A Community Where Everyone Belongs
The Philosophy of NPO Taiyo to Midori no Kai
For more than 42 years, NPO Taiyo to Midori no Kai has been creating opportunities for people of all abilities to work, contribute, and connect with their community through reuse and recycling activities.
Our workplace is more than a recycling shop. It is a vibrant community where people with a wide range of disabilities work side by side, helping to collect, repair, display, and sell donated items. Bicycles, furniture, clothing, household goods, and many other reusable items find a second life here through the efforts of our members.
Unlike most secondhand stores, we do not purchase goods. Instead, local residents generously donate unwanted items, and we also provide free collection services for reusable materials and recyclables. Whether people bring items directly to us or request a pickup from their homes, our members actively participate in every stage of the process.
Each day, our shop welcomes a diverse range of visitors, including children, young people, families, senior citizens, and people from different countries and cultures. Over four decades, this has made us not only the longest-running recycling shop in Tokushima, but also a unique model of an inclusive workplace.
Our experience has shown that people with disabilities should not be limited to a choice between institutional support and conventional employment. By creating meaningful roles within the community, we have opened up new possibilities where everyone can contribute according to their strengths.
Through this work, traditional divisions between those who support and those who are supported, those who teach and those who learn, and those who provide services and those who receive them gradually fade away. Instead, relationships are built on mutual respect, participation, and inclusion.
This ongoing activity is sustained by the combined efforts of many people: community members who donate and shop with us, volunteers who generously share their time and skills, public organizations that support our mission, and above all, our members, whose dedication and hard work make everything possible.
Although this approach remains rare in Japan, we believe it represents a next-generation model of social action, one that demonstrates how communities can become more inclusive, sustainable, and connected.
Our Vision
To build a society where everyone, regardless of ability, can contribute, belong, and thrive through meaningful participation in community life.
"Reusing Resources. Empowering People. Building Community."