A Delicious Pear

by Reiko Esaki (Kasuga City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan)

  Kingo Maeda, whom Reiko Esaki refers to in this article, is a farmer and Shumei member from Imari, Japan. Besides being one of the first produce growers in his area to practice Natural Agriculture, he is widely renowned for introducing the cultivation of fine pears to his region nearly 27 years ago. The Natural Agriculture Club, which he helped found, originally was to be located on property that he rented from a neighboring farm. When the rental agreement fell through, he had a section of his pear orchards felled and cleared to make room for the Club on his own land.

  Our Natural Agriculture Club in Imari began with Kingo Maeda's desire to create a place where young people could have the opportunity to touch the soil and gain a first-hand experience of Natural Agriculture. The Club opened this April [2000]. Each month, about twenty junior and senior high school students come together at Imari for an overnight stay on Mr. Maeda's farm. With each visit, their appreciation of the abundant crops of rice, vegetables, and the pears, for which Mr. Maeda is so well known, grow. One of the many smiles one sees on the faces of the young people returning home each month belongs to my stepdaughter. Every time she returns from Imari, her face beams as she talks of her experience, of the good food, and "delicious pears." A smile is such a simple thing. Yet, my stepdaughter, who is now a freshman in junior high school, seldom smiled throughout her life. Her birth mother suffered from the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and was in and out of hospitals throughout her daughter's childhood. Because she could not take care of her child for long periods of time, the little girl grew up not knowing her mother. She was what is called a "silent baby". She never smiled. While she was in elementary school, her parents divorced and she went to live with her mother. Self-starvation is a major symptom of the mother's illness, and so, in turn, the mother neglected to feed her daughter properly for half a year. Finally, after the poor woman suffered a total mental collapse and had to be hospitalized, the little girl went to live with her father. He made great efforts to give her the healthy foods that the little girl's mother had withheld. But the little girl could not bear to eat vegetables. She only ate what she pleased. We were told that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. To her, food was tied to affection and the sight of vegetables made her think of the love that her mother could not afford to show her.

  Because of this association between food and her mother, she could not do something as ordinary as eat a school lunch. And because she could not empathize with others, she did not make friends. So, she was always alone and always lonely. Her classmates often bullied her. They would tell her to go away and get out of the class. And once, a garbage pail was put over her head. Her childhood was filled with harshness.

  Yet, today she is capable of heartfelt smiles and can enjoy something as simple as eating a delicious pear. At first I wondered about how this great change in her came about. Something at Imari must have pierced deep into that cold mind of hers. One might think it not surprising that she would begin to like foods cultivated by way of the Natural Agriculture method. These foods are not only wholesome, but also delicious. That is true, but there had to be something more. How could food produced without industrial chemicals and fertilizer have warmed a young girl's heart so totally?

  I believe that there is a deep secret to be learned by her change. I now think that when she bites into a pear, that she is not only satisfying her bodily hunger but her deep spiritual needs as well. I think she has finally uncovered her long-buried desire to be nourished and loved, and now is able to say to herself, "This is what I always wanted." And with this knowledge, her heart is filled with a great joy. And now she has friends with which to share this joy. Her life was changed by a pear, a pear that was grown by a farmer who wanted to make a difference in children's lives. Just as a fine work of art reveals the artist's spirit, a harvest shows the greatness of a farmer's soul. I believe that it is the spirit that heals a child's heart. This is the wonderful grace of God and the answer to a deep secret.

  In these times we hear of horrible crimes that are performed by the young. Children, unable to communicate and share with others, can lose their balance and do terrible things. I know that if my stepdaughter had not been given the chance to heal, she could easily have fallen in with a gang of hoodlums and perhaps eventually become violent. Who is to say that one day she would not have bludgeoned me with a baseball bat? Fortunately, she is a well-balanced young lady and there is little trouble left in her life.

  We tend to take for granted what is balanced and healthy. We do not think it very out of the ordinary when there is no trouble or pain in our lives. Yet, because of the extraordinary circumstances of her early life, when looking at my stepdaughter smile I realize how very grateful we must be for all that appears to be just ordinary. Our Natural Agriculture Research Club is just one small step towards solving a large problem in our society. It may not seem like much to hear a child say, "What a delicious pear." But I think for some young people who have rarely shared the warmth of a family meal, it means quite a lot.

  After World War II, the typical family changed greatly from an extended family to a nuclear family. Today, because of divorce, the nuclear family is now breaking up further into households that are either fatherless or motherless. Even in families that are somewhat intact, parents and children rarely share a dinner together because of the hectic pace of modern life. Usually, both mothers and fathers work at jobs that demand too much time away from each other and their children. Under such circumstances, how can our children learn to appreciate the blessings of sharing wholesome food? I cannot say that a fatherless or motherless home is a bad environment in which to raise a child. It is simply one of the facts of modern life that we cannot avoid. Yet, no one can bring up children single-handedly. We all need help to foster and nourish a growing child. I am very grateful to Kingo Maeda and others for their help. There is an African saying that "it takes a village to raise a child." The responsibilities for raising our children to be leaders of this new century go beyond the family and ties of blood.

  I deeply appreciate Kingo Maeda's great courage and wisdom in making his farm a place where young people can come and learn about Natural Agriculture. I think that we should all support his efforts. After all, we all share the same dream, a dream that goes beyond religions, ideas, and principles to foster healthy and balanced children.

  One farmer's will to help children may be little more than a small seed planted in the soil. But that small seed will germinate, grow into a plant, and flower. Soon, many seeds of that first plant will be spread and planted by others. And gradually, someday in five, ten, or twenty years beautiful flowers will cover the earth.

FROM SHUMEI MAGAZINE, VOL. 231, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2001.