This project is actively working for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with Sansonjuku since 2008. This project has been organized with Sansonjuku, founded in 1994, maintaining forest and step rice paddies through the projects which involves people from the city and local. They started 80-days of international workcamp with NICE since 2008 to make the footpath and maintain the forest. But on July 2012, the hardest rain ever attacked around this area. After that it had serious damages by flood. Their aim is to activate the community and sustain the program with young people from the world to conserve this rich nature and revival this area!

This project is actively working for SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with Association for Promotion of Regional Development in Nishiyama area, Kumano city where is depopulated in Mie prefecture since 2017. There are about 220 residents whose 73% is over 65 years old in Nishiyama area where volunteers will mainly stay. One youth who had joined an international workcamp in the past, has started organizing weekend workcamps since 2011 in Nishiyama area.Five years later, the local community has become more open-minded toward youth from outside the area. Since many local residents are getting too old to maintain public spaces such as parks or the ruins of a castle, they now need help from international volunteers! *Outcome of this workcamp: Please refer to the long-term goal of this project, Local SDGs, at https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/2019-wp5 (currently only available in Japanese, but you can still enjoy the pictures!).

This project is actively working for SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDGs 15 (Life on Land), organized together with Akame no SATOYAMA wo Sodateru kai, a local environmental organization for conservation of SATOYAMA forest working in Nabari city since 1999. Because this area is relatively close to the big cities between Osaka and Nagoya, there were plans to build a golf field and a disposal center. However, the local people stopped those plans by collecting donations and buying the land. SATOYAMA needs to be maintained by humans for its biodiversity and water adjustment function. Our ancestors had protected and utilized the forest in an ecological and sustainable way, which has been neglected by modernization at many places in Japan.

This project is actively working on SDG2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG4 (Quality Education), and has been working with Ozuchi Village since 2013. Ozuchi Village was established by local people to preserve the original landscape. In 1916, there were 140 residents and 20 houses, but now only one person lives there. Fortunately, 10 houses remain and the village is designated as a national important traditional buildings preservation district. The village retains the landscape and lifestyle of old Japan that is no longer in existence. In order to preserve this place and culture, we are trying to improve the situation with the power of young volunteers. Since 2016, Ozuchi Village and NICE have started a monthly weekend work camp, and more than 300 volunteers visit the village every year, fall in love with the village, and participate as repeat visitors or support the village in whatever way they can! The local hosts hope to pass this village on to the next generation!*Results of this work camp: The village was abandoned, but one of the former villagers maintained the rice terraces and landscape. However, the work camp gave him such strength that he started living there again in 2018!

This project is actively working for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDGs 10 (Reduced Inequalities), organized together with Kyodo Gakusha since 1998, a cooperative community where people with various backgrounds such as mentally disadvantaged, people who are tired of city life, who wants to learn farming, just want to live in the nature, etc. They have 5 communities in Tokyo, Nagano and Hokkaido and grow animals and vegetables in ecological, organic way with utilizing bacterium and charcoal. Shintoku farm has 60 ha of land and 60 inhabitants including kids. Their cheese got the 1st prize in the global contest! The workcamp has been stopped since 2020 and revived this time!
*Outcome of this workcamp: The workcamps have greatly shared the spirit of the community and also do some that is hardly done by their daily work such as construction of sheep farm, irrigation ditch, etc. In 2024, 4 vols. from 3 countries helped to harvest the vegetables, run the cafe, etc. and had a wonderful exchange in the school visit. Please see the long term goal of this project as Local SDGs at https://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/n0-68540773 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!)

This project is actively working for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), newly organized together with Ginzan Community Promotion Council. The council actively organizes various community building activities, such as activities conducted five times a year for two days with a Hokkaido University students' club Inakappe (e.g. flowerbed making, picking wild vegetables, potato planting with children's groups, snow removal, rice cake pounding) and daily welfare, etc. A grandchild of the chairperson, who participated in international volunteer activities in India with NICE in 2025 Feb.-Mar., proposed to organize a workcamp.The Council, NICE, and HIF (Hokkaido International Foundation) discussed it and decided to hold the international workcamp as a 50th anniversary project of the Council, with the grandchild serving as the camp leader!

