It has been five years since the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami and the associated nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. As a Japanese, looking at recent news and pictures of the disaster sites now and then, I felt so many emotions from within me.
On this day, I especially think about a group of special women in my heart. The ladies in Nozomi Project.
Nozomi Project = Hope
Last holiday season, I mentioned about Nozomi Project (you can read my post here). Nozomi Project is a group of women in Ishinomaki, Japan – the town which was most seriously affected by tsunami.
They make beautiful jewelry with broken pieces of pottery leftover after the horrible disaster.
The Nozomi ladies were not jewelry makers prior to the disaster. Most of them lost their homes or/and loved ones and they needed hope (“Nozomi” in Japanese) and a place to start a new life.
To turn around their life, Nozomi ladies take the broken pieces of pottery and create beautiful jewelry out of them.
Nozomi Project = A New Life
Nozomi Project provides a safe community for these women and brings sustainable income for them. A community like this help rebuild their lives in Ishinomaki.
Each of their product lines has been named by a Nozomi woman in honor of a loved one in her life.
3 Things We Can Do To Help:
Nozomi Project brings “hope” to these women in Ishinomaki. And we can give hope to them by following simple actions:
- Talk About It: Talk to one (or more) friend about Nozomi Project today!
- Wear It: Wear a piece of Nozomi jewelry and talk about it if someone notices your jewelry.
- Get a Gift: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day (cufflinks!), and friend’s birthday!
My heart is with them as they rebuild their lives and community.
Find Nozomi Project on their Website | Facebook | Instagram. “Share” their posts with your friends!
These are just stunning, both physically and emotionally. What a lovely and poignant group of creations. Thank you for sharing this about my mom’s ancestral home!
I thought you might like what they do too! 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment. xoxo
Thank you for sharing this! Today I stopped by to see if I could make your simple chicken curry (a favorite at our house) in my new Instant Pot, saw the link to this post, and followed it. I now know what all the women in my life are getting for Christmas – there are no coincidences!
Hi Jessica! Aww I’m so happy to hear that you like Nozomi Project jewelry. They are absolutely beautiful…
Have you check my Instant Pot curry?
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-japanese-curry/
Are you a quilter? My mom is a quilter too! I saw you have a beautiful patchwork website! She now teaches watercolor quilt technique though. I maintain her website here:
http://www.quiltwatercolor.com/