Ouen Yasai（Yell to be able to eat vegetables）” system, which have been ongoing since the start of 保けん野菜（the Hosen Vegetable） Service.
Although the total amount of these initiatives is still small at this time, we believe that they will become a system that allows subscribers to share to the extent possible with other subscribers who are in particular need (for example, families with infants) when there is a shortage of goods in the future.
However, it is not enough for the system to be organized as a system, but it is also a system that cannot be established without fostering a sense of “thinking of others” within the service, which is the foundation of the system.
That is why, in 保けん野菜（Houken Vegetables）, we not only deliver vegetable sets to each household, but also continue our efforts and actions to create a situation where subscribers and producers can exchange goods, information, and feelings with each other in a natural way.
We hope to continue this kind of service so that in the future, when “vegetables are no longer available at supermarkets,” there will be a feeling and state of mind that we can all help each other out.
For this reason, we have decided to require referrals for service subscriptions.
保けん野菜（Houken Vegetables ) is more than just a subscriber service that delivers vegetable sets. It is a service that cannot be explained in a single word, such as learning and creating opportunities, information and relationships together to enrich people's lives through vegetables.
We hope to convey these points as much as possible in words, and also to have people experience them, so that those who understand and sympathize with us will eventually join us.
We hear a lot of calls for “stockpiling” for the future, but we believe that in addition to storing water and goods, it is also very important to have relationships and places where people can rely on each other in case of emergencies.
The farmers who are partners in 保けん野菜（the Houken Vegetable） Service are also beginning to look toward the future.
In November, a meeting to “learn together about ‘doing agriculture’” is scheduled to be held, organized by Ms. Akiyama of Michikusa LLC, based on the sense of crisis felt by Mr. Hagiwara of NORAKURA Farm.
Our CEO, Mr. Takehana, will be speaking in the “Discussion Session” on the second day as a special guest, and we hope to have a concrete discussion about what we can do and what we will do when we sincerely predict “a future where vegetables can no longer be purchased at supermarkets".
We believe that we are entering a phase in which it is very important for each of us to make efforts to do what we can do now in each area.
We are sure that there are various changes in your surroundings. We urge you to stay attuned to this information and continue to take your own actions for the future.