Renewable for disaster relief (4): 1 year after Japan earthquake

Sumita Town, Iwate

Like many other Tohoku areas, Sumita Town is rich in forest resources. Invested in sustainable forest management and lumber processing to support local jobs, it has been the owner of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified forest.

Sumita Town was very quick to respond to the disaster. Right after the quake the mayor made a decision to build temporary housing complex for Tsunami survivors. The houses were built using local lumber. Unlike typical temporary evacuation houses that are prefabricated, those houses are made of real wood and offered significant comfort to the survivors who needed to heal from the disaster. The Tohoku Warmth and Unity Project installed 30 solar lights and 110 solar water heaters for the entire houses in the complex.

 

1 year after the earthquake, Tohoku region is still far from full recovery. Based on the request from the communities in need, the project is planning installing renewable systems in 31 more locations.  The requests keep coming in, but financial support is not keeping up to meet the demand.  In a long run, the goal of the project is to install permanent renewable system in those communities to meet the majority of local electricity demand. Their challenge continues.   

Tsunagari Nukumori Project is accepting donation. Contact them if you are interseted.

Tsunagari Nukumori Project
The Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies

4-54-11 Chuo, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0011 Japan
TEL:+81-3-6382-6061
FAX:+81-3-6382-6062
http://tsunagari-nukumori.jp//english
Email：re-shien@isep.or.jp