７月２１日（土曜日）２０１８
先日、用事の帰り多賀町水谷（すいだに）地区を通ったので、同地区に住む山下政光さんを訪ねました。山下さんは５年前に地域おこし協力隊として多賀に来て、以来地域のために色々な活動をしています。もとは大阪でIT関係の会社を起業して多忙な日々を過ごしていたそうですが、止めて一念発起で多賀に来られたとのこと。協力隊の任期が切れた後も多賀に残って農業や養鶏に精を出す傍ら、半年ほど前から一圓屋敷（庄屋屋敷）の開発プロジェクトにも参加して私達に力を貸してくださっています。養鶏は１年ほど前から始めたとのこと。卵は水谷の人々や多賀駅前門前市を利用する人達に喜ばれています。最初に見せてもらったのは生後２ヶ月ほどのもみじという品種。卵を産むまであと４ヶ月ほどかかるそうです。どのひよこも穏やかで山下さんをよく知っていて近づいてきては肩や頭に乗ってその信頼関係が伺われました。となりのテントは成長したニワトリ。毎朝、卵を産み落としてくれるそうです。普通、養鶏場のニワトリたちは狭いケージに入っていますが、ここは平飼いで動き回れて幸せそうに見えました。 The other day Mr. E.H and I visited Mr. Masamitsu Yamashita who is living in Suidani in Taga. Mr. Yamashita came to the village five years ago as a member of the Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad and after he finished the term of his service, he decided to stay in Taga. He is now doing agriculture farming and chicken raising there. Before he came to Taga, he was working at an IT related company which he founded, but he decided to stop and participate in the service. Now he also has been participating in the development project of an old Japanese house, Ichien Yashiki with us since 6 months ago and has been imparting his knowledge and ideas to us. First he showed his two month chick named MOMIJI to us. According to Mr. Yamashita, it takes four more months for them to lay an egg. All of them looked calm and attached to Mr. Yamashita. He took us to the next tent where grown chickens were in. They lay eggs every morning which will be sold to local people. I imagine that they are happy to be able to move around in the tent compared to the chickens in the small cage in a big poultry farm.
