Supporting Sustainability and Community Engagement at the Shibuya Elementary School Festival

Promoting Sustainability and Community Engagement at Shibuya's Sendagaya Elementary School Festival

Tamurakoma Co., Ltd., headquartered in Osaka with a branch in Shibuya, Tokyo, took part in the Sendagaya Elementary School Festival held on November 15, 2025. This event was part of the school’s inquiry-based program called 'Shibuya Future Studies'. By engaging with the local community, the company provided valuable support for the children's exploration and learning initiatives.

What is Shibuya Future Studies and the Sendagaya Festival?

The 'Shibuya Future Studies' program allows children to turn their entire community into a classroom, encouraging them to undertake inquiry-based activities with a global perspective. The goal is to empower students to pose questions and seek answers, ultimately leading to real-life applicable knowledge that will benefit them in the future.

This year, approximately 50 sixth-grade students from Sendagaya Elementary engaged with local shop owners to identify community issues. Through these interviews, they discovered a significant problem: the lack of interaction among local businesses.

The 'Sendagaya Festival' was organized to address this issue; it aimed to create a space where local businesses, residents, and students could come together. Students were divided into groups of 2 to 7 and tasked with planning various activities for the festival, like workshops and cafés. Each group was supported by a different corporate partner—Tamurakoma was proud to be one of the sponsors.

Supporting Students with Supplies and Guidance

As a supporting company, Tamurakoma contributed in two main ways: 1) Providing fabric and craft supplies that were deemed waste and 2) Assisting with the production process. The materials offered were categorized into three main types:

- Fabrics inspired by the poems of Kaneko Misuzu, known as the 'Misuzu Uta' project
- Functional synthetic materials
- Crafting materials and parts from our subsidiary, Tsukurie Co., Ltd.

These materials were utilized by the groups planning the amulet workshop and the small goods grab booth.

To facilitate the students' production process, Tamurakoma's staff participated in five classes teaching them how to handle fabrics and use sewing machines.

Successful Festival Day

On November 15, from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM, the 'Sendagaya Festival' was successfully hosted at Sendagaya Elementary School. The event featured booths for grabbing small goods and an amulet workshop. The joy on the faces of the younger children and the excitement from the festival organizers—who remarked that more guests attended than they had expected—were highlights of the day.

Future Outlook

Tamurakoma Co., Ltd. remains committed to advocating for sustainability, effective resource utilization, educational support, and contributing to the local community through its CSR activities. Looking ahead, we will continue our mission to promote environmentally-friendly practices and engage with the community to foster growth and learning.