This project is actively working on SDG2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG4 (Quality Education), and has been working with Ozuchi Village since 2013. Ozuchi Village was established by local people to preserve the original landscape. In 1916, there were 140 residents and 20 houses, but now only one person lives there. Fortunately, 10 houses remain and the village is designated as a national important traditional buildings preservation district. The village retains the landscape and lifestyle of old Japan that is no longer in existence. In order to preserve this place and culture, we are trying to improve the situation with the power of young volunteers. Since 2016, Ozuchi Village and NICE have started a monthly weekend work camp, and more than 300 volunteers visit the village every year, fall in love with the village, and participate as repeat visitors or support the village in whatever way they can! The local hosts hope to pass this village on to the next generation!*Results of this work camp: The village was abandoned, but one of the former villagers maintained the rice terraces and landscape. However, the work camp gave him such strength that he started living there again in 2018!

This project is actively working for SDGs 10 (Reduced Inequalities), organized together with NPO WHITE CANVAS since 2024, a Non Profit Organization to empower mentally challenged people through the power of art. It was established by Kyoko who was a very active members of NICE with a lot of workcamp experiences in Togo, etc. and the company who had been working with her. Then more members joined when the workshop was about to open. They organize the workshop TIME WARP that is a workplace for adults with special needs for weaving, pottery, small garden and embroidery work. They all love art and craft, having big interests on humans. They don't stick in specific philosophies, but anthroposophy is one of their guides. They work and study together with a certified anthroposophical doctor, nurse, curative pedagogists and Extra Lesson practitioners.
*Outcome of this workcamp: In 2024, 6 vols. from 4 countries greatly contributed to cut the glasses, friendly exchange with the challenged people and assist the activities/ events!

This project is actively working for SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDGs 15 (Life on Land), organized together with NAP (Nobel Application of Plant resources) since 1992 and since 2016, as a part of SCC (Stop Climate Change) projects initiated by NICE with NVDA (Asian network). NAP is a local NPO to recover natural ecosystem cycles. Minamata had experienced the terrible industrial pollution though it is completely safe and clean now. As well as many other parts of Japan, bamboo trees, originally brought from China by human being, are severely spreading and damaging the eco-system. Also, the beaches have a lot of rubbish, but when it’s clean, there is a lot of sea food such as oysters and sea urchins. Rehabilitation of seaweed forests has been done since several years ago. The workcamp has been stopped due to COVID-19, but finally revived since 2020 by this project!
*Outcome of this workcamp: Workcamps have made various kinds of great impacts to create a forest on the reclaimed land, etc. In 2019, 4 LMTVs from 4 countries and 6 STVs from 5 countries, together with local people, maintained 1ha of bamboo forest, made 541 kg of charcoal and reduced 1.1 ton of CO2 emission. In 2024, 8 vols. from 6 countries and 9 NGO leaders from 4 Asian countries joined us! Please see the long-term goal of this project as Local SDGs athttps://www.slideshare.net/nice-workcamp/17-82084627 (only Japanese for the moment, but you can at least enjoy the pictures!)

This project is actively working for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), organized together with the local group since 2019. This village has been welcoming Ohenro (pilgrims) who visit 88 temples in Shikoku since long time ago. The pilgrims walk through this village before visiting Kakurin-ji temple; the 20th temple out of 88 temples of the Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage. However, there are problems which should be solved such as aging and depopulation of the community these days, and locals haven't been able to find solutions for those problems. On the other hand, since more and more people from overseas visit for the Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage locals are trying to find new ways for omotenashi (hospitality). Volunteers who have been working on the project have come up with ideas for the reuse of vacant and abandoned land. Local host Oi have finally decided that they can freely renovate and modify the vacant houses. Moreover, the site is in a good location, with mountains, a river and fields. It is up to the volunteers from now on to decide how to develop the project. The aim is for the volunteer members to clean up the abandoned houses and village landscape and transform it into a village that people will want to visit to take photos, as it used to be a village where people came and went since ancient times.